Demonic possession in the New Testament : its relations historical, medical, and theological

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DEMONIC POSSESSION

IN THE

NEW TESTAMENT

Its Relations
Historical, Medical, and Theological

WM. MENZIES ALEXANDER

M.A,, B.Sc, B.D., CM., M.D.

EDINBURGH

T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET

1902

S4-04-S

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PREFACE

J^EMONIC Possession in the Neiv Testament is still
^^ an unsolved problem. That statement is at
variance with a considerable body of opinion recently
expressed on two Continents. Nevertheless, it is a
correct representation of the present state of the
case. Modern writers have attained a certain
unanimity, only by approaching the subject from
one point of view and confining attention to the
more conspicuous phenomena. But any investiga-
tion which claims finality must explore the whole
environment and scrutinise all residual facts. There
is a comparative demonology to be studied ; there
are types of mental disease to be examined ; there
is a criterion of genuine possession to be discovered
and applied. The inquiry thus broadens out and
takes account of many points hitherto ignored or
neglected. The whole subject thereby assumes a new
complexion and has received restatement accordingly.
This work is an original research ; not a com-

viii Preface,

pilation. Few authorities have therefore been directly
quoted ; but any one familiar with the vast literature
concerned will readily perceive that previous writings
are constantly in sight. The tactics of the contro-
versialist have likewise been avoided as essentially
unprofitable. The opinions of others have been
combated where necessary ; but by an array of facts
rather than a war of words. This treatise is at most
only a fragment. A large amount of material has
been held in retcntis, and many important questions
have been left untouched. The conclusions attained
have been reached independently, and are of a novel
J character. They confirm, in the highest degree, the
claim of Christ to be considered the Good Physician
and the Revealer of the Father.

Wm. Menzies Alexandee.

Glasgow, January 1902.

conte:n^ts

^ CHAPTER I

^'

O*' INTIIODUCTORY

PAGES

Composite relations of the subject. Views of Meyer, Farrar,
Bruce, Wendt, Gould. The dilemma. The luminous back-
ground. The concrete investigation. The residual pheno-
menon. Application of the preceding results to the Beelzebul
controversy, the Gerasene aft'air, the alleged continuance of
possession ......... 1-12

CHAPTER II

HISTORIC DEMONOLOGY

Demonology of the Old Testament. Shadow-figures. Degraded
gods. A possessing demon. Demonology of the Septuagint.
Continued iconoclasm. Spirits of the giants. Asmodaeus.
Rabbinic demonology. Recipe for seeing spirits. Their
origin, numbers, forms, haunts, times of activity, powers, re-
strictions, management, redeeming features. Ethnic parallels.
Christ and common demonology. Christ and common magic.
Cause of Christ's superiority to superstition . . . 13-60 "^

CHAPTER III

MEDICAL ASPECTS OF DEMONIC POSSESSION

Data of the present inquiry. Uses of a correct diagnosis.
Simple epilepsy not possession. The Caijeruaum demoniac.
The Gerasene demoniac. The epileptic idiot. Significance

1

X Contents

PAGES

of the demoniac state. The Syro-Phojnician girl. The dumb
demoniac. The blind-and-dumh demoniac. Mary Magdalene.
The Philippiau Pythoness. The Ephesian demoniac . 61-102

CHAPTER IV

MEDICAL ASPECTS OF DEMONIC POSSESSION — Continued

Numbers of the possessed in the time of our Lord. Regions ■ i

whence the possessed were brought. Capernaum as focus of
tlie Eastern and Western Dispersions. Population of Pales-
tine. Mental temperament of the people. Mental health of
the people. Representations of the Gospels. Comparison of
the Jews with the Greeks and the Romans. Comparison of
the Jews with the peoples of the British Isles. Approximate

estimate of the numbers of the possessed. Naturalness of the ll

ethnic theory of possession. Naturalness of the terms " evil"
and "unclean." Responsibility of the jrossessed. The treat-
ment of the possessed among the Jews. Ethnic parallels.
Comparative results. Christ and current methods of treat-
ment. The psychological explanations of Strauss, Renan,
Keim, Matthew Arnold. Their perpetual futility. Proofs of
the expulsion of spirits 103-146

CHAPTER V

THE EXISTENCE OF GENUINE DEMONIC POSSESSION

Principles of investigation. Historicity of the narratives. Tlw
criterion of genuine demonic 'possession. Significance of the*^
confession of Jesus as Messiah. Accident, clairvoyance, verbal
information, genuine discrimination, as theories to explain
this confession. Demonic inspiration, the only competent
explanation. Classification of the possessed. Results of the-
same. Paucity of cases " self-attested. " Their restriction to^
the early ministry of Christ. Proof of "the strong one"
being bound. Antecedents of genuine demonic possession.
Relation to moral depravity. Views of the Fathers, Light-
foot, Olshausen, Dieringer, Trench, Weiss. The fundamental
error. Limits of genuine demonic possession. The moral
and intellectual damage. The time-limit. Hypnotism not
the true analogue of demonic action .... 147-173>^

Contents xi

CHAPTER VI

THE BEELZEEUL CONTROVERSY

PA0K3

Occasioned by the cure of idiots. Beelzebul neither Ashmedai
nor Satan. The fly-gods of the ancients. The Scarab-Beetle.
Baalzebub. Zeus and Hercules. Beelzebul, lord of dung or
lord of the dwelling ? Beelzebul as Bel-Ea-Mul-lil. Christ
possessed of Beelzebul. Refutation of the Pharisaic theory.
Proposal of a new alternative. The sign from hell. The
parable of the last state. The sequel to tliis controversy.
Why the Nine failed 174-193

CHAPTER VII

THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE GERASEXE AFFAIR

Scene of the ev^ent. The Huxley-Gladstone controversy. Num-
ber of the demoniacs. Folic A deux. Alleged transmigration
of the demons. Motives of the same. Failure of previous
explanations. Data for a reconstruction. The facts and the
theory. Not a case of manifold possession. No demonic
supplication. Simple command of Jesus : Begone-! The
stampede of the swine. Theories of Paiilus, Lange, Farrar,
Roseumiiller, Lutteroth. Incompetency of the same. Fresh
scrutiny of time, place, and incidents. Probable cause of the
panic. Loss of the swine-owners. Possible reduction of it.
Remarks of Wetstein and Heilprin. Inane criticisms of
Woolston, Strauss, and Huxley ..... 194-215

CHAPTER VIII

ALLEGED CONTINUANCE OF GENUINE DEMONIC POSSESSION

Possession in sub-apostolic times. Absence of " possession " from
the Didache, the writings of Clement of Rome, Hermas,
Barnabas, Ignatius, Polycarp, etc. Possession in aute-
Nicene and post-Nicene times. Testimonies to theory and
practice in the Avritings of Justin Martyi', Minucius Felix,
Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Lactantius, Jerome, etc. Treat-
ment of energumeus. ' ' The Bidding Prayer. '' Order of exor-
cists. Possession in mediaeval and modern times. Gregory

Xll

Contents

the Great. Tlie old deinonism and tlie new diabolism.
Witchcraft. The deraonomania of South -Eastern Europe.
The Dancing Manias. The conviilsionnaires of France. The
demonolaters of India. The dervishes of Algiers. The
demoniacs of China. The cessation of genuine possession ? ^ —

wThe peculiarity of the environment in the time of our Lord 216-249v

APPENDICES

A. llaljbinic Literature .......

B. Nomenclature of tlie New Testament ....

C. The Dumb Demoniac versus the Blind-and-Dumb Demonia

D. Fact-basis of the Ephesian Narrative ....

E. The Mission of the Seventy

F. Greek Demonology ..... . .

G. Greek Medicine ........

H. Testimonies to the Success of Jesus ....

I. Fallacies .........

J. The Use of popular Language by Jesus

K. The Demonising of the Heathen Gods

L. Jesus out of His Senses ? .....

M. Was Jesus nicknamed Beelzebul ? . . . .

N. Scene of the Healing of the Blind-and-Dumb Demoniac

O. Did Jesus practise Accommodation ? .

P. Ejection of Demons by Fasting .....

Q. The popular Treatment of Epilepsy ....

R. Witchcraft

250

25W

253

255

256

259

265

26&/

269

27 Iv/

272

274'/

275

276

277^

278

280

280

INDEX

285-291

DEMONIC POSSESSIO]!f IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT

CHAPTER I

Intkoductoey

rriHE anthropologist here finds himself on ground
-■- which he deems common to the races of the
lower culture. The expert physician here discovers,
in the phenomena of possession, indubitable evidence
of mental disease. The student of Scripture, after
utilising the best exegetical data, finds himself con-
fronted by a fact to which he finds it difficult to
assign any definite significance. The perplexities of
the subject are really enormous, and have scarcely
been realised as yet. History and medicine and
theology have their separate contributions to make
towards the solution of this problem ; but the
awkwardness of the situation lies in the fact that
they persist in making these contributions separately.
The result is a conflict of opinion or a suspense of
judgment.

The trend of modern opinion is most easily

X

2 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

indicated by citing the views of a few eminent and
fair-minded writers. These are set forth without
prejudice to the detailed investigation of this vexed
question.

According to Meyer/ the demoniacs of the
Gospels were popularly regarded as persons possessed
of demons ; a view of the matter shared by the
first Evangelist. The bodies of the possessed (ol
Bai/jLovi^ofxevoL) were thus looked upon as the seat and
organ of demonic working. They were really sick
persons, suffering from peculiar diseases (mania,
epilepsy, delirium, hypochondria, paralysis, temporary
dumbness) ; these being apparently inexplicable from
physical causes, and believed therefore to have their
foundation, not in an abnormal organisation or in
natural disturbances of the physical condition, but
in the actual indwelHng of demonic personalities.
Many of these might be counted in a single sick
person. The belief is conceivable from the decay of
the old theocratic consciousness and of its moral
strength, which referred all misfortunes to the sending
of God. This belief, however, rendered healing
possible only through the acceptance of the existing
view, leaving the latter untouched ; but making the
healing all the more certain for the Messiah, Who has
power over the kingdom of devils, and Who now stood
victoriously opposed to all diabolic power.

If it be assumed that Jesus Himself shared the
opinion of His age and nation regarding the reality of
^ Commentary, Matt. iv. 24.

Introductory 3

possession by demons, then we must either set up the
old doctrine on the authority of Jesus, or attribute to
Him an error, not simply physiological, but essentially
religious, and irreconcilable with the pure height of His
divine knowledge.

Against the old view, apart from all physiological
and medical objections, the following are urged as
decisive : —

1. The non-occurrence of demoniacs in the Old

Testament.

2. The undisputed healing of the same by many

exorcists,
o. The non-occurrence of reliable instances in
modern times.

4. The complete silence of the fourth Evangelist on

the subject.

5. The absence from Paul's Epistles of definite

references to expulsions.
G. The conduct of the demoniacs, w4io were not
at all filled with godless dispositions and anti-
christian wickedness, which was necessarily to
. be expected as the result of the real indwelling
of devils.
The opinion of Dean Farrar ^ is as follows : " So
many good, able, and perfectly orthodox writers have,
with the same data before them, arrived at different
conclusions on this question, that any certainty re-
specting it appears to be impossible. My own view
under these circumstances is of no particular import-
* Life of Christ, cliap. xxiii.

u

4 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

ance, but it is this. I have shown that the Jews, like
all unscientific nations in all ages, attributed many
nervous disorders and physical obstructions to demoniac
possession wliich we should attribute to natural
causes ; ])ut I am not prepared to deny that in the
dark and desperate age which saw the Redeemer's
advent, there may have been forms of madness which
owed their more immediate manifestation to evil
powers. I should not personally find much hardship
or difficulty in accepting such a belief, and have only
been arguing against tlie uncharitable and pernicious
attempt to treat it as a necessary article of faith for
all. The subject is too obscure (even to science) to
admit of dogmatism on either side." In connection
with the cure of the Gerasene demoniac(s), Dean
Farrar remarks : " If, indeed, we could be sure that
Jesus directly encouraged or sanctioned in the man's
mind the belief that the swine were indeed driven
wild by the unclean spirits, which passed objectively
from the body of the Gergesene into the bodies of
those dumb beasts, then we could, without hesitation,
believe as a literal truth, however incomprehensible,
that so it was. But this by no means follows
indisputably from what we know of the methods of
the Evangelists."

The late Professor Bruce asserted ^ that in relation
to the demonised " the most certain and, in that
respect, the primary datum, was a real physical or
mental disease. In every case of which we have

^ The Miraculous Element in the Gospels, p. 177 fi'.

introductory 5

details there was a disease, either madness, or epilepsy,
or dumbness, or dumbness accompanied with blindness,
or chronic muscular contraction. These diseases w^ere
as real as are the mental and nervous maladies with
which our experience makes us familiar ; and they
must not be explained away because one happens to
think that the notion of possession was a delusion.
To those who are inclined to follow this course, these
questions may be put : Were there no insane persons
in Judpea in our Lord's day ? were none of them cured
by Him ? and where is the record of them ? That
there were many such sufferers cannot be doubted ;
that many of them experienced the benefit of Christ's
healing power, may also be taken for granted ; and
that the cure of maladies, so fitted to call forth
sympathy, w^ould be overlooked in the records, is not
credible. But there is no account of any such cures,
unless we find it in the narratives of the demoniacs."
Our author then proceeds to compare the evidence, on
this side and on that, regarding the objective reality
of possession ; his aim being the exhibition of the
subject as one beset with difficulty on which it is
excusable to be in suspense. Eeference is made to
the impression that the character of Christ is some-
how involved, leading devout minds more than any-
thing else to regard the reality of demoniacal posses-
sion as a matter not open to dispute. Further, it is
said that if the veracity of Christ or His competency
to guide men infallibly in moral and religious truth
would be compromised by the denial of the reality of

6 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

possession, no believer would hesitate to accept the
same as an article of faith. Beyond securing or
affirming the historicity of the Gospel narratives, the
arguments for and against the objective reality of
possession are virtually left in a state of equipoise.
The opinion of Professor Wendt ^ is that Jesus
followed traditional ideas in regard to supernatural
beings, whether good or bad ; though He took quite a
different view from that of His Jewish contemporaries
regarding the significance of those spiritual agencies
for the restoring or hindering of the health-giving
intercourse of man with God. As far as the existence,
nature, and ordinary mode of activity of these agents
are concerned, Christ simply accepted the current ideas
of His countrymen. The view that demoniac in-
fluences aim, not at immorality, but at the misery
of man, was not original on the part of Jesus. In
accordance with the vulgar conception. He specially
regarded sickness as the result of demonic influence ;
and this mode of view was applied in a general way
to all sicknesses. Thus, the woman with the spirit of
infirmity is said to have been bound of Satan. In the
case of certain extraordinary morbid phenomena, such
as intermittent diseases, it was thought that the
person was so possessed or indwelt by the demon, or
in specially bad cases, by many demons, as to be made
the powerless object of their pernicious dealings and
the involuntary organ of their utterances. That Jesus
had much to do with sick persons who passed for
^ The TcacMiKj of Jaus, i. p}(. IGl IL, ^90 11'.

Introductory 7

demoniacs ; that He regarded and treated them as
possessed of real demons ; and that He saw in their
seizures a special task for Himself and His disciples,
cannot be doubtful. This mode of view finds char-
acteristic expression in the parable of the demon
returning with seven others worse than himself. Not
the possessed, but the malicious demons, were re-
garded as morally evil. Yet Jesus divested the "^
Jewish idea of demons of its importance, which was
detrimental to faith. It did not tend with Him as
with them to superstitious fear and cowardice. He
associated the idea of evil spirits with the absolute
certainty of possessing, through God's help, such power
over evil spirits that they must hearken and yield to
Him and cease from injury. Jesus set aside the
practical dualism of Jewish demonology. In the 1
assurance that He was the Stronger One Who was
able to conquer Satan, the strong one, and to spoil his
goods, Jesus was able to aid effectively the demoniacs
whom He met, and to command evil spirits with a
voice of authority. The certainty of His power was
. but the reverse side of trust in the love and might
of God.

Professor Gould thus regards the matter.^ " The
reality of demoniacal possession is a matter of doubt.
The serious argument against it is that the phenomena
are mostly natural, not supernatural. It was the un-
scientific habit of the ancient mind to account for
abnormal and uncanny things, such as lunacy and
' International Critical Commentary, Marl:, p. 23.

8 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

epilepsy, supernaturally. And in such cases outside
of the Bible, we accept the facts, but ascribe them
to natural causes. Another serious difficulty is that
lunacy and epilepsy are common in the East as else-
where, and yet, unless these are cases, we do not find
Jesus healing these disorders as such, but only cases
of demoniacal possession in which these were symp-
toms. The dilemma is very curious. Outside the
New Testament, no demoniacal possession, but only
lunacy and epilepsy ; in the New Testament, no cases
of lunacy and epilepsy proper, but only demoniacal
possession."

No critique of these views is offered at this stage.
Their limitations or errors reveal themselves hereafter.
Nor need additional opinions be now cited.^ The
foregoing clearly prove the existence of an unsolved
problem, and directly raise important apologetic issues.
The subject has sometimes been discussed in the form
of the dilemma : Possession in the New Testament was
either real or iinreal. Thence certain far-reaching in-
ferences have been drawn.

A. Possession real. — Was this phenomenon, then,
confined to Palestine and the ministry of our Lord ?
If so, what was peculiar in the environment ? Or
was this phenomenon neither local nor temporary ?

1 The views of Brauu, Conybeare, Delitzsch, Ebrard, Edersheim,
Ewald, Farmer, Geikie, GfriJrer, Gore, Lardner, Mead, Neander,
Plummer, Pressense, Row, Sanday, Schwartzkopff, Steinmeyer,
Trench, Wetstein, Whitehouse, and a host of others, are implicitly
in view throughout ; but space forbids little more than the mention
of their names.

Introcluctorij 9

If so, where are the instances of it to be discovered
now ?

B. Possession unreal. — Was Jesus, then, as ignorant
and superstitious as His contemporaries ? If so, can
He still be taken as the guide of mankind in religion ?
Or did He accommodate Himself to the ignorance and
superstition of the age ? If so, what becomes of His
integrity ?

But this mode of approaching the subject is
thoroughly vicious ; because the dilemma begs the
question at issue — the reality of demonic agency.
It may be handled cleverly by the litterateur, but it
leads to nothing. Any valid contribution to the
solution of this problem must make a scientific ex-
amination of the fundamental facts, and thence work
upwards towards such conclusions as are well founded.
When that is done, the dilemma is seen to have no
place in the discussion at all.

The narratives of possession in the New Testament
have often been studied with much diligence but little
profit ; because their actual setting has been neglected.
They have a distinct background which is capable
of being made historically luminous. The current
doctrine of demons among the Jewish people in the
time of Christ is to be carefully set forth ; not only
as a separate system, but in relation to the ethnic
creed. The superstitions of the period then become
self-evident, and the attitude of Jesus towards them
easily discovered from His Own teaching and practice.

The determination of the environment of the sub-

10 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

ject is a necessarj preliminary to the question : What
was possession ? That is first to be considered in its
medical aspects. The reports of possession are not
all equally complete. Some are described with copious
notes of the symptoms presented by the demoniacs ;
others are simply labelled " demoniac." The detailed
study of the former leads to a scientific conception of
the physical aspects of the " demoniac state." It is
thus possible to pass from the known to the unknown.
In every case a consistent and reliable diagnosis is
attainable.

But medical science concerns itself also with the
extent of this disorder, the areas affected, the factors
of causation, the comparative condition of the Jews,
and modes of treatment. It has a special interest in
the method of Christ, both as regards its uniqueness
and its efficiency. This science alone can gauge the
worth of the psychological explanations now prevalent.
In making these researches it renders a most import-
ant service to Apologetics.

But beyond the discovery of the physical signi-
ficance of the " demoniac state " lies the question of
" possession " being more than a purely pathological
condition. That initiates a further inquiry whose
data are the notices contained in the Gospels. These
indicate the existence of a residual feature, super-
added to the former. That residual factor becomes
the criterion of genuine demonic possession, surviving
all naturalistic explanations. It attaches itself to a
few cases only, and determines two types of " posses-

Introductory 1 1

sion " in the New Testament. The cases " self-
attested " belong to the earlier portion of the ministry
of our Lord, their absence from its later phases being
proof that " the strong one " was already bound. By
the application of this criterion also, the antecedents
and the limits of genuine demonic possession are
capable of being determined.

The preceding discussions permit a new departure
in the study of three outstanding problems — the
Beelzebul controversy, the Gerasene affair, and the
continuance of possession. Each of these has a
special interest and impo;i'tance.

1. The Beelzebul controversy gives us a deep in-
sight into the superstitions of the period. It had its
natural beginning and middle and end in the cure
of some of the worst forms of " possession." The
appeal to " tlie prince of demons " introduces us to
Bel-Ea of the Babylonians. The scribes and Pharisees
were immersed in the pseudo-science of their times ;
the Nine were crippled by the same. Jesus alone is
mighty in deed and in word, being in a supreme
degree — Medicus et Illuminator.

2. The Huxley-Gladstone controversy brought some
of the difficulties of the Gerasene affaii" into promi-
nence. It contributed little or nothing to the removal
of them, as the discussion ended in an obscure and
trifling side-issue. The difficulties of the story are
real ; but a restatement of the whole case has now
become possible. The reports of the Evangelists still
leave a few details uncertain ; but further research

12 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

shows that the chief stumbling-blocks of the story,
physical, legal, moral, and spiritual, admit of a satis-
factory solution.

3. The alleged continuance of possession from the
time of Christ onwards to the present, can now be
discussed to advantage. The illumination of the
Apostolic Fathers led them to discard crude ethnic
superstitions ; but these returned in the writings of
the Apologists and others ; maintaining themselves in
some sort from age to age. Genuine demonic posses-
sion, as set forth in the New Testament, contains an
element that is natural, another that is supernatural.
The former belongs to the category of mental disease,
and still continues ; the latter belongs to the category
of Satanic opposition, and was summarily suppressed.
In this department, the words of our Lord have a
valid application : Now is the crisis of this world : now
shall the i^rince of this world he cast out.

CHAPTEK II

Historic Demonology

npHE doctrine of demonic possession is but a frag-
-*- ment of the doctrine of demons in general.
The latter constitutes the setting of the former, and
cannot be understood apart from it. This environ-
ment, therefore, requires the most -careful scrutiny
first of all. From the study of it, interesting and
important results immediately accrue.

DEMONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament repeatedly refers to demons ;
but its rigid application of the monotheistic principle
placed them outside the pale of the pure religion of
Israel. They were excluded from public recognition
as objects of worship and adoration. There is a
vague conception of them as something " between the
divine and the human." ^ Some are mere " shadow-
figures," others are degraded gods, one is a possessing
spirit.

A. Some shadow -figures

These are mostly the relics of ancient superstitions

^ Cf. Plato, Symposium, 202 D, Me'ra^i' 6*600 re Koi Bvr\To\\
13

14 Demonic Possession in the Nciv Testament

or imaginations. In ethnic phraseology they may be
called good or evil, i.e. helpful or harmful ; for the
distinction is not ethical, but economic.

1. The good. — By implication, these are discover-
able in the Fountain of Judgment at Kadesh (Gen.
xiv. 7) ; in the dread sanctity of the oath by the
Seven Wells (Gen. xxi. 31; Amos viii. 14): in the
unchallenged use of the Teraphim (1 Sam. xix. 1,3 :
Hos. iii. 4) ; in the animated rod of the diviner (Hos.
iv. 12); in the fairy hosts and tree spirits (Can. ii. 7,
iii. 5).^ These appear to belong to the dawn of
history, and may be regarded as part of the heritage
of primitive races.

2. The evil. — These are suggestive of an antiquity
equal to the former, and fall into two divisions.

(a) Creatures haunting the ivaters. — These recall the
Creation Legend of Cutha and the Babylonian Myths
of Berosus. Their importation from the East is
possible. The founder of the Hebrew race came from
Ur of the Khasdim (Gen. xi. 31). It was then a
busy seaport near the mouth of the Euphrates ;
though now remote from the sea by the rapid silt-
ing of the channel. The early settlers on the site of
Ur (Mugheir) must have long maintained a strenuous
conflict against river floods and tidal inundations ; not
less than against the serpents of the marshes and
the strange creatures of the deep. Eeminiscences of
these early struggles may have passed westwards and
remained as survivals in the poetry of the Hebrews,
1 Cf. Baiidissin, Shulicn zur Semitischcn Religionsgcsclikhfc.

Historic Demonology 15

celebrating the ancient triumphs of God over ele-
mental forces and the beasts of the sea. These are
glanced at in the following and other passages : —

Rahab

Job ix. 13.

Tannin

Isa. xxvii. 1.

The Sea .

Ps. Ixxiv. 13

Leviathan

Isa. xxvii. 1.

Sea Serpent

Amos ix. 3.

(h) Creatures haunting the desert. — There are two
passages in Isaiah which in their present form may
be post- exilic, but which are charged with ideas
essentially primeval.

The oracle concerning the desolation of Babylon :
Wild cats of the desert shall lie there ; their houses
shall be full of doleful creatures ; ostriches shall dwell
there, and Seirim shall dance there.^ And wolves
shall cry in their castles, and jackals in their pleasant
palaces (Isa. xiii. 21, 22).

The oracle concerning the desolation of Edom : Wild
cats of the desert shall meet w4th the wolves,- and
the satyr shall cry to his fellow ; yea, Lilith shall
settle there, and shall find her a place of rest. There
shall the arrow-snake make her nest, and lay, and
hatch, and gather under her shadow" (Isa. xxxiv.
14, 15).

The creatures here enumerated seem to correspond
to the Jinn of the Southern Semites. The primitive

^ Seirim shall dance there ; LXX : Aaifj-bvia iKel 6pxy]67](TovTai.
^ Wild cats of the desert sliall meet with tlie wolves ; LXX :
"Zwavr-ffffovcFL daifidfia ovoKevraijpoii (tailless apes. Aelian, Hist. Nat,).

16 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

sons of the desert are always moving as in an en-
chanted land. The fierce glare of the sun and the
unequal refraction of the atmosphere play strange
tricks with the vision of the traveller ; so that on the
horizon, the skulking denizens of the desert assume the
most paradoxical forms, even without the aid of the
imagination. Then, when the daylight dies, the beasts
of the wild come forth and the scene becomes a howl-
ing desert, where strange forms, in awful guise, flit
hither and thither, half-concealed and half-revealed ;
assailing the ear with dismal voices. By day or night
on the open waste, the wanderer or huntsman finds
himself confronted by beings superior to himself in
strength, agility, cunning, and keenness of vision.
These he invests with superhuman attributes as
objects of dread or veneration, to be vanquished by
spells or appeased by offerings. Hence the Jinn are
a numerous host ; corporeal, mutable at will, assuming
at times the human form, always retaining some
bestial trait. Shagginess is a frequent feature ; and
that is the special trait of the Seirim. The name is
variously applied to "goats" (Lev. iv. 24), "devils"
(Lev. xvii. 7), "satyrs" (Isa. xiii. 21). The term
readily includes such goat-like creatures {camcornia)
as the gazelle. The serpent, the ostrich, the wild cat,
the wolf, the jackal, and the gazelle, belong distinctly
to the Jinn of the Southern Semites.^

Lilith has features attaching her also to the Jinn,
though a Babylonian origin has been claimed for her.

^ W. R. Smith, BclUjion of the Semites, p. 121 il'.

Historic Demonologij 17

Sayce asserts that lil is the dust-storm, and the name
was applied to ghosts whose food was dust. When
the word was borrowed by the Semites, it became
lillum (masc), and lilatu (fern.). Lilatu was the hand-
maid of the lil, and soon came to be confounded with
the Semitic lilatu — the night. The latter was ulti-
mately identified with Lilat, the night-demon that
sucked the blood of her sleeping victims.^ But the
Babylonian extraction of Lilith is not thereby proven.
Her nearest counterpart is not the vampire, but the
ghul. The foregoing congeners of Lilith are dwellers
in the desert ; and in the Targum on Job i. 1 5 , Lilith
is the queen of Zemargad. Now Zemargad is Sheba.^
There seems no need to postulate exilic or post-exilic
influence to account for more than the name Lilith.
This creature belongs apparently to a far-off age.

B. The degraded gods

In picturesque language the prophets had long
carried on a vigorous polemic against the claims of
the heathen divinities. A few instances of this rich
vein of oriental scorn are subjoined. The gods are
derided as —

Lies ..... Amos ii. 4.
Breath .... Deut. xxxii. 21.

Xo-god .... Jer. xvi. 20.

^ Sayce, Hibhert Lectures, pp. 145, 146. Cf. Maspero, Datcn of
Civilisation, p. 632. The vampire is the dead of either sex, tliat leaves
the grave to suck the blood of the sleeper. Such is the 'aluqam (Dpi'?v)
ofProv. XXX. 15, otherwise the "horse-leech."

- The modern Yemen in South Arabia.

18 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Blocks .... Ezek. xx. 7.

Carcases .... Lev. xxvi. 30.

Emptiness .... 1 Sam. xii. 21.

Nothing . . . . Ps. xcvi. 5.

The stern logic of events had demonstrated at once
the utter hnpotence of the heathen gods as effective
agents in history, and the peerlessness of Jehovah as
Governor among the nations. The pretensions of
those deities were completely exposed, and their
worship in Israel was forthwith discountenanced. A
fatal blow was struck at their supremacy. They
became " lies," " emptiness," and " nothings." De-
prived thus of public recognition and support, they
sank to that vague position which the conventions of
the East assign to demonic creatures. But their
viability was not impaired. Over their pagan devo-
tees they were still supposed to exercise authority
(Judg. xi. 24). Yet for the true worshippers of
Jehovah they were practically non-existent. A pure
monotheism had transmuted them into an absolutely
negligible quantity. They were but impotent Shedim,
and mere nothings. In two passages this wholesale
reduction of heathen gods to the rank of demons is
set forth —

They sacrificed to Shedim, to no-god. Dent, xxxii. 17.
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to Shedim.
Ps. cvi. 37.

The name Shedim — once derived from the
Hebrew ni:;' — is now regarded as a Babylonian loan-
word— Shidu, a genius, good or evil ; represented by

Historic Dcmonology 19

the bull-colossus. This demonising of the heathen
gods has been ascribed to Babylonian influence. That
is surely a mistake ; for this process is the result of
the monotheistic principle which asserted that Jehovah
was the first and the last, and that beside Him there
was no God.

This reduction of the heathen divinities to the
rank of demons is unique in Israel in regard to
monotheism, which was its motive. But the relega-
tion of heathen gods to positions of dishonour is a
process which is always going forward. Polytheism
is essentially in a state of unstable equilibrium. Its
deities are constantly in a state of flux. The Indian
sage quaintly remarks that " many thousands of Indras
have passed away in course of time, in every age of
the world." Indeed, wars and revolutions have not
been more fateful to earthly potentates than to pagan
divinities ; while barbaric caprice and unlettered
philosophy have often caused them to shrivel up to
the dimensions of subaltern spirits. Thus, Baal and
Set, the gods of the Shepherd -Kings, became the
possessing spirits of the later Egyptians. The Vedic
Dsevas, originally the gods in heaven, are now the
demons of the Parsees. The Brahmanic deities of
the ancient Cingalese survive as the demons of
Buddhistic Ceylon. The classical divinities of Greece
and Eome were transmuted into the demons of
the early Christians. The gods of the old heathen
Arabs are counted among the Jinn of Islamic
Arabia.

20 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

C. A 2'>osscssing demon

It has been repeatedly asserted that " possession "
is unknown to the Old Testament. Keim declared it
" a modern disease among the Jews." That is virtu-
ally the opinion of Meyer also. But the case of Saul
is undoubtedly to be regarded as one of possession by
an evil spirit. The terms describing the mode of
action of this spirit are analogous to those which set
forth the action of the Holy Spirit upon man ; but
the effects produced are those attributed by the ethnic
creed to possessing spirits.

Of Saul it is said —

When the evil sj^irit of Elohim is upon Qy) thee. 1 Sam. xvi. 16.
The evil spirit of Elohim came ujjon (^x) Saul. 1 Sam. xviii. 10.
The evil spirit of Jahveh came upon (^j{) Saul. 1 Sam, xix. 9.

Of the Spirit of God it is said —

The spirit of Elohim came upon (^y) him. Num. xxiv. 2.
The spirit of Jahveh came upon (^y) him. Judg. iii. 10.
The spirit of Jahveh shall come upon (^y) thee. 1 Sam. x. 6.
The spirit of Elohim came upon (^y) Azariah. 2 Chron. xv. 1.
The spirit of Jahveh shall rest upon Cpy) him. Isa. xi. 2.

The evil spirit terrifies Saul (1 Sam. xvi. 14);
when it leaves him, he is well (1 Sam. xvi. 23);
when it returns, he is ill (1 Sam. xviii. 10); it causes
him to prophesy (rave) in his house (1 Sam. xviii. 10);
it incites him to murder (1 Sam. xix. 9, 10). The
nomenclature and the details of the narrative fully
confirm the opinion that Saul's illness was regarded
as demonic in nature.

Historic Demonology 21

DEMONOLOGY OF THE SEPTUAGINT

The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into
Greek was undertaken in Alexandria under Ptolemy
Philadelphus (284—246 B.C.), and completed some-
where about 150 B.C. The work is of very unequal
merit, and the translators manifest a freedom which
is variously traceable to prejudice, insight, or ignorance.
It shows that the demonising of the heathen gods was
still proceeding apace, as the following parallels indi-
cate : —

1. Ps. xcvi. (xcv.) 5 —

All the gods of the heathen are nothings.
All the gods of the heathen are demons.
TLavTes ol deal rav idvav ^aijxovia.

2. Isa. Ixv. 3

Burning incense upon bricks.

They burn incense upon bricks (to demons that are not).

QvfllUKTLV €771 TOIS TrXivdoiS Tols SailXOVlOlS ii OVK iOTLV.

3. Isa. Ixv. 11 —

Ye are they that prepare a table for Fortune.
Preparing also a table for the demon.
'Eroi/xafoi're? tS Sat/xoi'ico rpuTre^av.

4. Ps. xci. (xc.) 6

For the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
For mischance and the demon of noonday.
'Atto (TviiTTTutixaTos Koi 8aiixov[ov fiea-qjx^pivov.

The demon of noonday is a novel figure which can
hardly owe its origin to a flaw in the Hebrew text.^
The adjacent discrepancies of the Septuagiut lead to
the belief that the translation is here very free. Tlie

1 nen for nit".

22 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

idea that demons devote their attention to certain
portions of the day is an ethnic one. Theocritus, who
visited Alexandria shortly before the translation of
the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, warns the shepherd
against playing on his pipe at noon, lest he disturb
the noonday rest of Pan.^ The same thought recurs
in the literature of the Babylonians, the Persians, and
other peoples.

DEMONOLOGY OF THE APOCRYPHAL AND APOCALYPTIC
BOOKS

The iconoclasm which transformed the gods into
demons still continues here. In the Book of Enoch
reference is made to those who " worship foul spiidts
and demons " (xcix.) ; the angels being charged as
they that led men thus astray (xix.). In the Sibylline
Oracles, it is written : Ye shall have the reward of
your evil council ; because, neglecting the true and
everlasting God, ye have made your sacrifices to the
demons in Hades (Proem 19—22). Eome is censured
for worshipping " soulless demons, ghosts of tlie de-
parted dead " (viii. 47). Demons are also said to
have blood poured out to them (viii. 38G), and are
again scorned as " dead" (viii. 393). In the Book of
Baruch mention is made of sacrificing to demons and
not to God (iv. 7).

The story of the fallen Bene-Elohim of Gen. vi. 2,
was greatly exploited in later times, and a doctrine of
1 IdyUs, i. 15-18.

Historic Demonology 23

demons was attached to it. According to the Book
of Enoch, the giants produced " from spirit and flesh
will be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on earth
will be their habitation. Evil spirits proceed from
their bodies because they are created from above ; from
the Heavenly Watchers is their beginning and primal
origin. They will be evil spirits upon the earth, and
evil spirits will they be named. And the spirits of
the giants will devour, oppress, attack, do battle, cause
destruction on earth, and work affliction. They will
rise up against the children of men and against the
women (xv., xvi.)."

In the Book of Jubilees, demons are said to arise
from the fallen angels. They harass and deceive the
sons of Noah ; whereupon the patriarch prays, and the
good angels bind them. But Mastemah, their chief,
entreated that some of them might be left to do his
will. So one tenth were left ; but the remainder
were reserved for judgment. These demons intro-
duced diseases, which the good angels taught Noah
how to combat by the use of medicine and herbs.
God rules over Israel to the good of the nation ; but
angels and demons lord it over the Gentiles with

O

disastrous results (v. x.).

In the Testimony of the Twelve Patriarchs, man is
said to have received seven spirits — life, sight, hear-
ing, smell, speech, taste, procreation. With these
Beliar has mingled spirits of error — fornication, greed,
pugnacity, flattery, arrogance, falseliood, injustice
(Reub. 2, 3). Spirits of error, spirits of fornification

24 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

and pride, are also mentioned (Dan. 5). These are,
however, personifications rather than specific entities.

In the Book of Tobit, Sarah the daughter of Eaguel
is beloved of a jealous demon (vi. 15), who has killed
her seven husbands in the bridal chamber (iii. 8).
This demon is not a danger to Sarah personally, but to
the newly-wedded husbands. His name, Asmodffius, is
not derivable from the Hebrew not', to destroy ; though
Shamdon is found in the Talmud. He is the ^shma-
Dffiva of the Zend-Avesta. According to Darmesteter,
the dsevas by an accident of language became demons.^
According to the same authority, ^shma-Dseva be-
longs to the group of the storm demons — the Drvants,
Dvarants, Dregvants — " the running ones." ^ The
leader of the onset is iEshma — "the raving "^ — "the
fiend of the wounding spear." At first ^shma was
a mere epithet of the storm fiend, but afterwards be-
came an abstract, viz, the demon of rage and anger;
finally, an expression for all moral wickedness, a mere
name of Ahriman. Windischmann, Fritzsche, and
others translate the name as " covetous," " lustful."
Fuller has taken the attribute as Babylonian ; though
the name be Persian. There are certain features
answering to the description of the Babylonian
spirits —

Wife tliey have not, son they know not.
Prayer and supplication hear they not.

They snatch the wife from the husband's embrace,
They drive the man from the bridal chamber.

1 Zend-Avesta, vol. i. Ixxx. - Ihid. vol. i. Ixvii.

Historic Dcmonology 25

But such traits are not the monopoly of the Baby-
lonian spirits. An incident of a similar nature, tacitly
demonic, befalls Zoroaster.^ Indeed, the demon-lover
is frequently encountered in the study of anthropology.
Accepting Asmodseus as undoubtedly of Persian origin,
it is, nevertheless, impossible to accept the view of
Kohut, who sees in this demon a triple combination of
Persian attributes —

Angro-Mainyu, the death-angel.
Akom-mano or evil concupiscence.
Azi-Dahaka, the triple-headed serpent.

That produces a monster of deadliness, passion, and
craft which is without parallel elsewhere, and enor-
mously in excess of the simple remedies employed
under the direction of the angel Eaphael, for getting
rid of Asmodseus — the heart and liver of the magic fish
on embers of ashes (Tob. vi. 16, viii. 2).

RABBINIC DEMONOLOGY^

The Ptabbis had one comprehensive category for
the powers of evil — the Mazziqin or Hurtful Ones.
Supreme over all was Satan-Sammael, " the augel, the
offender, the head of all the satans" (Debar, Pi. C. 11).
These Mazziqin consisted of two sections : one com-
posed of purely spiritual beings, the other of half-
spirits (halbgeister). The latter are variously desig-
nated as Shedim, Seirim, Euchin, Piuchoth, and Lilin.

^ Zend-Avesta, vol. ii. p. 195.

- Appendix A, Rabbinic Literature.

26 Demonic Possession in the Ne%o Testament

The doctrine of demons is highly developed, and lays
claim to direct verification. The following is the
elegant preparation for opening the eyes : — •

Whosoever desires to see the demons, let him take
the after-birth of a black cat which is also the daughter
of a black cat, both being firstborn. Let him burn
it in the fire ; then powder it. Seal the powder in
an iron tube with an iron signet ; then fill the eyes
with it (Ber. 6a). It is said that Eabbi Bibi per-
formed this experiment with complete success ; but
was hurt by the demons. He was, however, restored
to health by the intercession of the Eabbis. Such an
adventurous stance, with this ingenious eye salve, ought
to carry conviction regarding the truth of the Eab-
binic doctrine of demons to the minds of the most
sceptical.

Origin. — That is variously reported. Thus, the
demons w^ere created on the eve of the first Sabbath
(Pes. 54a). Their souls were ready; but the Sabbath
drew on before their bodies were prepared. Creation
was ended, and thus they remained (Pirqe Abh. 12&;
Ber. E. 7). Again, they are the progeny of Adam
and Eve, during the one hundred and thirty years
which elapsed before the birth of Seth. The demons
are the offspring of Adam on the one hand, with
Lilith or the Lilin ; or of Eve on the other, with the
Shedim (Erub. 18& ; Ber. E. 20). Another account
derives them from that section of the race which was
scattered abroad at the building of the tower of Babel,
At " the time of scattering," those who said, We will

Historic Demonology 27

ascend into heaven, were transformed into Shedim,
Euchiu, Lilin, and monkeys" (Sanh. 109a; Yalkut
Shim. Ber. 62). Some are derived from a male
hyena, which in successive periods of seven years be-
comes a bat, a vampire, a nettle (thistle), a thorn, a
demon (Baba Kamma 16a). Demons are also said
to arise from the backbone of him who has not
bent in worship (Baba Kamma 16a; Jer. Shab. 36).
Being male and female, they propagate their kind.
Mention is made of the son of a Shed (Chag. 16a).
Ahriman is the son of Lilith (Baba Bathra 73a).
Demons may be the souls of the wicked dead (Yalkut
Shim. Is. 46& ; Jos. B. J. vii. vi. 3).^

Numlcrs. — The whole world is full of the Mazziqin
(Tanch. Mish. 19). Lilith, the queen of female
demons, roams about with eighteen myriads in her
train (Pes. 1125). Abba Benjamin says that if our
eyes were permitted to see the malignant spirits that
beset us, we could not rest on account of them. E.
Hunna mentions one thousand at the left hand, ten
thousand at the right.^ Shedim swarm round brides ;
and in the Academies they cause crowding and the
feeling of weariness in the knees of the Kabbis ; ^
even wearing out the clothes of the sages by hustling

^ Joseplius here contradicts one of the tenets of his own sect ; as
he elsewhere asserts that the Pharisees held that "souls have an im-
mortal vigour in them, and that iinder the earth there will be rewards
or punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or viciously
in this life ; and the latter are to be retained in an everlasting prison "
{Ant. xviii. i. 3 ; cf. B. J. Ii. viii. 14).

^ Cf. Ps. xci. 7. ^ Bruising of the legs ?

28 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

against them (Ber. 6«). Three hundred species of
male demons are mentioned in Gittin 68a.

Forms. — Their appearance is mostly human ; but
they assume other forms at will. Their reflection,
however, is different from that of a man. Those
associated with dirty places are themselves black
(Kidd. 72a). Those that dwell in the caper bushes
are blind (Pes. 111&). In three things they resemble
angels — they possess wings, they can fly from one end
of the earth to the other, they know the future by
listening behind the veil of the Upper Sanctuary. In
three things they are like men — they eat and drink,
they produce their kind, they are subject to death
(Chag, 16a). Demons have the feet of fowls, and by
strewing the floor with fine ashes, their gallinaceous
footprints may be discovered (Ber. 6a; Gittin 68&).
Lilith is sometimes represented as a fair woman, but
mostly covered with luxuriant hair (Nidd. 24& ; Erub.
100&). A demon appeared in the school of Abaji, a
dangerous seven-headed monster, injuring the men in
pairs, even in the daytime. Some demons have round
their faces a covering like asses driving a mill (Tanch,
Mish. 19). When conjured up, the Shedim appear
with head or feet uppermost, according to the mode of
conjuring.

Haunts. — Demons infest all places. The atmo-
sphere is charged with them. They invade the Upper
Sanctuary itself. Abaji says that they surround us as
earthed-up soil in garden beds. They are thus at the
elbows of the living everywhere. They lurk in

Historic Demonology 29

crumbs on the floor, and rest on the surface of
drinking water, and on oil in vessels. They are set
over all even numbers, and care must therefore be
taken not to drink an even number of cups (Ber. 51Z>).
They are found on hands that remain unwashen for
religious purposes, and on water that has been thus
used. The blind prefer caper bushes for their abode.
These things annoy demons — tin^ning in between a
wall and a date-palm or between two date-palms,
drinking borrowed water, or stepping across spilt
water (Pes. Ilia). Shadows cast by the moon,
certain trees, and other objects may be the lurking
place of demons. The places of uncleanness are highly
congenial to them. Graveyards are their favourite
resorts (Nidd. 17a; Chag. 3, 6). When a man spends
a night there, a demon may descend upon him.
" The searcher after the dead " remained fasting on a
grave to get into touch with an unclean spirit.^ Euins
should not be entered on account of these foes
(Ber. 3a). Euined baths are their beloved haunts.
There they may cause injury in the daytime, even in
the presence of two men (Kidd. 3"9&). One ought not
to sleep in a house alone, for fear of Lilith (Shab. 1516).
Demons invade the Academies. Samaria and Tiberias
had their local Shedim.^ The desert is, however, their
special home (Ber. 3a). There one may hear them
howl (Jer. Targ. I. Deut. xxxii. 10). They may be
connected with certain animals, such as the mad dog ;

1 Cf. Isa. Ixv. 4.

- The latter was built on the site of an old burying-grouud.

30 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

apparently also with the fly of Egypt, the wasp of
Nineveh, the scorpion of Hadabiah, the serpent of the
land of Israel (Shab. 121&). The stubborn ass and
the bull from the cane-brake are likewise associated
with demons. In the case of the latter, one is warned
not to face the bull ; for a satan sports between his
horns (Pes. 112&).

Times of activity. — The demons form themselves
into bands (Ber. 51«), "the society of the angels of
destruction." According to the same passage, a whole
legion lies in wait for a person to fall into their hands,
on the commission of some fault. Their action is thus
a kind of obsession which may readily pass into posses-
sion. The demons have been arranged in four classes,
according to the divisions of the day —

Tsaphririn or morning spirits (Targ. Ps. cxxi. 16 ;
Targ. Cant. iv. 6).

Tiharin or midday spirits (Targ. Ps. Jon. Deut.
xxxii. 24 ; Targ. Cant. iv. 6).

Telanin or evening spirits (Targ. Cant. iii. 8, iv. 6 ;
Targ. Eccles. ii. 5).

Lilin or night spirits (Targ. Ps. Jon. Deut. xxxii.
34 ; Targ. Is. xxxiv. 14).

The morning and evening spirits seem least baleful.
The midday demons start at noon to destroy (Targ.
2 Chron. xi. 15 ; Ps. xci. 7). The Lilin are the most
malignant. On account of them it is particularly
dangerous to drink water on the eve of Wednesday or
the Sabbath. To do so is to have one's blood on one's
own head. Similarly, the night-traveller has to brave

Historic Demonoloyy 31

great perils on these occasions also (Pes. 112a Z>).
This is said to have been due to the imprudent
generosity of Eabbi Chanina, who had once been
threatened with serious harm by Agrath, the daughter
of Machloth. He escaped, because his greatness was
known in heaven ; and he would have imposed his
majesty on the demoness by banning her from all in-
habited places. In the end, however, he gave her
liberty for the occasions mentioned. The Lilin are
specially deadly to children who venture out of the
house during the hours of darkness. Even for adults
the night was reckoned most unsafe without a torch ;
though moonlight was far safer. Under cover of
darkness, demons surround the house and injure those
that fall into their hands. The risk of going out to
unclean places was enormous (Shab. 67ft; Ber. oah,
62«). A company of tw^o generally escaped the
danger, but not always (Kidd. 39&). Before three
persons the Shed did not even venture to appear
(Ber. 43&). No one should greet a person in the
dark, as he might unwittingly wish a demon God-
speed (Sanh. 44a). Shabriri was always a menace to
those who drank water by night. Unless special pre-
cautions were taken, such individuals rushed into the
danger of death. At cock-crow, the power of the
demons of the night comes to an end, and they return
to their places (Ber. E. 36).

Powers. — These have been in part adverted to ; but
others remain which are peculiar and varied. Demons
have the gift of speech ; and Eabbi Ben Zacchai knew

32 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

their language as well as that of the angels (Succah
28a). They know the future and the past, so that
they may be consulted in both respects ; but questions
about lost property had better not be directed to them
on the Sabbath (Sanh. 101a). Accidents, such as
an encounter wdth a bull, are traceable to tliem.
Chamath, the demon of oil, causes eruptions on the
face ; Cardicus (Cardiacus) is a demon that rules over
those who take too much w^ine ; also causing headache
(Gittin 11 h). Asinam causes the birth of epileptic
children on Sabbath night. Asmodaeus tempted
Noah, saying to the planter of the vine, Let me
partake with thee.^ Shabriri smites with blindness
at night. Bath-Chorin is a demoness of sickness,
resting on the hands at night. Disease in general is
caused by demons. Sick women, at and after child-
birth ; also brides, bridegrooms, mourners, and the
pupils of the Eabbis, are specially obnoxious to the
demons of darkness (Ber. 546). To demons are
ascribed leprosy (Horayoth 10a), rabies (Yoma 83&),
croup (Yoma lib; Taanith 2 0&), asthma (Bekhoroth
446), cardiac disease (Gittin 676). Nervous diseases
are the speciality of evil demons ; such as epilepsy
(Shab. Bab, 67a; Jos. Ant. vi. viii. 2, viii. ii. 5).
Eambanus says that the Jews held that all kinds of
melancholy were due to an evil spirit.^ Bodily dis-
tortions and mental distractions were thus produced.^
Shibta causes convulsive ailments among children,

^ Lightfoot, Horce Hchraiccc. Sec on Luke xi. 15, xiii. 14 ; Matt,
xviii. 15.

Historic Demonology 33

specially at night. Possessing spirits are always
busy. Among the humbler functions of the Shedim
was the sending of evil dreams (Ber. 556), or com-
pelling a man to go beyond the Sabbath boundary
(Erub. 41&), or inducing one to eat the passover-
bread (Rosh-ha-Shanah 28a), or causing a religious
crank to afflict himself with fasting (Bab. Taanith
22&).

Restrictions. — Life would be intolerable if the
demons had all their own way. But, like Satan-
Sammael, they are under strict limitations. They are
" half-spirits " ; and are therefore possessed of a semi-
sensuous or psycho-sarcous constitution. This imposes
upon them many restrictions. They require susten-
ance ; and that they find in certain essences, or in the
elements of fire and water. Wine is a great abomina-
tion to them as to Ashmedai, their chief. Pungent
odours or loathsome smells are equally detested by
them. The blind may suffer death by misadventure.
One such pursued a Eabbi ; but tripped over a root
and was killed (Pes. 11 1&). In any case, all of them
are mortal. They are said to be unable to create any-
thing. They can produce nothing, save their own
kind. They have no power over what has been
measured or sealed or tied up (Chullin 105Z»).
According to their divisions, their activities are con-
fined to the hours, the days, and the environments
noted. On the evening of the Passover, they are
bound (Pes. 1095-112&). The loss of the divine
image has rendered man subject to those agents of
3

34 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

mischief and destruction. Originally he was immune
from such attacks (Ber. E. 23).

Management. — By human agency, further curtail-
ments of the powers of demons become possible.
Torchlight by night, washing of hands, ablutions
against Shibta, phylacteries, and amulets, are all pro-
tective. The last might or might not contain a verse
of Scripture, but magic formula} instead, the worth of
which seems to have been inversely proportional to
their rationality. Along with these had to be in-
serted the names and numbers of the demons aimed
at. To ward off danger anticipated from drinking
water on the eve of Wednesday or the Sabbath, it
was enough to repeat the formula : Lul, Shaphan,
Anigron, Anirdaphin, — between the stars I sit, be-
tween the fat and the lean I walk (Pes. 112&). If
alone by night and compelled to drink, one might
scare away Shabriri thus. The person struck with
tlie lid of the jug into the jug, saying : Thou N. the
son of N., thy mother has warned thee and said :
Beware of Shabriri, Beriri, Piiri, Iri, Ki, who is in the
white cups (Abod. Zara 12&). According to Eashi,
the demon gets weaker as each syllable of his name
is dropped, and at last he flees in terror. But some-
times the drinking of water was reckoned too danger-
ous to be attempted at all. To neutralise the danger
arising from having to step over spilt water, it was
necessary to spit on the water or to take the shoes
off (Pes. Ilia). The application of rouge removed
" The Princess," a demoness injurious to the eyes

Historic Bemonology 35

(Shab. 109a). The covenant salt (Lev. ii. 13 ; Num.
xviii. 19), eaten and drunk at every meal, has great
defensive virtue (Ber. 40 a). Circumcision was ap-
parently held in much esteem (Origen, C. C. v. 48).
The keeping of certain ordinances, such as the Feast
of Tabernacles, was likewise deemed useful (Pesiqta
187a). To jump four cubits, or to repeat the Shema :
" Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," was
reckoned potent against evil spirits. If the place
were not fit for repetition, then a person might
mutter: The goat at the butcher's is fatter than I
(Sanh. 94a). The demon of foul places had this
hurled at him : On the head of the lion and on the
nose of the lioness, I found the demon, Bar-Shiriqa
Panda. I cast him into a bed of cresses and beat
him with the jawbone of an ass (Shab. 67a). Among
the more laudable means of managing demons was
the simple recitation of passages of Scripture, such as
Ps. xci., before falling asleep ; or Ps. xxix. 3-9", con-
taining the " qol " or voice, seven times. Prayer also
takes high rank among agencies, prophylactic and
remedial. By this means, Eabbi Acha was more than
a match for the seven-headed monster which infested
the school of Abaji ; the seven heads dropping off
with the lowly genuflections of the Piabbi (Kidd. 29Z/).
The pronunciation of the Aaronic blessing by the
priest affords defence. The keeping is done by the
guardian angels whom God assigns to the faithful.
So long as the angel calls to the Mazziqin, " Give
honour to the image of the Holy One," man remains

36 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

in peace ; but when he is silent, man is injured
(Tanch. Mish. 19). Mention is often made of sacri-
fices to demons (Targ. Onk. Lev. xvii. 7). All the
Shedim may be vanquished by the Ineffable Name
(Ber. 5a). The management of the possessing demons
receives separate treatment.

Redeeming features. — While most of the demons
were said to be hostile to man, some were believed
to be harmless or even helpful. These constitute the
class of the good demons, whose existence added to
the glory of God. Some of them were learned in the
Law and were even tutors of the Eabbis ; such as
the Shed, Joseph (Pes. 110«), and the Shed, Jonathan
(Yeb. 122a). Eabbi Papa had a young Shed to wait
on him (ChuUin 105&). Demons might at times be
eminently reasonable. Thus, the prince of demons
once detected a Eabbi distributing alms at night.
This was a manifest infringement of the demon's
nocturnal rights, and the latter aptly quoted the
words. Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's laud-
mark. With equal wit and courtesy the Eabbi
replied, A gift in secret pacifieth anger. Thereupon
the demon fled (Ber. Peah viii. 9). To conjure up
and to make use of demons, even on the Sabbath, was
considered legitimate, but dangerous ; unless ample
precautions were taken (Sanh. 65a &). Any latent
danger might be warded off by wily conjurors who
knew how to render their demons innocuous (Sanh.
67&; Pes. 110&). Still, several accidents did happen.
R. Isaac had a parlous experience with a wrathful

Historic Dcmonology 37

demon. He was saved only by a cedar tree thought-
fully opening of its own accord to receive him ; then
bursting again to set him free when the danger was
over (Sanh. 101«). Death is said to have overtaken
certain operators ; but that supposes contributory
negligence. The Egyptian magicians, by demonic help,
withstood Moses. In the same way, all that the
prophets and great men of the past had done might
be repeated or simulated (Shemoth E. 9).^ Demons
might be summoned even for the cure of disease.
The following is an euphemistic appeal to them as
angels : " Baz, Bazijah, Mas, Masijah, Kas, Kasijah,
Sharlai, and Amarlai, ye angels that come from Sodom
to heal painful boils ! Let the colour not become
more red ! Let it not further spread ! Let its seed
be absorbed in the belly ! As a mule does not pro-
pagate itself ; so let not this evil propagate itself in
the body of M., the son of M." (Shab. Q7a) !

The Asmodseus of the Book of Tobit is a surly,
malignant being ; but the Ashmedai of Solomon is
a jolly, humane, obliging, and astute demon ; though
crafty and unreliable. Solomon had some instructive
adventures with him. When the king was about to
build the Temple, as iron tools were forbidden, the
king sought the services of the worm, Shamir, which
was mighty in the cutting of stones. The worm was
not at hand ; and for its discovery, Solomon, at the
advice of the Sanhedrim, conjured up a male and female
demon. Though tortured, these Shedim could only
1 Cf. Rev. xvi. 14.

38 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

refer the king to Ashmedai, their prince. He was
then lodging at the bottom of a deep well, on the
top of a high mountain. On leaving his lair in the
morning, Ashmedai sealed the mouth of the cistern
against his return. Solomon sent Benaiali, armed
with his own signet-ring bearing the Ineffable Name ;
also a heavy iron chain, with some skins of wine and
other accessories. Benaiah, arriving at his destina-
tion, set artfully to work ; drained the well from
beneath without touching the seal of Ashmedai;
and introduced the wine instead of the water. The
prince of demons returned from heaven, whither he
went daily to hear the decrees of the Upper San-
hedrim ; examined the seal, which he found unbroken ;
and descended the cistern to quench his thirst. He
was surprised to find wine instead of water ; but
though detesting it, the drouthy demon imbibed too
freely and fell asleep. Benaiah now promptly
emerged from his ambush close at hand, and secured
" The Prince " when " drunk and incapable." Ash-
medai was thereafter led away captive to Solomon ;
but on the journey contrived to do several kind
things. He hailed a blind man and put him on the
right way ; because he had heard in heaven that he
was perfectly righteous, and whoso helped him, would
attain to the life to come. He did the same for a
drunken man ; though he knew that he was a
thorough villain. But he oblis-ed him that the
scoundrel might not lose all o-ood in this world.
Ashmedai beheld a wedding procession and wept over

Historic Dcmonology 39

it ; for he knew that in thirty days the bridegroom
would die, and the bride would have to wait thirteen
years (to marry an infant brother). He laughed at
the man who ordered a pair of shoes to last him
seven years ; for he knew that he had but seven days
to live. He uttered shrieks of scorn at a juggler ; for
with all his tricks he did not know that a king's
ransom was beneath his feet. After his arrival,
Solomon learned that the worm Shamir was in charge
of the moor-cock,^ to which it had been entrusted by
the prince of the sea. The nest of this fowl was soon
found ; and over it was put a glass shade, so that
the bird saw its young but could not come at them.
Thereupon the moor-cock ran off to fetch Shamir to
cleave the glass. On its return with the same, the
messengers of Solomon shouted, when Naggar Tura
dropped the worm, which was instantly carried off by
the envoys of the king. But the moor-cock, unable
to restore the worm to the prince of the sea, went
and strangled himself. Ashmedai was long kept in
custody, and the Temple was built by the aid of
Shamir. But " The Prince " avenged himself on
Solomon ; securing his seal with the Ineffable Name,
then swallowing him alive, and afterwards belching
him forth, four hundred miles away. Ashmedai now
reigned in his stead, and Solomon wandered about as
a beggar. He came at last to the house of the
Sanhedrim, where he went on repeating the words :

1 The moor-cock, Taniegol Eera (Targ. Ps. 1. 11), is otlienvise
Naggar Tura, tlie "mountain-splitter."

40 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testayncnt

I, the preacher, was kmg in Jerusalem. Suspicion
now fell upon Ashmedai, who was still masquerading
in the palace under the guise of Solomon. The floor
was then strewn with fine ashes to discover the traces
of the demon's feet ; but the wily Ashmedai frustrated
these designs by wearing socks over his cock's toes.
The signet-ring was at length found again ; having
been swallowed by a fish. The demon was now
deforced in turn, by the might of the Ineffable
Name, vanishing into thin air (Gittin 68«&). It is
said that after these escapades, Solomon was afraid
of the demons, and had his couch surrounded by
" threescore valiant men " (Cant. iii. 7,8). Prior to
those events, he had such power over the demons
that at his bidding, they danced before him (II Targ.
ii. 1, 3 ; Pesiqta 456V

ETHNIC PARALLELS

Ethnic parallels to Jewish demonology are easily
obtained from the huge mass of material now available.
A limited selection only is offered. The position of
Philo is not remote from that of Herbert Spencer.
The former remarks that " souls, demons, and angels
differ indeed in name ; but by conceiving the under-
lying element as one and the same, you will get rid of

^ The story here rests on a eonfusion of two similar Hebrew letters
in Eccles. ii. 8 —

Men-singers, nnr. Women-singers, nrw.

Male demons, mt". Female demons, nnf.

Historic Demonology 41

a heavy burden, — superstition." ^ The latter asserts
that the meaning of " ghost, spirit, demon, angel," was
originally the same.^ Neither statement merits un-
reserved acceptance ; yet in a wide general sense
appropriate to the cosmic standpoint of anthropology,
the element of truth here present facilitates the pro-
duction of ethnic parallels.

Eabbinic demonology is not at all alone in its claim
to direct verification. The seeing of spirits is often
claimed by professional men among the Australians,
Karens, Zulus, Greenlanders, Indians, and others too
numerous to mention. Certain fastings and vigils, or
similar performances, are among the commoner methods
of glimpsing spirits ; but these processes are very tame
compared with the Eabbinic recipe already described.

Origin. — The creation of demons by Angro-Mainyu
is the nearest approach to the alleged creation of
demons by God. The Eabbinic idea of alliances,
human and demonic, has numerous analogues. The
Zend-Avesta speaks, perhaps pictorially, of the female
Druj with her four earthly paramours. The Tantric
ritual professes to provide a ghostly mistress for the
infamous Vamacharis of India. The Cabalists of the
Middle Ages thought it possible and desirable to marry
their sylphs. The natives of Lapland, New Zealand,
and the Samoan Islands, ascribe monstrous births to
such lawless unions. Classical mythology is full of the
comminglings of the divine and the earthborn ; thus
corresponding to the tale of the love of the " sons of

^ De Gigantibiis. " Sociology, i. p. 261.

42 Dcvionic Possession in the Neio Testament

God " for the daughters of men.^ The transformation
of human being-s into demonic animals receives ex-
\^' tensive credit among the races of the lower culture.

^^ The legend of the were-wolf, with its local variants, is

world-wide. In Arabia, certain tribes of the Hadra-
maut are believed to be thus transfigured in times of
drought. In Abyssinia, blacksmiths and potters are
supposed to become hyenas. In India, wizards may
change into tigers ; one such being caught and deprived
of his fangs to render him harmless. In almost
all lands, the idea that demons may be the souls
of the wicked dead, finds acceptance. The orthodox
Chinaman of to-day is entirely at one with Josephus
in his definition of a demon. In India, suicide is a
recognised mode of becoming an evil spirit, in pursuit
of ghostly vengeance. Drowning has the preference
to poisoning. The unfortunate, tlie destitute, the
victims of repulsive diseases, or of violent death ;
likewise the unburied, are popularly suspected of drift-
ing into the ranks of evil spirits. It is not surpris-
ing, therefore, to find that a British officer mortally
wounded at Travancore, and a notorious criminal
hanged at Trichinopoly, equally arrived at the dignity
of demonic state.

^ The legend of the Bene-Eloliini, in the Book of Enoch and the
Book of the Secrets of Euocli, connects itself with Mount Hermon.
That locality seems to have been the first point of contact between the
Hivite aborigines of Kadesh (daughters of men ?) and the tall, hand-
some, blue -eyed, light -haired, and pale -skinned Amorites (Bene-
Elohim ?). For the home of the formei-, see Josh. xi. 3 ; Judg. iii. 3 ;
2 Sam. xxiv. 7. The affinities of the latter are with the Cro-Magnon
race of France.

Historic Demonology 43

Numbers. — Having regard to the manner in whicli
ethnic spirits originate, it is clear that their numbers
are constantly on the increase. The Arabs so thickly
people the desert with their Jinn that they apologise
to them, on throwing anything away ; lest they should
hit some of them. So when pouring water on the
ground, or entering a bath, or letting a bucket down
into a well, or entering the place of uncleanness, a
well-bred son of the desert will say. Permission, ye
blessed ! The modern Parsee knows that round the
dakhmas where the dead are exposed to vultures,
demons, male and female, hover in fifties, hundreds,
thousands, and myriads. The Puegians seem to be
constantly exhaling the demons of the air. The
heretical Messalians religiously spat them out. So
the Jewish allocation of one thousand to the left
hand, and a myriad to the right, is not prodigiously
extravagant.

Forms. — Demons may be anthropomorphic ; but
may change their shape as need or whim directs. The
Vedic Yatus and the Greek Empous?e are typical in
this respect ; as also the Arabian Jinn. The spirits
of Milton answer the ethnic ideal —

As they please,
They limb themselves, and colour, shape, or size
Assume, as likes them best, condense or rare.

The grotesque form of the Eabbinic demons with
their cock's feet, finds its nearest homologue in the
genii of the house of Allat in the under-world. The

44 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Chaldsean genius of the South-West Wind bears off the
palm for monstrosity ; with its shrivelled face, its
goat's horns, its scorpion's tail, its four wings, and its
arms ending in talons. The Druj Nasu of the Zend-
Avesta, which rushes from the regions of the North
(hell) to take possession of the corpse in the name of
Angro-Mainyu, when expelled from the body of the
dead, assumes the form of a raging fly, " with knees
and tail sticking out, all stained with stains." The
Arabs know of demons disguised as dogs, cats, jackals,
lions, scorpions, wolves, or having human or promis-
cuous shape. Of these some possess the power of
flight ; all apparently have the capacity of appearing
or disappearing at will. The ghul is practically the
counterpart of Lilith ; a creature of night and dark-
ness ; wandering abroad to decoy and devour her lone
human victims. The Paris of the Zend-Avesta are
analogous to the Liliu ; and Azi-Dahaka corresponds
in some ways to the many-headed monster which in-
vaded the school of Abaji ; " being three-headed, six-
eyed, with a thousand powers, and mighty strength,
a male demon of the Dtevas, made by Angro-Mainyu,
a most mighty Druj (Yasna ix. 8)."

Haunts. — Where the Jews contemplated the resting
of demons on articles of food and drink, they find
sympathisers in the Bulgarians who fumigate their
flour fresh from the mill, and in the Greenlanders
who dread the spirit of strange waters. The Arabs
believe in Jinn haunting " baths, wells, latrines, ovens,
ruined houses, market-places, the junctions of roads,

Historic Dcmonology 45

the sea, and rivers " ; also burial-grounds, sequestered
spots, and human habitations. Eabbinic doctrine
hints at an elemental origin for many of its spirits,
by assigning them trees and fountains for their abodes.
In this respect they are akin to other peoples ; such
as the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Indians, and many
tribes of the Dark Continent. The genii of the
Babylonians swarmed everywhere ; creeping under the
door, filling every nook and corner, from floor to
roof-tree ; hiding in lonely places ; lurking behind
walls and hedges ; or roosting among trees. The
association of demons with the places of impurity or
of interment, is characteristic of a certain stage of
culture. Where Jews and Babylonians believed in
the howling of the Shedim of the wilderness, the
modern Arab, Hindoo, and Chinaman hear the voices
of evil demons in the weird sounds of the night.
Even the Finnlander still listens for the call of spirits
in his native forests.

Times of activity. — Special demons have their special
times for business ; but the degree of their organisa-
tion is often a matter of pious imagination. The
Chaldteans believed in organised bands of them acting
at set intervals ; and the Parsees have a similar notion.
Superstitious peoples so multiply their numbers that
no part of the day or of the night is void of their
visitations. The surprises and ambushes of evil
demons are thus constantly to be feared ; and count-
less expedients are devised in the form of charms,
incantations, and such things, to fray them away.

46 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Night is everywhere regarded as the appropriate
season of demonic revelries. The neglected double
of the ancient Egyptian went forth under cover of
the darkness to prowl among the living, to terrify
them by sudden apparitions, or to smite them with
headache and madness. It were needless to multiply
instances in proof of the popular belief that night
is most congenial to the powers of evil. Equally
common is the idea that the dawn scares them away.
The Jew could appreciate the sentiment of the Zend-
Avesta : The cock is the drum of the world, that crows
in the dawn which dazzles away the fiends. That
thought recurs in our Border Ballads.

Powers. — These have been partly noticed ; but the
following examples may be added. Demons have
always been credited with foreknowledge, and there-
fore oracles have usually been sought from them.
Their evil disposition has earned for them the repu-
tation of causing accidents and diseases. Tlie ancient
Egyptians divided the body into thirty-six regions,
with an equal number of demons associated with
them. The traces of demonic action were sought in
the several organs. The Babylonians believed that
the inhalation or swallowing of stray demons was the
cause of disease. The Parsee knows that Angro-
Mainyu has one hundred thousand diseases, less one,
wherewith to vex mankind {Zend-Avesta, Farg. xxiir.
iii. 15). The Burman refers his fever to the demon
of the jungle ; the Arab, his insanity or epilepsy, to
the Jinn ; the New Zealander, his headache, to Tonga.

Historic Bcmonology 47

Evil dreams and nightmares are by general consent of
the savage or his more cultured congener, accounted
the work of hateful demons. The Neo - Platonic
philosophy referred ritual excesses or mistakes to
demonic influences.

Restrictions. — Life would be a burden, were not
limits set to the action of demons. But uncultured
man is fertile in his inventions against these foes.
The semi-sensuous constitution of those creatures is
\ in itself a restraining power. The Egyptian double,
in default of better diet, might be forced to take to
stable refuse ; and the Babylonian demon might some-
times be driven to contend with dogs over offal.
The Zoroastrian demons " take food and void filth."
The Chinese spirits stand in need of the good things
of their former existence ; and are therefore supplied
with mock -houses, mock -clothes, mock -money, and
other mock-comforts. The huntsman of the Brazilian
forests knows of some that are lame ; and the China-
man knows of others that are lame, and blind, and
headless. The idea of a " second death " ranges among
peoples whose intellectual limits are represented, on
the one hand by the Fiji Islanders ; and on the other,
by the Neo-Blatonists.'^ Plutarch relates what he
believed to be an authentic instance of the death of
a demon. He recounts with poetic emotion the
" passing " of Pan, as announced by a voice and con-
firmed by lamentations, in the hearing of the voyagers,

^ Plutarch gives a peculiar interpretation to the "second death,"
in his essay on "The Face in the Moon " (xvii, xxviii.).

48 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

abreast of Palodes. The mortality of this order of
beings was also a tenet of the Stoics.

Management. — Where earthly relatives have ne-
glected the soul of the departed, demonic annoyances
may be expected by way of asserting spiritual rights.
The remedy is the immediate satisfaction of out-
standing claims. Modes of keeping evil spirits in
their proper place are simply legion. Among these,
fire holds a conspicuous place. The Babylonians put
their trust in Gibil (Gihir), the lord of fire. The
peoples of Africa, Australia, India, among many others,
are vigorous upholders of the ancient rite. Lamps,
lanterns, torches, and fires, have always been much in
demand for such purposes. The exact significance to
be attached to the lighting of consecrated candles, in
the Eoman Church, is that " in whatever places these
candles are lit or placed, the powers of darkness may
depart in trembling and flee away in terror." Ablu-
tions, odd articles of dress, or curious amulets, have
always had their advocates for the subjection of
demons. Incantations and cryptic formula3 are
universal among exorcists ; the more meaningless,
apparently the better. A most valiant sentence is
that thundered against the Druj Nasu, when exorcised
from the corpse. This withering denunciation is de-
scribed as " fiend-smiting," and " most healing " —

Perish, 0 fiendish Druj ! Perish, 0 brood of the fiend !

Perish, O world of the fiend ! Perish away, 0 Druj !

Rush away, 0 Druj ! Perish away, O Druj !

Perish away to the regions of the North !

Never more to give to death, the living world of the Holy Spirit !

Historic Demonology 49

The efficacy of this menace is enhanced by the use
of Sagdid, — the look of the four-eyed dog. The Druj
is supposed to become weaker at every word, and
finally to flee away in confusion. In Southern India
more especially, devil-dances and bloody sacrifices are
often employed to pacify offended demons. The
British officer of Travancore, already alluded to, was
worshipped as a local demon ; receiving offerings of
cigars and brandy, which the thrifty devotees them-
selves consumed thereafter. Prayer is an obvious
mode of combating the powers of evil. The Zend-
Avesta comes near to Scripture, when it represents
Zoroaster as warding off demons by chanting. The will
of the Lord is the Law of Holiness. This prophet
also fends them off by prayer and the keeping of the
Law. The Eabbis do not seem to have contemplated
such arduous methods of disposing of evil spirits,
as clubbing, shooting, stabbing, or exporting them ;
though these practices are still honoured in many
parts of the world. Ethnic methods of ejecting
possessing demons receive separate consideration.

Redeeming features. — Like a few of the Jewish
Shedim, some ethnic spirits are genial and helpful.
The Zulus, the Chinese, the Jains of India, and many
others, look to the shades of their ancestors for help
and direction. They are thus like the good demons
of Hesiod in the Golden Age. Some of the Jewish
Shedim were learned in the Law ; but they have no
monopoly of such excellence. Some of the Arabic
Jinn are converts to Islam ; having heard the prophet
4

50 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

read the Koran. Hence they confess, " Verily we
have heard an excellent discourse which directeth
unto the right institution ; wherefore we believe
therein and will by no means associate any other with
our Lord. We formerly attempted to pry into the
transactions of heaven ; but we found the same filled
with a strong guard of angels and with flaming darts ;
and we sat on some of the thrones thereof to listen to
the discourses of its inhabitants ; but whoso listeneth
now, findeth a flame laid in ambush for him, to guard
the celestial confines. There are some among us that
are upright, and there are some among us otherwise.
Some of us are Moslems, and others of us swerve from
righteousness." ^ Demons, in China more particularly,
are resorted to for the cure of disease ; sometimes
promising their aid, of their own accord, through their
human mediums.

CHRIST AND COMMON DEMONOLOGY

A comparison of the Rabbinic and ethnic demon-
ologies reveals certain interesting results —

1. The preceding ethnic parallels possess a char-
acter which is really universal, both as regards time
and place.

2. Between the two systems of doctrine there is
substantial harmony ; their salient features being in
essential agreement.

3. Any slight divergences remaining are traceable

^ Koran, Sura Ixxii.

Historic Demonology 51

to local differences of environment. The seed is one ;
the soil and climate slightly diverse.

Ethnic demonology may be said to be practically
timeless. It represents a phase of culture rather
than a definite era ; just as the Stone Age of the
archaeologist represents a stage of civilisation rather
than a specific period. Eabbinic demonology bears
a similar stamp. It was no new creation in the
time of our Lord. It drew from out the deep of
primitive ages. When the people were carried into
captivity, their mind was no mere tabula rasa
awaiting the impress of Babylonian and Persian
superstitions.^

They had their magic waters, oracular trees, divining
rods, consultations of the Teraphim, interviews with
the ghosts of the departed, and possessing spirits. In
common with other peoples, the fathers of the Hebrew
race had sought to press behind " the shows of the
world," and to find in the activities of spirits their
machinery of causation.

The Eabbinic doctrine of demons, as a whole, was
undoubtedly prevalent in the time of Christ. Most
of the preceding quotations from Eabbinic literature

^ To trace tlie whole or the greater part of Jewish demonology to the
influences of the Exile, is a proceeding which greatly fails to commend
itself to the student of anthropology. Certain consequences are per-
ceptible as flowing from contact with the jieoples of the East ; but it
will require much stronger evidence than any now available to prove
extensive importations of Shedim. Lenormant, Sayce, and Gaster
seem to attach undue importance to Babylonian factors ; while Kohut
and Schorr, who are strongly discrepant inter se, appear to overestimate
the Zoroastrian influence. See also Cheyne, Origin of the Psalter,
p. 391 ff-.

52 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

are taken from the Mishua, which, according to
Schllrer, was " collected and edited towards the end of
the second century after Christ." But " the final re-
daction had been preceded by two earlier summaries
of written documents." ^ The teaching of the Mishna
was therefore in circulation in the time of our Lord.

Independent proof of this is found in the narratives
of the Book of Tobit and the Antiquities of Josephus.
In point of date, the former approximates to the Book
of Daniel ; while the latter is almost in contact with
Christ. The theory and practice underlying the
demonology of these writings is identical with that
embedded in Eabbinic literature. Their common pre-
supposition is the popular animistic (poly-demonistic)
philosophy which repeatedly emerges in the pages of
\} the New Testament. What luas the attitude of Jesus
to the foregoing siqjerstitions ?

One tradition describes demons as purely spiritual
beings ; attributing their condition to delay or mis-
take on the part of the Creator. That belief was an
audacious assault upon the power and wisdom of God.
Christ could have had no sympathy with such a state-
ment. But this opinion was essentially heterodox
even among superstitious Jews ; because it was incon-
sistent with the magical practices of the times ; and

^ The Jewish People, i. i. p. 129. Occasional reference lias been
made to writings which are somewhat late of publication ; such as
Bereshith Rabba, Pesiqta, Pirqe de R. Eliezer, Tanchuiiia, and Yalkut
Shimeoni. These are, however, relevant to the issue on hand ; because
they go back to older traditional or written material, and are entirely
homogeneous with the earlier writings.

Historic Demonology 53

at variance with the fundamental tenet of Eabbinic
demonology which assumed the semi-sensuous nature
of the Shedim. As " half-spirits," they possessed a
psycho-sarcous constitution which involved them in
physical needs and functions. But in two passages,
Christ gave what is practically a definition of " spirit,"
whicli is wholly opposed to the Eabbinic conception — ;

God is spirit. John iv. 24.

A spirit liatli not flesli and bones. Luke xxiv. 39. \

According to Christ, then, the non-material, the
incorporeal, is the specific attribute of " spirit." That
in itself disposes of the greater portion of Eabbinic
demonology.

Origin. — Primitive man draws a fluctuating line
between animals, men, and superhuman beings, in
accordance with the principles of his animistic creed.
But Jesus recognised that in all worlds and amid all
the changes of the future, the distinctive rank of man
among intelligent beings must be maintained with-
out faltering. Comminglings of the human and the
demonic, or transmutation of the human into the
demonic, must have been incredible to Him. That is
the condemnation of the legends of Adam and Eve
with reference to demons, and the derivation of
demons from the profane. The evolution of a demon
from a hyena was unthinkable to Christ, Who had a
clear insight into natural processes. The loose wan-
derings of the souls of the wicked dead as Shedim are
opposed to His doctrine of moral retribution.

54 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Numlcrs. — The idea that demons hustle the
Eabbis, wear out their dresses by friction, or bruise
their shins by impact, implies their semi-sensuous
nature, which Jesus did not credit. The assertion
that demons swarm everywhere, to the incessant
danger of man, is not in harmony with our Lord's
teaching on divine providence. It is likewise opposed
to His action on many occasions.

Forms. — Forms of spirits, animal, human, or mon-
strous ; appendages such as cock's toes, wings, multiple
heads ; eating, drinking, propagation, death by mis-
adventure or constitutional defect ; all presuppose the
error of the semi-sensuous nature of demons, and are
therewith set aside.

Haunts. — The Eabbis crammed the earth with evil
spirits, and thrust them even into heaven. But while
Jesus allowed a restricted place to the demons on
earth. He assigned them no place in heaven. He
commanded His disciples to gather up the fragments ;
thus discouraging the idea that demons lurk on
crumbs. He had no faith in the ceremonial washing
of hands ; so repelling the notion that spirits may
rest on unwashen hands. He asked a draught of
water from the woman of Samaria and thereafter
entered the city ; proving that He had no fear of
drinking borrowed water and no belief in local
Shedim. He retu^ed repeatedly to desert places and
fasted in the wilderness ; therein rejecting the popular
conception that the waste is the special haunt of evil
spirits. The hiding of these beings among trees,

Historic Demonology 55

shadows, and foul places, postulates their psycho-
sarcous constitution which stands rejected with its
correlates. The association of demons with animals
is in conflict with Christ's assertion of God's special
care over them.

Times of activity. — In opposition to current ideas,
Jesus did not regard one hour of the day as more
dangerous than another. The only risk of travelling
by night is that of stumbling in the dark (John xi.
9, 10). That discounts the division of the day into
four parts for the four classes of demons.^ Christ
refused to think of sexual distinctions as existing
among spiritual beings (Luke xx. 36). That reduces
Ashmedai and Lilith, with their attendant hosts, to
non-existence. With the disappearance of the queen
of female demons, vanish the perils of the eves of
Wednesday and the Sabbath ; as well as dangers to
children, solitary travellers, lone sleepers, and others.
To abet an evil spirit by wishing a demon a mistaken
God-speed, is a puerility whose presupposition is the
seeing of a Shed in human form.

Poivers. — Dangers supposed to threaten sick women,
brides, bridegrooms, and others ; also gastric troubles
ascribed to the ingestion of demons, rest upon the
mistaken assumption of the psycho-sarcous constitu-

^ The warning of Peter and the crowing of the cock have been
foolislily connected with demonic activity. Satau is not a demon.
The temptation is not demonic, bnt Satanic ; the issue not pliysical,
but ethical. The common idea was that the power of the night-
demons ceased at cock-crow ; wliereas that was the beginning of fresh
peril for Peter.

n

56 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

tion of the Shedim. To ascribe the causation of
accident or disease to those beings, contradicts Christ's
doctrine of the sovereignty of God. As a matter of
fact, He did not trace accidents (Luke xiii. 4), nor
special diseases such as leprosy, blindness, or cardiac
disease,^ to the foregoing agents. The conduct of the
possessed was never attributed by Him to possessing
spirits.

Bestrietions. — The Eabbis were free to imagine the
semi-sensuous nature of the Shedim as a partial
restraint upon their mischievous doiugs. But such
limitations become inconceivable with the rejection of
the underlying error. Eestrictions of demonic energy
by measures, seals, fastenings, and similar devices, could-
find no favour with Him, Who steadfastly abjured the
employment of all charms and counter-charms.

Management. — Many of the Eabbinic methods for
controlling demons were operative only on the
assumption of their being " half-spirits." Belief in
their pneumatic mode of existence reduced such
methods to sheer absurdities. To that category
belong attempts to wash off demons from the hands
with water, or to frighten Shabriri with a rattle.
Other methods amounted to a chronic confusion of
the physical and the ethical. The clear distinction
drawn by Jesus between those two sets of phenomena,
(Matt. XV. 16-20), disclosed the irrational character of
the Eabbinic procedure. To this class belong the use

^ The dropsical iiuin in Luke xiv. 2 may have suffered from cardiac
disease.

Historic Demonology 57

of the covenant salt, the practice of ch'cumcision, and
the observance of certam festivals. Other common
methods involved the use of incantations, Scriptural
or non- Scriptural. But Christ neither used, nor
permitted the use of, magic formulie. These were
essentially " vain repetitions." The ethnic manage-
ment of demons as a whole was an outstanding
contradiction of His view of God and the world.

Redeeming features. — While Eabbinic demonology
might contemplate good and evil demons, such beings
were for Jesus all evil, always evil, and incurably
evil. To attribute to spirits the gifts of divination,
the healing of disease, the teaching of the Law, or
the service of the saints, must have appeared to
Christ pure fabrications.

CHRIST AND COMMON MAGIC

Among the Jews in the time of our Lord, the
magic arts were widely diffused. Abraham is made
to figure as an expert ; imparting gifts to the sons of
his concubines. These are " gifts of impurity " (Sanh.
91&), which Eashi explains as "exorcism and the
works of the Shedim." Solomon is assigned high
rank in this department, as one taught of God (Jos.
Ant. VIII. ii. 5). Hezekiah was another patron of
the occult sciences ; having had a " Book of Eemedies "
(Pes. 56«). But magic was practised under both its
forms — " white " and " black."

A new religious movement among polytheists may

58 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

result iu the reduction of the gods to demonic rank,
with their retention as objects of veneration or dread.
The old magic ritual may continue sliglitly modified,
according as the degraded gods are demons, good or
evil. In the former case, they are virtually dii
minores. Among them, the magician moves as among
the excellent of the earth and heaven ; their goodwill
being a guarantee of his safety, and their power a
pledge of his success. He is a theurgist whose art
is properly called " white magic." Where the operator
deems that he has to do with irate demons, he com-
mands their services by force and against their will ;
believing himself safe in his pseudo-scientific panoply.
He is a sorcerer whose art is properly called " black
magic." ^

Among theurgists might be counted E. Chaninah
and E. Oshayah, who created a calf equal in size to
a three-year-old, every Friday; and ate it (Sanh. Goa).
The creation of such a fine calf, and its consumption
by its creators, are, doubtless, complementary opera-
tions ; but history does not show how far those
Eabbis fattened on their spectral diet. Others of
this gifted fraternity could create vegetable marrows,
melons, deer, bucks, and does (Jer. Sanh. vii. 25d).
Eabbi Simeon could likewise say to a valley. Be
filled with gold dinars ; and it was so (Jer, Ber.
13d). Sorcery was much more in evidence. Women
were deeply suspected of being adepts in it (Pes.
lllh; Ber. 53a; Erub. 64&; Jer. Sanh. vii. 9). The

' Cf. Leuormant, Chuldocan Magic, cliap. v.

Historic Demonology 59

daughters of the Eabbis dabbled in it (Gittin 48a).
Members of the Sanhedrim were obliged to possess a
knowledge of it ; so as to be able to act as judges in such
cases (Sanh. 1 7«). The claims of rampant sorcery
are well set forth in the story that E. Yannai was
once presented in an inn with a magic potion by a
woman. Being suspicious, he poured out some of the
draught, which turned to scorpions. He then said to
the woman, I have drunk of thine, now thou shalt
drink of mine. So the woman drank and became an
ass, on which the gallant Eabbi rode to market. But
the ass was restored to womanhood by a friend who
broke the spell (Sanh. 675). Again, by intense study
of the " Book of Creation," Eabba succeeded in creat-
ing a man whom he sent to E. Zira. But this recent
creation was not endowed with the gift of speech ;
and E. Zira said to the new man, Thou art a fabrica-
tion (of the necromancers). Eeturn to thine original
dust ! At once the dumb figure returned to nothing
(Sanh. 65&).

Wholly remote from these magical practices are the "^
miracles of our Lord. Their fine humanitarian tone
alone thoroughly differentiates them from the vulgar
glorification of the theurgist or the hateful spite of the
sorcerer. " He went about continually doing good."

CAUSE OF Christ's freedom from superstition

One large section of Jewish demonology was incon-
sistent with a pure monotheistic faith and morality.

60 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

The malignity, caprice, and independence allowed to
demons were compatible only with a polytheistic
creed ; and intensely alien to Israel's prolonged ex-
perience of Jehovah's goodness, righteousness, and
power. A rigid application of the monotheistic prin-
ciple would have abolished those crooked supersti-
tions which impinged upon the majesty of God and
the moral freedom of man. The fuller illumination
possessed by Jesus rendered these irrational beliefs
unthinkable for Him.

Another large section of Jewish demonology was
inconsistent with a true knowledge of Nature. The
error here could only be removed by clear insight
into natural processes. That has been wrongly denied
to Jesus. He evinced a deep insight into the pro-
cesses of health and disease on many occasions ; as
when He asked the Gerasene for his name, or
appointed rest and diet for the daughter of Jairus,
or made a physical examination of the ears and
tongue of the stammerer. On these and other op-
portunities, He showed that He was not working
in the dark. Hence His superiority to ordinary
superstitions, which in others were the product of
sheer ignorance of Nature.

CHAPTER III

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession

data of the pkesent inquiry

rriHESE are primarily the narratives of the New
-*- Testament. But the descriptions often savour
of the terminology of the animistic philosophy.^ To
the latter, demons and spirits are natural enough ;
but to modern psychological medicine, these are un-
known as causes of disease. They involve a theory
which is alien to the principles of scientific pathology.
Investigation would thus be blocked at the outset,
had not the Synoptists also furnished us with an
account of the symptoms manifested by the possessed.
These phenomena constitute the fundamental facts for
the elucidation of the real nature of the derangement
called " possession." In the case of the demoniacs of
Capernaum and Gerasa, with that of the boy at the
Hill of Transfiguration, these symptoms have been
recorded in profusion. There are also duplicate or
triplicate narratives of these three cases, which may
be called " typical." The details are not identical ;
but they are never divergent. Their wealth of

^ Appendix B, Nomenclature of the New Testament.
Gl

62 Demonic Possession in the Neiu Testament

clinical material furnishes the clue to the right
understanding of the physical basis of the " demoniac
state." By the help of these three typical cases, we
are able to explore the more obscure. The ailments
of the Syro-Phoenician girl, the dumb demoniac, the
blind and dumb demoniac, Mary of Magdala, and the
infirm woman, are thus cleared up. The investigation
of these proceeds with a great degree of confidence ;
for in the earlier analysis, the " demoniac state " has
attained to the precision of a scientific conception.
The uses of a correct diagnosis are many, some of
which may be indicated here —

1. The exhibition of the physical basis of possession.

2. The testing of the value of " psychological

explanations."

3. The demonstration of the historicity of the

Gospel narratives.

4. The discovery of the proper criterion of genuine

demonic possession.

SIMPLE EPILEPSY IS NOT POSSESSION

In the Authorised Version, we read that Christ
healed " those which were possessed with devils, and
those which were lunatic, and those that had the
palsy" (Matt. iv. 24). The term lunatic (creXrjvia^o-
fievoL) is a misnomer. Bruce alleges here " a certain
want of strictness in the use of terms." ^ But
Matthew's language is most exact. The o-eXrjvia^o-
^ Miraculous Elements in the Gospels, p. 176.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 6 3

^evoi are the cjnlcjytic. The evidence on this point is
unimpeachable. AretaBUS, in his treatise on Chronic
Diseases, remarks that epilepsy is regarded as a dis-
graceful disease ; for it is supposed to be inflicted on
persons who have sinned against the moon} Galen,
another physician, in his work on Critical Days,
says that the moon governs the periods of epileptic
seizures. Lucian, in his Fhilojjseudcs, describes cer-
tain persons as falling to the ground by moonlight,
rolling their eyes about, and foaming at the mouth.
Alexander Trallianus, in his medical disquisitions,
alludes to a cure which l^e had learned from a
countryman in Etruria. The latter w^as cutting rue,
when his companion, being epileptic {aekrjviaKO'i), fell
down. The aeXrivial^o^evoL of Matthew are therefore
most clearly the epileptic, and are here distinguished
from the possessed. A'part from this notice, there is
no reference to this class of sufferers in the Neiu Testa-
ment. Weiss is wrong in supposing that the boy at
the Hill of Transfiguration was simply epileptic. It
will be shown that he suffered from epileptic idiocy.-

^ Hobart is mistaken in asserting that Aretseus admits tlie " possi-
l)ility of this disease being produced by diabolical agency." Aretteus
states that epilepsy "is reckoned a disgraceful form of disease ; for it
is supposed to be an infliction on persons Avho have sinned against the
moon, and hence some have called it the Sacred Disease ; and that
for more reasons than one ; as from the greatness of the evil, for the
Greek word iepos also signifies ' great ' ; or because the cure of it is
not human but divine ; or from the ojiinion that it proceeded from
the entrance of a demon into a man. From some one or all of these
causes together, it has been called ' Sacred ' " (Chronic Diseases,
Bk. I. iv.).

- The popular idea that there is some connection between the moon

64 Demonic Possession in the Nciv Testament

THE CAPERNAUM DEMONIAC

And they go into Capernanm; and straightway on
the Sabbath day, he entered into the synagogue and
taught. And they were astonished at his teaching ;
for he taught them as having authority, and not as the
scribes. And straightway there was in the synagogue
a man in an unclean spirit ; and he cried out, saying.
What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth ?
art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou
art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him,
saying, Hold thy peace and come out of him. And the
unclean spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud
voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed,
insomuch that they questioned among themselves,
saying. What is this ? a new teaching ! With authority
he commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey
him. And the report of him went out straightway
everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about.
Mark i. 21-28.

And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee.
And he was teaching them on the Sabbath day ; and
they were astonished at his teaching; for his word
was with authority. And in the synagogue there was
a man, who had a spirit of an unclean demon ; and he
cried out with a loud voice. Ah ! what have we to do
w^ith thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth ? art thou come to
destroy us ? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One
of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy
peace and come out of him. And when the demon liad
thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him ;
having done him no hurt. And amazement came upon
all, and they spake together, one with another, saying,

and epilepsy is partly due to the coufusiou of epilepsy witli ejJLleptic
insanity. The bright moonlight of the Orient has a curious stimu-
lating effect on such creatures as crows and dogs ; making them rest-
less and noisy. It has an exciting effect on those afflicted with
epileptic insanity also. In both cases, darkness acts as a sedative.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 6 5

What is this word ? for with authority and power he
commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
And there went forth a rumour concerning him into
every place of the region round about. Luke iv. 31-37.

The cure of this man was the beginning of miracles
in this department of Christ's activity. It naturally
led to a great stir in Capernaum and the regions
adjacent to or depending on this flourishing com-
mercial community. Mark's account is highly graphic,
and bringrs us into close contact with the original
eye-witness ; while the little artistic touches of Luke
may contain a tincturing of medical lore. But even
with the aid of both Evangelists, it does not seem
easy to expiscate a diagnosis from the meagre details
thus provided. Keim boldly asserts that " the inci-
dent bears all the marks of invention." Holtzmann
sees here " the glorification of miracle " ! One bound
by authority would hesitate to go further. But there
is a luminous background to the story, imperceptible
to those writers, providing an abiding refutation to
this overweening dogmatism. The two narratives, by
their suggestive hints, lead to one sure conclusion.

The word " straightway " (€vdv<;) is an invaluable
contribution to this investigation. It is furnished by
Mark aloue (i. 21). The Authorised Version weakly
omits it ; obviously owing to the fact that its retention
seemed very superfluous to scribes and commentators.
The Eevised Version rightly restores it ; but most
exegetes are inclined to treat it with neglect. Mark,
however, uses it with a purpose. It embodies an
5

66 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

important fact. The demoniac was an intruder from
without. His appearance in the synagogue took the
worshippers completely by surprise. The services of
the day were well advanced ; and Jesus had been
addressing the people so long and so impressively
that they had passed into a state of extraordinary
enthusiasm. At the height of this excitement —
" straightway " — without pause and without warning,
within the building there was " a man in an unclean
spirit." How he got there, remains unexplained.
Possibly, he glided in noiselessly without attracting
attention ; more probably he shot through the door
with a bound before any one could arrest his career.
Conjecture was needless. The startling fact now
patent to all was that the man, with the unclean spirit,
was in their midst. He was an outsider who by
stealth or agility had thrust his most unwelcome
presence upon the congregation. The surprise and
horror caused by his sudden appearance w^ere intensi-
fied by his loud cry, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus of Nazareth ? Thou didst come to destroy us !
I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God !

These phenomena were manifest at the moment of
entrance into the synagogue, and were plainly maniacal
in character. There is here complete loss of self-
control with intense emotional excitement, evinced in
wild shrieks and boisterous conduct. The demoniac
is quite out of touch with his surroundings, and wholly
unable to appreciate his position. The rules for
decorous conduct in the synagogue are stiU extant ;

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 67

forbidding such things as talking, laughter, and
frivolity. But this man was lost to all sense of
propriety ; for he cried with a loud voice and inter-
rupted the services of the hour. The bearing of this
intruder towards Jesus is that of a man aggrieved
and labouring under a sense of persecution. His
demeanour is aggressive and menacing. He addresses
Christ as an enemy bent upon his destruction. Yet
in the same breath almost, he invokes Him as " the
Holy One of God." The whole conduct of this
demoniac proves that he is labouring under a maniacal
attack of an acute and dangerous kind.

That does not however complete the diagnosis ;
for epileptic symptoms conclude the cycle of events.
These are described in the words of the two
Evangelists.

The unclean spirit, having convulsed him, and
having cried with a loud voice, came out of him.
Mark i. 26.

The demon, having dashed him into the midst,
came out of him, having done him no harm.
Luke iv. 35.

Kestricting attention to the physical symptoms here
present, three things emerge —

1. A loud cry.

2. A falling down.

3. A severe convulsion.

But these are the specific features of an epileptic
attack, and are to be placed alongside of those features
which point to acute insanity. By correlating these

68 BemGnic Possession in the Neio Testament

two groups of symptoms with each other, the final
diagnosis is reached without difficulty. The case is one
of epileptic insanity.

That conclusion is not only consonant with all the
features here manifest ; but enables us to clear up
certain other things previously obscure. Judging from
the absence of paralysis, imbecility, or dementia, this
man's disorder is in its less advanced stages, and of an
intermittent character. Probably there had been
hallucinations of the senses, more specially those of
hearing ; so that this patient was likely to suffer from
piercing noises, or warning and threatening voices.
In such cases, delusions often arise spontaneously,
causing the subject of them to believe that he is
persecuted. Hence the frequent and powerful ten-
dency to violence, either homicidal or suicidal ; mostly
the former. In those earlier stages of this disorder,
there is commonly a peculiar disposition to w\ander
abroad aimlessly ; and religious monomania is not in-
frequent. On the eve of an attack, the temper is
liable to sudden change. There is restlessness with a
readiness to react violently to any stimulus, moral or
physical. That seems to have been precisely the con-
dition of this demoniac prior to his invasion of the
synagogue. Apparently he was wandering abroad,
when overtaken by the maniacal impulse. That con-
spired with his religious instincts to precipitate him
unceremoniously into the synagogue. Consciousness
was manifestly impaired at this moment ; so that he
failed to realise his position, and assailed Jesus as a

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 69

destroyer. But this blind fury, this eclipse of con-
sciousness, this appearance of deliberation, are integral
parts of the malady from which this demoniac suffered ;
being essentially reflex, automatic, mechanical.

Madmen of this sort are extremely prone to crimes
of horror and bloodshed. Probably this man was
known already in Capernaum as a dangerous character ;
and his presence in the synagogue would therefore be
the signal for a panic. His noisy demonstrations
must have produced great consternation. Saved from
a grave impending disaster, the former enthusiasm of
the congregation returns, reinforced by a gratitude
proportioned to the magnitude of the peril from which
they had escaped. Hence the volley of interjections.
What is this ? A new doctrine ! Fully authorised !
He rebukes even foul spirits ! And they obey him !

THE GERASENE DEMONIAC

When he was come to the other side into the
country of the Gadarenes, there met him two possessed
with demons, coming forth out of the tombs, exceedingly
fierce so that no man could pass by that way. And
behold, they cried out, saying. What have we to do
with thee, thou Son of God ? Art thou come hither to
torment us before the time ? Now there was afar off
from them a herd of many swine feeding. And the
demons besought him saying, If thou cast us out, send
us away into the herd of swine. And he said unto
them, Go ! And they came out and went into the
swine : and behold, the whole herd rushed down the
steep into the sea, and perished in the waters. And
they that fed them fled, and went away into the city.

70 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

and told everything, and what was befallen to them
that were demonised. And behold, the whole city came
out to meet Jesus : and when they saw him, they
besought him that he would depart from their borders.
Matt. viii. 28-34.

And they came to the other side of the sea, into the
country of the Gerasenes. And when he was come out
of the boat, straightway there met him out of the tombs
a man in an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling in the
tombs : and no man could any more bind him, no, not
with a chain ; because that he had often been bound
with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent
asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces : and
no man had strength to tame him. And always, night
and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was
crying, and cutting himself with stones. And when he
saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him; and
crying with a loud voice, he saith, What have I to do
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God ? I
adjure thee by God, torment me not I For he said
unto him. Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the
man. And he asked him, What is thy name ? And
he saith unto him. My name is Legion; for we are
many. And he besought him much that he would not
send them away out of the country. Now there was on
the mountain side a great herd of swine feeding. And
they besought him, saying. Send us into the swine that
we may enter into them. And He gave them leave.
And the unclean spirits came out and entered into the
swine; and the herd rushed down the steep into the
sea, in number about two thousand ; and they were
choked in the sea. And they that fed them fled, and
told it in the city and in the country. And they came
to see what it was that had happened. And they come
to Jesus, and beheld him that was possessed with
demons, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even
him that had the legion : and they were afraid. And
they that saw it declared unto them how it befell him
that was possessed with demons, and concerning the

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 7 1

swine. And they began to beseech him to depart from
their borders. Mark v. 1-17.

And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes,
which is over against Gahlee. And when he was come
forth upon the land, there met him a certain man out
of the city, who had demons ; and for a long time he
had worn no clothes, and abode not in any house, but
in the tombs. And when he saw Jesus, he cried out,
and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said.
What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the
Most High God ? I beseech thee, torment me not.
For he commanded the unclean spirit to come out of
the man. For often it had seized him : and he was kept
under guard, and bound with chains and fetters ;
and breaking the bands asunder he was driven of the
demon into the deserts. And Jesus asked him, What
is thy name ? And he said Legion ; for many demons
were entered into him. And they entreated him that
he would not command them to depart into the abyss.
Now there was there a herd of many swine feeding on
the mountain ; and they entreated him that he would
give them leave to enter into them. And he gave
them leave. And the demons came out of the man,
and they entered into the swine ; and the herd rushed
down the steep into the lake, and were choked. And
when they that fed them saw what had come to pass,
they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
And they went out to see what had come to pass : and
they came to Jesus, and found the man, from whom the
demons were gone out, sitting, clothed, and in his right
mind, at the feet of Jesus : and they were afraid. And
they that saw it told them how he that was possessed
with demons was made whole. And all the people of
the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him
to depart from them ; for they were holden with great
fear ; and he entered into a boat and returned. Luke
viii. 26-37.

Matthew's account is meagre, and is chiefly remark-

72 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

able for the mention of two demoniacs. This dis-
crepancy receives further attention and does not
affect any conclusion regarding the nature of the
disorder present ; for the first Evangelist knows of no
difference in the condition of the two men whom he
mentions. From the medical standpoint, if not also
from the historical, the two are one, Mark's narrative
again takes us back to the eye-witness, while Luke's
account adds nothing to the previous details ; except
by way of inference. The three Evangelists represent
a Triple Tradition ; but supply data which lead to one
congruous result regarding the derangement under
consideration.

The order of events as set forth by Mark is signi-
ficant. It shows that the company sailed for the
eastern shore of the Lake about sunset. The Jews
had two evenings ; the first beginning about the
middle of the afternoon, the second at sunset. A
comparison of Mark i. 32 (Matt. viii. 16), with Mark
iv. 35 (oi/r/a?), shows that the second Evangelist fixed
the time of departure at the close of the day. The
destination was a point in the region of Gerasa to the
south-east of the Lake. Hence they " sailed down "
to the country of the Gerasenes (Luke viii. 26).
Evidently there were tokens of a coming tempest ; so
that without loss of time, they took Jesus " even as
he was." The distance was not great ; but the strong
head-wind baffled the skill and the strength of the
voyagers, so that the landing on the other side could
scarcely have occurred before the dawn of the follow-

Medical Asjjects of Demonic Possession 7 3

ing morning. Anyhow, there was sufficient light for
the party to see the demoniac(s) emerging from the
tombs (Matt. viii. 28); and for the latter to single
out Jesus as the leader of the company (Mark v. 6 ;
Luke viii. 28). The landing itself was effected with-
out difficulty and may not have been seen by the
possessed. Sound rather than sight seems to have
first excited his attention. Certain things confirm
this supposition. The man was apparently within
the tombs at the moment of disembarkation. There
was likewise " a great calm " at the time (Mark
iv. 39). Presumably there was also an excessive
sharpness of hearing on the part of the demoniac, as
is common in such cases. Owing to the extraordinary
irritability of his acute mania, he was painfully sus-
ceptible to the slightest disturbances. The outward
conditions concurred with the inward; and the result
was the diversion of the attention of the possessed to
the new-comers. The absence of all self-control is
pathognomic of acute mania ; and this lunatic's un-
governable fury manifested itself in charging down
upon the enemy. The encounter took place close to
the point where the party landed ; for the man " ran " ;
and so met them " immediately." This violent haste
was not the fruit of an amiable curiosity ; but the
proof of malevolent intention. It was natural on the
part of one who had long been the pest of the locality ;
" exceeding fierce," so that none passed that way (Matt.
viii. 28). Dangerous homicidal propensities were
strikingly manifested as he rushed upon the party

74 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

with menacing demeanour and furious yells, crying
out, What have I to do with thee, Jesus ? Yet such
wild maniacs, though fierce in form, are but weak in
will and destitute of steady purpose. That peculiar
instability finds illustration here, in the sudden change
from the most defiant insolence to a crouching atti-
tude. This madman, overawed by the dauntless bear-
ing and the forceful words of Jesus, " fell down before
him" (Luke viii. 28), and " worshipped him " (Mark
V. 6).

This rapid change of thought, feeling, and activity
is highly characteristic of acute mania. There is a
supersensitiveness to impressions derived from the
organs of sense, tending to the instant reproduction
of these in speech and action. This tumultuous
activity is inevitable where normal self - control is
lacking, and the power of self-suppression so greatly
in abeyance. Under such circumstances, the passing
fancy and impulse demand instant embodiment ; so
that waywardness of speech and eccentricity of con-
duct are pronounced features in the morbid process.
Of that condition there is a notable example in the
alternating use of the words " I " and " we," which
Mark with wonted care has put on record, and which
Luke implies. This is commonly cited as clear proof
of a double consciousness and of a double personality,
human and demonic. It has therefore been relied on
to prove in the most positive manner, the presence of
a demon within the demonised. But the inference is
far from conclusive ; because this feature is not at all

Medical Asjjcds of Demonic Possession 75

exceptional. It is best explained on ordinary patho-
logical principles as an example of that acceleration
of mental processes which is common in certain phases
of acute mania ; giving the semblance of a twofold
consciousness, only because the colligating factors are
hidden from our view. We have here apparently no
more than a regular part of the current disorder.

The amazing strength and the paradoxical endur-
ance of this man also claim attention. The popular
opinion is that maniacs are unusually strong. Even
Herbert Spencer gravely endorses this fallacy, and
finds here " a fact having noteworthy implications." ^
But the truth is that these manifestations of extra-
ordinary strength among the insane are somewhat
rare ; and, if present at all, are temporary phenomena,
occurring mostly at the beginning of the disorder.
The Evangelists are faithful to the facts of observation
when they furnish data which prove that these ex-
hibitions were occasional. There had been " many
times," when this man's strength had been insufficient
to save him from capture and durance vile. There
were also those other periods marked by invincible
wakefulness night and day, by ceaseless wanderings
to and fro, by incessant roarings which made the
hours of light and darkness equally hideous. Even
in captivity his energies were not arrested. These
were then concentrated on his fetters, which were
probably nou - metallic ; so that they were soon
" rubbed to pieces." When his lower limbs were
1 Sociology, i. pp. 228, 233, 410.

76 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

thus free, the rending of his bonds may have been
a simple matter. The result was another spell of
wild freedom and privation. But these exertions were
mechanical rather than deliberate ; reflex rather than
intentional. Their incentive is to be sought in the
pathological diversion of his energies into one morbid
channel ; rather than in any concentration of his will-
power. Ill-informed critics who have hitherto found
in these descriptions only a concatenation of pictorial
details, have yet to learn that these painful perform-
ances are the genuine parts of a severe case of acute
mania, whose parallels are still unhappily common in
our asylums.

We can now understand how this demoniac, in
reply to Jesus, calls himself Legion. Previous to his
illness, he w^as, no doubt, familiar with the Jewish
extravaganza which supplied the individual with a
whole legion of demons ; prepared to assault him for
a trifling misdemeanour. He must also have been
familiar with the movements of Eoman troops. Six
legions were stationed in Syria. Detachments of these
were to be found in adjacent parts ; such as Megiddo,
then called Ligyon (Legion), and the towns of Deca-
polis. Serious disorders of sensation were associated
with the mental derangement, producing the hallu-
cination of portentous strength. Thus, a variety of
circumstances, external and internal, concurred in the
formation of this man's delusion. Under tlie fancy
that he embodied the power and organisation of some
six thousand demons, he felt himself more than a

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 77

match for all invaders upon those domains which his
ferocity had turned into a madman's paradise.

Insane ideas are again in evidence when this man
in his antipathy to human society fled from the
habitations of his fellows and cast off all social re-
straint. His dismal surroundings were in keeping
with his dismal state of mind ; though there may
have been no aggravation of his condition from this
source.^ The pastures of the swine and the tombs of
the dead were sought out as furnishing a convenient
lair ; not on the ground of any sentimental associa-
tions. He was liable to be hunted down like a wild
beast, and experience had taught him that in those
ghastly tombs he might find a secure retreat. There
he would not be pestered by the attentions of his
neighbours ; who, if Jews, would shun the haunts of
the swine ; and whether Jews or Gentiles, would be
chary of the sepulchres of the dead. Deliberate
choice is not here to be thought of. Instinct rather
than intelligence guided this demoniac to his strange
quarters, where his brutish instincts would have full
scope.

The shocking nakedness of the possessed is also in

^ FaiTar, in liis Life of Christ, here draws attention to Sir Walter
Scott's description of effects alleged to have been produced on the
minds of the Covenanters by their cavern retirements. Historically,
Sir Walter is in error. But the point to be noted is that no compari-
son can be instituted between the demoniac who, under the stress of
mental disease, sought the caves of the mountain, and the men who
were driven by sore oppression to seek such shelter. The solitude and
foulness were agreeable to the lunatic of Gerasa ; l)ut were odious to
any in their right mind.

78 Demonic Possession in the Neiu Testament

place as a characteristic element of his formidable
malady. Among those afflicted with acute mania,
this is no uncommon thing ; traceable variously to
uneasy cutaneous sensations or sheer destructiveness
or unmitigated brutishness. This patient had been ill
for " a long time " ; perhaps with intervals of improve-
ment. Yet the nakedness seems to have been con-
stant, and to have lasted through more than one
season. In any case, it must have exposed this
lunatic to severe experiences ; for in Palestine, the
diurnal range of temperature is considerable at all
seasons. It was therefore the lot of this man to
endure the scorching heat by day and the chilly air
by night, in his ceaseless peregrinations among the
mountains and the tombs. Clothed only in sunlight
or starlight, he had " for a long time " braved the
elements ; yet apparently with no great detriment or
discomfort. His behaviour in this respect is quite in
harmony with that of his class, who have sometimes
preferred to disrobe themselves on a cold winter's
night in our more rigorous climate, without visible
uneasiness. That is however but a proof of a diminu-
tion of normal sensibility, which is so largely present
in these cases.

The same condition finds additional expression in
self -mutilation. He " cut himself with stones " ; not
as a solitary act ; but " night and day," as a constant
practice. This is no penance, as Olshausen thought ;
but a well-recognised symptom of acute mental de-
rangement. Here it concurred with the great fury of

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 7 9

liis delusion, and seems to have been the source of
pleasure to him. Such delight in the pain of mutila-
tion has received in Germany the technical designa-
tion,— " freudenschmerz." A curious classical parallel
to this is the case of the Spartan king, Cleomenes,
the subject of acute mania. When under confinement,
he got possession of a sword and began to cut off the
flesh of his thighs, and otherwise mutilated himself,
till he perished (Herodotus, vi. 75).^

The impairment of memory is another notable
feature in this case. Insanity always involves a
breach of greater or less extent in the continuity of
the life of the patient. Memory suffers as severely
as any other faculty. Sometimes its contents are
sharply sundered ; so that the individual has a normal
memory in his normal state, and a morbid memory
when in his morbid mood. The facts of the normal
life may thus be clearly separated from those of the
morbid condition. This demoniac's memory was a
blank for the former, so that he had forgotten what
ought to have been nearest to him, — his own name.
Yet for the facts relating to his previous attacks of
insanity, his morbid memory was rather acute. Ac-
cording to the rough-and-ready manner of the times,
he had often been put under close confinement, in
chains and fetters. These were sore torments to
this lunatic, who could only regard his wardens as

^ Certain opium-eaters in Bombay stimulate their deadened sensi-
bilities by the sting of a scorpion ; deriving tlieiefrom a pleasant
sensation.

80 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

his tormentors. His old morbid associations still
dominate his mind when he cries out in mingled
tones of defiance and dread, What have I to do with
thee ? Thou didst come to torment me before the
time ! And truly, the tormentor always comes " be-
fore the time." Labouring under this fancy, it was
quite natural for this madman to " run " with homi-
cidal fury upon the strangers ; prepared to fight with
the will, if not with the strength, of a " legion."

The diagnostic indications need not be further
pursued, as the conclusion is eminently beyond dis-
pute. The whole of the symptoms point to acute
mania of a formidable, but not of an exceptional,
type. In conventional language, this patient had
been " driven by the demon into the wilderness," and
his disorder had lasted " a long time." The case was
one of great urgency; for the tremendous excitement,
the prolonged insomnia, the incessant wanderings, the
cruel mutilations ; coupled with the lack of proper
food, clothing, and shelter, must have placed this
demoniac in a most critical condition. Clearly this
was his last chance. Death from sheer exhaustion
must otherwise have put a speedy termination to his
wretched existence.

Finally, we have to note the absence of any con-
vulsions at the ending of this case. Olshausen, Ewald,
Lange, Trench, and others, have without warrant in-
troduced them. The proceeding is not more arbitrary
than unscientific. The demoniac of Capernaum suffers
from epileptic insanity ; the demoniac of Gerasa from

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 8 1

acute mania. Convulsions are in place in the former
derangement ; but out of place in the latter. The
Gospel narratives are thus completely in harmony
with clinical observation. The two parties ought in
no wise to be confounded.

THE EPILEPTIC IDIOT

When they were come to the multitude, there came
to him a man kneeling to him and saying, Lord have
mercy on my son ; for he is epileptic, and suffers griev-
ously ; for oft-times he falleth into the fire, and oft-
times into the water. And I brought him to thy
disciples, and they could not cure him. And Jesus
answered and said, 0 faithless and perverse generation,
how long shall I be with you ? How long shall I bear
with you ? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus re-
buked him ; and the demon went out of him ; and the
boy was cured from that hour. Then came the disciples
to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast it out ?
And he saith unto them. Because of your little faith.
Matt. xvii. 14-20.

When they came to the disciples, they saw a great
multitude about them, and scribes questioning with
them. And straightway, all the multitude, when they
saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him,
saluted him. And he asked them. What question ye
with them ? And one of the multitude answered him,
Master, I brought unto thee my son, who liath a dumb
spirit ; and whithersoever it taketh him, it dasheth
him down ; and he foameth and grindeth his teeth, and
pineth away; and I spake to thy disciples that they
should cast it out ; and they were not able. And he
answereth them and saith, 0 faithless generation, how
long shall I be wdth you ? How long shall I bear with
you ? Bring him unto me. And they brought him
6

82 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

unto him ; and when he saw him, straightway the
spirit tare him grievously ; and he fell on the ground
and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How
long time is it since this hath come to him ? And he
said, From a child. And oft-times it hath cast him
both into the fire and into the waters to destroy him :
but if thou canst do anything, liave compassion on us,
and help us. And Jesus said unto him. If thou canst !
All things are possible to him that believeth. Straight-
way, the father of the child cried out, and said, I
believe ; help thou mine unbelief. And when Jesus
saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked
the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and
deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter
no more into him. And having cried out, and torn him
much, he came out : and the child became as one dead ;
insomuch that the more part said. He is dead. But
Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up ; and
he arose. And when he was come into the house,
his disciples asked him privately, saying, We could
not cast it out ? And he said unto them. This kind
can come out by nothing, save by prayer. Mark
ix. 14-29.

When they were come down from the mountain, a
great multitude met him. And behold, a man from the
multitude cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee to
look upon my son ; for he is mine only child : and behold
a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out ; and it
teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth
from him, bruising him sorely. And I besought thy
disciples to cast it out ; and they could not. And Jesus
answered and said, 0 faithless and perverse generation,
how long shall I be with you, and bear with you ?
Bring hither thy son. And as he was yet a coming,
the demon dashed him down, and tare him grievously.
But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the
boy, and gave him back to his father. And they
were all astonished at the majesty of God. Luke
ix. 37-43.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 83

This outstanding case of possession deservedly
receives a prominent place in the Triple Tradition.
The narrative of Mark is realistic. Its diagnostic
value exceeds that of the other two Evangelists. The
complaint of this boy might seem to need no defini-
tion ; for " all have knowledge " of it, as a case of
epilepsy. There is the cry preceded by the uncon-
sciousness, the sudden fall, the convulsive seizure, the
gnashing of the teeth, the foaming at the mouth, the
rolling on the ground ; then the utter exhaustion, so
that, in the graphic words of the father, the boy " is
shrivelled up" {^ripaiverai, Mark ix. 18). The latter
is also the description of the distinguished Eoman
physician, Celsus. The comatose condition ensuing on
the rapid repetition of severe fits, shows itself in the
remark of many who said, He is dead ! These features
belong to a severe type of epilepsy {haut mal), and
complete the popular diagnosis.

They do not, however, complete the points on
which Jesus laid stress, no more than they would
satisfy the inquiries of a physician whose skill is
above that of a charlatan. It is very instructive to
observe Christ passing beyond the coarse and pro-
nounced symptoms of epilepsy ; penetrating beneath
the surface with the question : How long ago is it since
this befell him ? " Since childhood," says the father.
That piece of information is peculiar to Mark ; although
the technical value of it could not have been realised
by him. To one's surprise, Luke has nothing to say
of the matter ; though he tells us, evidently on the

84 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

authority of Matthew, that the patient was still in the
age of boyhood. That note is important ; because it
is capable of reduction to a numerical estimate, and
throws much light on the condition of the boy.

The illness dated " from childhood " {Ik iraiSiodev,
Mark ix. 21). Possibly it was congenital. At any
rate the convulsions began early in life, and had been
frequent. At this date, the fits were so numerous
that in the language of the times, " the demon hardly
departed from the boy, wearing him away." Boyhood
here denotes an age of some twelve years.^ Here
then are convulsions, beginning early in life, severe,
and of frequent occurrence. These three factors are
clearly brought out, and claim attention. The signi-
ficance of them lies in the fact that they are the sure
precursors of imbecility or idiocy. If any confirma-
tion of this conclusion were needed, we find it in
Christ's recognition of the fact that the boy's dumb-
ness and deafness were constituent parts of the mental
disorder (Mark Lx. 25). They were correlated by
Him with the broad epileptic symptoms which were
open to all observers. Both sets of symptoms are
traced by Jesus to one common underlying condition.
That is in full accordance with the observation that
sense-defects are common among imbeciles and idiots.
In these cases, the loss of any one of the special
senses is not to be taken into account as a separate
matter ; for such a loss denotes an addition also to the
other disabilities under which the patient labours, — an

1 So in Luke ii. 4"2, 43. Cf. "Wagner's Manual of Palholoyy.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 8 5

aggravation of the whole condition. The dumbness and
the deafness here are great calamities per se ; but they
further signify increased mental defect or degeneration.
Yet the mere physical health of those subjects may
remain surprisingly vigorous, and the bodily strength
may be well mamtained. That seems to have been
the case here ; apart, of course, from the temporary
exhaustion following the fits. It is clear that the
boy did not remain indoors ; otherwise he could not
have fallen " often into the fire and often into the
water." These words are explicit evidence that the
lad was prone to wander abroad, apparently baffling
the care of his guardians. Like other epileptic idiots,
he was restless in his habits. Indications of wild
impulses, unruly passions, destructive propensities, and
suicidal intent, are furnished by the assertion that the
" spirit often dashed him into fire and into waters,
that it might destroy him." As in kindred cases,
these outbreaks were likely to be mostly unprovoked
and not easily circumvented. The dumbness and
deafness, the multiplicity and severity of the con-
vulsions, are proofs of serious organic disease or
degeneration of the brain ; issuing in this deplorable
imbecility or idiocy, with its attendant perils. The
case of this boy is almost desperate, even among
epileptic idiots.^

^ Jurists liave drawn distinctions between imbecility and idiocy.
Coke defined an idiot as one ' ' who from liis nativity by a perpetual
infirmity is non compos mentis." Alienists are content to assume the
clinical standpoint and to regard both imbecility and idiocy as but
degrees of weakmindedness.

86 Demonic Possession in the Nevj Testament

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEMONIAC STATE

These then are the three " typical cases " of posses-
sion. From them we derive the meaning to he attached
to the demoniac state as described in the New Testa-
ment. On the physical side, these are concrete in-
stances of epileptic insanity, acute mania, and epileptic
idiocy. In other words, they all belonged to the
general category of " Lunacy and Idiocy." That, there-
fore, is the real significance of the demoniac state ; and
this definite conception is to be carried forward for the
consideration of the more obscure cases.

THE SYRO-PHCENICIAN GIKL

Jesus went out thence and withdrew into the parts
of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanitish woman
came out from those borders and cried, saying, Have
mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou son of David ; my daughter
is grievously vexed with a demon. Jesus answered
and said unto her, 0 woman, great is thy faith, be it
unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her daughter was
healed from that hour. Matt. xv. 21, 22, 28.

From thence he arose, and went into the borders of
Tyre and Sidon. Straightway, a woman whose little
daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him,
came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was
a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by race. And she besought
him that he would cast forth the demon out of her
daughter. And he said unto her. For this saying, go
thy way ; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. And
she went away to her house, and found the child laid
upon the bed, and the demon gone forth." Mark vii.
24-26, 29, 30.

In point of time, this case precedes that of the idiot
boy; but the previous study of the latter greatly

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 8 7

facilitates the consideration of the present instance.
The two have several notable points of contact with
each other, which are specially noted by Mark. These
common features are the sure guide to the proper
diagnosis.

1. The ages of both patients are nearly the same,
Mark applies to each of them the designation, " child "
(iracBtov, vii. 30, ix. 24), But the age of the boy
was shown to be about twelve years. That also
appears to be the age of the " young daughter " of
the Syro-Phcenician mother.

2. The symptoms of their derangements are closely
akin. The boy "suffers badly" (Matt, xvii. 15); the
girl is " badly demonised " (Matt, xv, 22), The infest-
ing spirit in each case is " filthy " (Mark vii. 25, ix. 25).
In both there is the suggestion of wild roving habits.
There is a note of surprise in the mother returning to
find her daughter " laid upon the bed." The absence
of deafness and dumbness in the case of the girl only
proves that her illness has not yet reached its worst
phases.

3. The termination of the two cases is in convulsions.
The Authorised and Eevised Versions, with admirable
equivocation say that the girl was found "laid upon
the bed." The common but false variant reading —
^e^XtjfievTjv eVt r?}? K\ivr]<i — would denote " resting
upon the bed." ^ But the correct reading here signifies
that the " child " was hurled upon the bed (^e^Xrj/jiivov
iirl Ti]v KKivr}v,M.3i,Yk vii. 30). The second Evangelist

1 Cf. Matt, ix, 2.

88 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

rightly draws attention to the fact that a convulsive
seizure was the antecedent common to the healing of
those two.

This brief comparison of their symptoms proves
that the ailments were essentially alike. The diag-
nosis here is thus epileptic idiocy. But while the boy
was brought to Jesus for cure, the girl was healed at
a distance. There is then a difference in the sequel
to those two cases. The lad vras returned to his
father in the full enjoyment of both mental and
physical health ; the girl was Jiurled upon the heel ;
freed from her mental derangement, but with her
physical energies not as yet recruited. In the former
cases, the commanding word and the invigorating
touch of Jesus issued in complete restoration ; in the
latter the word was effective, but the touch was lack-
ing. The lad had undergone a double miracle ; not
so the girl. The complete convalescence of the
daughter of Jairus was left to rest and diet (Mark v.
43); and a similar course is indicated in the case of
the daughter of this Syro-Phoenician mother.

THE DUMB DEMONIAC

And as they went forth, behold, there was brought
to him a dumb man {-/.(upo;), possessed with a demon.
And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man
spake. And the multitudes marvelled, saying. It was
never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said. By the
prince of demons, casteth he out demons. Matt, ix,
32-34; cf. Luke xi. 14, 15.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 89

This brief and almost casual description of this
demoniac's condition is very unpromising. Mental
derangement is assumed on the grounds already
stated. The dumbness with which it is associated
puts us on the track for the discovery of its specific
form. Dumbness may arise from many causes. It
is often the sequel of deafness ; for the normal ante-
cedent of speech is hearing. Deafness, therefore,
complete or nearly complete, if congenital or acquired
early in life, through defect or disease or injury to
the parts connected with the organs of hearing, is
almost a certain precursor of dumbness. This close
relation between deafness and dumbness is reflected
in the Greek term /cco(^o9, as in the Hebrew ^-\r\,
which alike denote deaf, or dumb, or deaf-and-dumb.
But by far the commonest cause of true dumbness
is that associated with mental disorder arising from
cerebral defect or disease. The mental derangement
implied in the demoniac state here coexists with
dumbness which involves deafness. This triple con-
junction of mental disease, dumbness, and deafness,
leads straightway to the diagnosis of idiocy or
imbecility.

THE BLIND AND DUMB DEMONIAC

Then was brought unto him one possessed of a
demon, blind and dumb : and he healed him, insomuch
that the dumb man spake and saw. And all the multi-
tudes were amazed and said, Is this the son of David ?
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man

90 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebul as prince of
demons. Matt. xii. 22-24; cf. Luke xi. 14, 15.

This case is not at all to be identified with the
preceding, as if it were a duplicate of the same.^ But,
like the former, it is a case of idiocy or imbecility ;
with the additional feature of blindness. That is a
new element of serious import here. Blindness may
arise from congenital defects in the organs of vision,
or it may be the outcome of local disease or injury.
In like manner, it may be the result of disease or
defect in those parts of the brain which are connected
with the organs of vision. It may then coexist
with intellectual incapacities. There is every reason
to believe that the dumbness, deafness, and blindness,
here present, are in organic union with the mental
disorder, and therefore constituent parts of one
underlying condition, namely, grave cerebral defect
or disease. The idiocy or imbecility is thus of an
aggravated type. Though life might not be immedi-
ately endangered, there was here a four-fold disaster
which must have reduced the patient to a condition
of most abject misery and helplessness.

MARY MAGDALENE

With him were certain women who had been healed
of evil spirits and infirmities, — Mary that was called
the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone
forth. Luke viii. 2 (cf. Mark xvi. 9).

^ See Appendix C, The dumb demoniac versus tlie blind and dumb
demoniac.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 9 1

This is the ouly demoniac who bears a name ;
and she is the unhappy possessor of seven demons.
Talmudists have much slandered her ; but in this
matter they are hardly worse than those who con-
found her with the woman who washed the feet of
Jesus with her tears (Luke vii. 37, 38); or have made
her the patroness of unfortunates. John Lightfoot
understood by the term " Magdalene," " a hair-curler,"
which metaphorically bears a suspicious significance.
In this unfortunate conjecture, he has been followed
by Lagarde and others. But the obvious interpret-
ation is that which associates Mary with the town
of Magdala, then largely engaged in dyeing and
woollen manufactures. She was probably a widow
in affluent circumstances, like Lydia of Thyatira (Acts
xvi. 14). Her appearance in the company of the
wife of Herod's steward, and her ministrations to
Jesus in life and in death, confirm our conjecture
as to her good social position. The interest of the
situation lies in its indication of the existence of
mental disease among the upper classes of the Jews
at this date.

Celsus (not the Eoman physician of that name,
but the friend of Lucian) calls Mary a " half -frantic
woman " (yvu^] irdpotarpo^)} While insanity was doubt-
less present, it is not quite easy to assign a precise
meaning to the " seven demons." To connect these
with her " many sins " is a gratuitous assumption.
Or to discover here, seven attacks of illness and

^ Oiigen, Contra Cclsum, ii. 55.

92 Demonic Possession in the Nevj Testament

seven recoveries, is iuconsisteiit with the fact that
Jesus turned out the " seven " at a single operation.
Eenan associates the derangement of Mary with the
Persian Asmodieus, " tlie cause of all the hysterical
afflictions of women." But the ailment here is not
hysteria. Nor is her case parallel with that where
the single demon goes forth to consort with " other
seven," more wicked than himself ; for the demons
of Mary are seven, not eight. The best explanation
is that which leads us to recognise here the operation
of Babylonian influences. In the " Magical Texts " of
Babylonia, the " seven spirits " are of frequent oc-
currence. Possession by them was of the gravest
significance ; necessitating an appeal to Ea, Lord of
spirits. The appointed remedy was the smoke of the
cedar tree, on whose core was written the name of
Ea, ascending to the roof of the chamber, coupled
with the spell supreme, the spell of Eridu and of
purity.^ The mention of the " seven " thus attests
the severity of Mary's disorder ; proving that it sur-
passed the skill of ordinary practitioners. Evidently
she too was brought to Jesus in a state of utmost
distress. Her ailment is acute mania.

THE INFIEM "WOMAN

And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on
the Sabbath day. And behold a woman who had a
spirit of infirmity eighteen years ; and she was bowed
together, and could in no wise lift herself up. And

^ Sayce, Hihbert Lectures, pp. 459, 470, 471.

Medical As2Jects of Demonic Possession 9 3

when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her,
Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he
laid his hands upon her. And immediately she was
made straight, and glorified God. (Jesus said). Ought
not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom
Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, to have
been loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day ? Luke
xiii. 10-13, 16.

Consideration of this case has been deferred, be-
cause it is not clearly a case of possession. The
woman is said to have been bound by Satan, and to
have had " a spirit of infirmity." Meyer puts her
in the class of the demoniacs. For him, " the spirit
of infirmity " is a demon who has " paralysed her
muscular powers." " As a daughter of Abraham, she
belongs to the special people of God, and must hence
be wrested from the devil ; since he, by means of one of
his servants, — a demon, has taken away her liberty." ^
The proof of this statement must rest upon the report
of the symptoms and the express testimony of our Lord.

1. The report of the case. — The symptoms enumer-
ated are such as refer to the inability of the woman
to assume an erect carriage. The points noted are —

(«) A constant and pronounced stoop.

(6) A marked loss of muscular power.

(c) A rigidity of certain structures.

(d) A disorder not psychical but surgical.

In the first instance, the case is described as one of
" infirmity." In the second, as " spirit of infirmity."
But the two terms are coextensive. The latter
^ Meyer, in loco.

94 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

cannot contain any more than the former. Then
mention is made of a " bond " ; but its significance
is demonstrably pathological. To its existence, tlie
woman owed her inability to " look up at all." It
has been variously interpreted as " gouty contraction,"
" muscular contraction," and " paralytic crippling." An-
other suggestion is " rheumatism." But until popular
expositors condescend to enlighten us on the group
of muscles thus affected, their conjectures are not
worth a moment's consideration. The woman " was
bowed together," and had been in that state for
" eighteen years." The stoop was not more severe
than prolonged. We regard this therefore as an
exteme instance of spinal disease, in the form of
" Pott's curvature." The passage is rich in medical
terms, all pointing to the same conclusion. Hippo-
crates, speaking of curvature of the spine, uses the
term Xvetv, for its removal. Galen employs dvaKvir-
recv, for the straightening of the vertebal column.
The ancient surgeons use airoXveiv, for the relaxation
of tendons, membranes, and other structures ; also
avopdovv, for replacing parts in their normal position.
Luke employs the current terminology in these con-
nections.^ The crowning corroboration of this view
is found in the term " bond." In disease of this sort,
there is at the conclusion of the morbid process the
formation of a " bond," by the fusion and cementing
together of the disorganised tissues ; entailing an " in-
firmity," through the atrophy of the dorsal muscles.

1 Hobart, Medical Language of St. Luke, p. 21.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 9 5

There is no evidence whatever for the belief that this
spinal complaint concurred with mental derangement.
The woman is a quiet member of the synagogue,
approaching Jesus without confession or adjuration.
In this respect, she is on a level with the sanest of
her neighbours.

2. The testimony of Jesus. — This includes His
acts as well as His words. In all other cases, the
demoniacs are healed " by a word." Here, however,
there is no exorcism, but imposition of hands. The
latter is indeed expressly reserved for non-demonic
cases; such as leprosy (Matt. viii. 3), fever (Mark i.
31), blindness (Matt. ix. 29), and common ailments
(Mark vi. 5 ; Luke iv. 40). That further forbids the
inclusion of this case among the demonised. The
phrase " spirit of infirmity," which is Luke's, does not
militate against this assertion ; for both Hellenistic
and Eabbinic custom permitted its use as an abstract
form in place of the concrete term "infirmity," here
employed by our Lord. What then are we to make of
the description, " — whom Satan has bound " ? Trench
discovers in this comment " a deeper spiritual root "
to the woman's calamity. " Her sickness, having its
first seat in her spirit, had brought her into a moody,
melancholy state," of which her outward condition
" was but the sign and the consequence." ^ It will
readily be granted that the kingdom of Satan has its
physical as well as its ethical side. But the latter
is not here in evidence. This woman is a devout
^ Trench, Notes on the Miracles.

96 Demonic Possession in the Nev) Testament

worshipper, " a daughter of Abraham," and therefore
still an heir of the promises. She is no " profane
person," no abandoned wretch, no God-forsaken Judas,
into whom Satan has entered. The " binding " then
has no reference to any ethical operation ; but simply
to the physical condition. Neither the symptoms of
this case, nor the testimony of Christ, can be con-
strued into proof of demonic possession.

THE PHILIPPIAN PYTHONESS

And it came to pass that as we were going to the
place of prayer, a certain maid, having a spirit, a
Python, met us, who brought her masters much gain by
soothsaying. The same following after Paul and us,
cried out saying, These men are servants of the Most
High God who proclaim to you a way of salvation.
And this she did for many days. But Paul being sore
troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in
the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it
came out that very hour." Acts xvi. 16-18.

The special features of this case suggest two
theories, — fraud or insanity. The discovery of the
truth here is not a simple matter. We start from the
fact that somehow there was a decided change in the
condition of this maid, which rendered her incapable of
pursuing her former vocation. She was cured of
something, — either fraud or insanity.

1. Was this a case of fraud and wilful imposition ?
The prophetic art, such as it was among the nations at
this time, laboured under severe suspicion, though the
age was notorious for its credulity. It is wrong, how-

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 9 7

ever, to suppose that the ancient oracles were mere
manufactories of hes. Sometimes we find them advo-
cating patriotic schemes, such as naval defence and
foreign colonisation. Statecraft w\as here supplemented
by priestcraft ; but collusion need not be supposed.
Even the delivery of ambiguous oracles cannot always
be traced to intentional equivocation. The whole
profession was a vast pseudo-science, whose agents, by
the very rules of their art, had often to halt betwixt
two opinions. That is the best that can be said for
the oracles of old. The element of crookedness
tended to enter into their transactions. Modes of
tampering with seals were quite well known. ^ If, in
the higher ranks of this calling, fraud was frequent,
the same was much more common among the venal
and rapacious soothsayers of the streets. Was this
maid then a mere impostor ? The foregoing considera-
tions would point in that direction. But there are
others which are quite decisive against the theory of
wilful imposition. The august counterpart of this
woman was the Pythoness of Delphi. Both were
supposed to be inspired by Apollo. Both belonged to
a religious system keenly antagonistic to that pro-
claimed by Paul. No mere trickster would have ven-
tured to advertise this rival company as " servants of
the Most High God who announce a way of salvation."
But that was the very thing this soothsayer did, " for
many days " ; to the vast loss of the syndicate who
owned her, and to the great grief of Paul. A shrewd
^ Luciau, Pscudomantis.

7

98 Demonic Possession in the JVeiv Testament

adv^enturess would not liave created those troubles for
lierself and her employers. If the Apostle had sus-
pected her of mere deceit, her discomfiture would not
have lingered so long. Before his " glittering eye,"
Elymas, the well-seasoned sorcerer, had already re-
coiled in terror. A sagacious fortune-teller would
have instinctively avoided such company. So the
theory of fraud entirely fails to substantiate itself.
2. Was this a case of insanity ? There are
abnormal symptoms of that sort ; such as want of
self-control, along with noisy demonstrations. Clearly,
the woman was incapable of taking in the situation ;
whether it affected her masters, whose sordid selfish-
ness she did not understand, or Paul, who was vexed
with her monotonous wail. Her insanity was of a
mild chronic type, quite harmless to the lieges. She
had wit enough to distinguish Paul and his company
day after day, and memory sufficient to pick up a few
phrases among those strangers ; such as " servants of
the Most High God," and " way," and " salvation."
The very mildness of her derangement was one of her
best qualifications for discharging the functions of a
Pythoness. Euripides remarks that " madness has a
good deal of the prophetic art ; for whenever the god
largely enters the body, he makes the madmen foretell
the f utvire." ^ Plato similarly says that " the greatest
blessings we possess, spring from madness, when granted
by the bounty of heaven. For the prophetesses at
Delphi and the priestesses at Dodona, when mad, have

^ Bacchic, 241,

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 99

done many and noble services to Greece, but in their
sober senses, little or nothing." ^ How easily a lunatic
might pass for a heaven-sent messenger, is seen from
the words of Plato, as quoted by Clement of Alex-
andria, attributing " a certain dialect to the gods ;
concluding this specially from dreams and oracles, as
well as from demoniacs, who do not speak their own
language, but that of the indwelling demons." In the
case before us, this maid had " a spirit, a Python " ;
otherwise a soothsaying demon (Bai/xovtov fiavTiKov).-
" The inspired idiot " is a well-known phrase, recalling
the preceding opinions. It remains a conviction with
some who regard themselves as illuminated, but whose
affinities in this respect are decidedly with the races of
the lower culture.

THE EPHESIAN DEMONIAC

And God wrought special miracles by the hand of
Paul ; insomuch that unto the sick were carried from
his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases
departed from them, and the evil spirits went forth.
But certain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took
upon them to name over them that had evil spirits, the
name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preacheth ! And there were seven sons of
one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this. And the
evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I acknow-
ledge and Paul I am acquainted with ; but who are ye ?
And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on
them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against

1 Fhccdrus, 47.

- Meyer, in loco ; cf. ^ncid, vi. 77-80.

100 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

them, so that they fled out of that house, naked and
wounded. Acts xix. 11-16.^

There is a change here in the character of the cases
of possession compared with those previously con-
sidered. The superstitious of the Ephesian Christians
are thrust into unhappy prominence, as well as their
magical practices. Paul had long laboured in Ephesus ;
the result being that " all those who dwelt in Asia
heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks."
His reputation as a worker of miracles was also
firmly established ; so that " from his person were
brought to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons," when
demons and diseases alike departed. The Apostle
had thus, in popular esteem, become a store of healing
virtue, which required only a material vehicle to
render it effective to the afflicted at a distance. At
an earlier period, we find Peter in Jerusalem, the object
of a similar veneration. People resorted to him for
therapeutic purposes, trusting not in " handkerchiefs
and aprons"; but in his "shadow" (Acts v. 15).
There is no evidence whatever to prove that either
Peter or Paul encouraged those practices, which
savoured strongly of superstition. The grace of God
is not of necessity bound to the correctness of a
theory. Jesus responded to a genuine, though super-
stitious, faith in the case of the sick woman (Matt,
ix. 22).

The cure of the possessed at Ephesus would have
been reduced to its simplest ethnic terms, had clothes

^ Appendix D, Fact-basis of the Ephesian narrative.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 101

" touched to the body " of Paul been used alone. It
is evident, however, that the Name of Jesus was the
potent instrument in the cure of the demoniacs by the
Christians, The strolling Jews were prompt to notice
the point ; and the sons of Sceva forthwith resolved
to add the Name to their repertory of incantations.
Their first attempt to operate with the new talisman
was not more dangerous tlian ludicrous. A genuine
experiment was aimed at by those exorcists. The
demoniac was no selected impostor. He was appar-
ently a sufferer from epileptic insanity, now enjoying
a temporary intermission of his troubles. There are
indications of a certain degree of mental vigour, and
traces of religious monomania. The course of events
becomes quite intelligible.

The initial state of this man betokened no immediate
danger. He was in a house, when sought out by this
enterprising couple. But his condition was one of exces-
sive irritability ; predisposing him to violent reaction
on the application of even a trifling stimulus. The
routine Jewish practice, as attested by Josephus and
Justin Martyr, comi^rised adjurations and fumigations.
The method was undoubtedly most provocative to a
person " possessed." What more certain than that the
alarming adjuration combined with the acrid smoke
would produce an instant outburst of maniacal fury ?
The lunatic, now roused to the highest pitch of excite-
ment by those sons of Sceva, summed up all his griev-
ances in a comprehensive " assault and battery " on
his tormentors. They had gone, no doubt, to that

102 Demonic Possession in the Nevj Testament

house in the brave attii'e of the magician ; ^ but after
being "jumped upon " and " mastered " (Acts xix. 16),
they fled from the scene of their operations, bare and
bleeding ! That spectacle was highly edifying to those
who had hitherto reconciled their profession of Chris-
tianity with the practice of " curious arts." Burning
their books, they thenceforth purged themselves from
this leaven of paganism.

' See Lucian's Fhilo2)scudes, Kecuomantis, and Pseudomantis.

CHAPTER IV

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession —
contiimicd

numbers of the possessed in the time of

OUK LOED

AN approximation only is possible ; but even that
leads far afield. When, however, the indica-
tions available are carefully considered, a fair appre-
ciation of the numbers of the possessed at this date
is attainable.

A. The regions u'hcnce the j^osscssed were brought

These were Jud;ea, Galilee, PercTa ; also Decapolis,
Tyre, and Sidon.^ The three former districts com-
prised the great divisions of Jewish territory proper.
The other three were outlandish, and inhabited by
mixed populations. The cities of Decapolis are not
uniformly defined by the ancient geographers. The
number may have varied, as the towns composing
this confederacy were loosely combined for mutual
purposes of commerce and defence. Pliny men-
tions Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia,

1 ]\ratt. iv. 2') ; Mark iii. 7, 8 ; Luke vi. 17.
10.0

104 Demonic Possession in the Ncvj Testament

Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Damascus, and Eaphana.
Ptolemy gives eighteen cities ; but the numerical
difference is immateriah The point to be noted is
that Damascus is common to both Usts. That dis-
poses of the attempt of Keim to remove it from the
catalogue of " The Ten Cities." It also points to
the reason for Christ's choice of Capernaum as a
centre for effective work. Capernaum was the foeal
2Joint of the Eastern and Western Dispersions, heeause
of its situation on the great commercial highway between
the East and the West. It dominated the following
regions : —

1. The Euphrates Valley.

2. Decapolis and the towns of Galilee.

3. Tyre, Sidon, and other Mediterranean ports.

4. Jerusalem and its southern dependencies.

At this date the Jewish merchants of Babylonia
and Alexandria almost monopolised the Indian and
Eastern Trade of the Eoman Empire. The former
were interested in the sea - borne commerce which
passed up the Persian Gulf, by the Euphrates Valley,
through Palmyra, Damascus, and Capernaum ; thence
to such ports as Tyre and Sidon ; and so to the cities
of the West generally. Any event of uncommon
importance occurring in Capernaum would within a
few days be reported in the Eastern and Western
Dispersions. The news sped along the great trade-
routes radiating from Capernaum. After the stirring-
events associated with the beginning of the Healing
Ministry of Jesus in that city, we can at once under-

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 105

stand how multitudes should flock from all parts of
the land of Israel ; also from Decapolis, Tyre, and
Sidon. The Jews of the Diaspora^ might have availed
themselves of the gracious activity of our Lord in the
healing of the afflicted.

B. The population of Palestine

The census returns of Augustus have vanished lono;
ago ; and we must rely on indirect evidence. The
enumeration of Joab covered an area closely corre-
sponding to " Jud»a, Galilee, Peraja ; Decapolis, Tyre,
and Sidon." It indicates a population of not less
than 4,000,000. Another account gives even a
larger reckoning.^ The figures may seem high for
a land mainly engaged in agriculture ; but the
period was a prosperous one. That census may
fairly represent the case also in the time of our
Lord.

When Sennacherib captured " forty-six of the strong
cities of Hezekiah, with innumerable fortresses and
small towns," he " counted as a spoil 200,150 per-
sons, great and small, male and female." This loss
does not seem to have been much felt in the little
Southern Kingdom, whose population could scarcely
be less than 1,000,000. Comparing the area con-
cerned with that traversed by Joab, we are prepared
to accept 4,000,000 as the population under David
and under the early rule of the Eomans.

Josephus asserts that in his day, Galilee contained

"•■ 2 Sam. xxiv. 5-9 ; cf. 1 Chrou. xxi. 5, 6.

106 Demonic Possession in the Nciu Testament

"240 cities aud villages " ; ^ each containing " more
than 15,000 people." ^ That gives a population of
more than 4,000,000. But these figures are fabu-
lous. They give a density of population of more
than 3000 per square mile; whereas Lancashire, the
most popvdous county of England, after Middlesex,
has less than 2000 on the same unit of surface.
Again, the exports of Galilee were enormous, and
found an outlet in the markets of the world. But if
the population of this district were 4,000,000, then
the home consumption must liave been very vast ; not
permitting exports of the magnitude indicated. We
shall not greatly err, if we reduce the estimate of this
historian by half, aud take the population of the
whole country at 4,000,000, as found within " Judiica,
Galilee, Peraea ; Decapolis, Tyre, aud Sidon," in the
time of our Lord.^

C. The mental temperament of the 2')coplc

The history of the Hebrews is open to us for many
generations, Abraham represents the Arabic strain
in this race ; Jacob, the Aramaic. The temperament
of this nation was highly emotional, greatly impulsive,
and prone to melancholy in critical situations. These
pathological elements are not at variance wdth the

1 Vita., 45. - B. J. in. iii. 2.

^ The number of the passover pilgrims was some 3,000,000 {B. J.
VI. ix. 3). Another account suggests 6,000,000; the kidneys of the
paschal lambs being 600,000 (Pes. 64&). Many of these pilgrims were
from the Diasporae ; so that there is here no clue to the population of
the land of Israel proper.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 107

possession of great excellences otherwise. The liability
to excessive emotion reminds us of the weeping
warriors of Homer. Thus, after a temporary reverse,
Joshua and the elders of Israel fell to the earth, upon
their faces, before the ark, till eventide ; rending their
clothes and casting dust upon their heads (Josh,
vii. 6). A similar picture is given when the tribes
were defeated by Benjamin ; for they wept and fasted
(Judg. XX. 26). In like fashion, David and his mighty
men cried over their losses, till they had no more
power to cry (1 Sam. xxx. 4). The ambassadors of
Hezekiah similarly shed bitter tears over their ill
success with Sennacherib (Isa. xxxiii. 7). Jeremiah
describes the daughters of Zion, as sitting in silence
on the earth, casting dust upon their heads, and girding
themselves with sackcloth (Lam. ii. 10). Ezra gave
way to temporary religious melancholy when he tore
his mantle, plucked out the hair of his head and
beard, and sat down dumb with astonishment (Ezra
ix. 3). These instances of a strong neurotic element
in the temperament of the people readily became
conventional or theatrical, on the one hand ; or easily
developed into mental disease under adverse circum-
stances, on the other.

The records of suicide are not of much consequence
in this connection ; because the significance of the act
is not always discernible. Abimelech was really a
suicide (Judg. ix. 54). Saul and his armour-bearer,
also Ahithophel, figure thus in the Old Testament,
and Judas in the New. But Josephus and other

108 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

writers attest an unhappy frequency of such rash acts
at a later date.^

D. The mental health of the pcoiile

Here the concrete mstances of mental derangement
recorded in the Old Testament fall for description.
To these are to be added certain general indications
of the existence of sach ailments, derivable from the
same source —

1. David's feigned dementia." — The easy and success-
ful imitation of this condition by David argues its
frequency at this date ; in this locality at least. It
would otherwise have been impossible to impose so
completely on the court. David " changed his con-
duct " ; scrabbling on the doors, and slavering on his
beard. So aptly did he play his part, that the king
curtly dismissed him with the remark : Lo, the man
is mad !

2. Said's 2'x^'i'secution mania? — The history of this
case is most striking. From the first, Saul evinced
a supersensitive disposition. When called to be king,
he hid himself. His speedy assumption of the pro-
phetic role was natural to him ; though surprising
to the spectators. Not long afterwards, he be-
trayed decided symptoms of mental disorder, for
which his courtiers advised the services of a cunning
musician. Saul's first outbreak of jealousy against

^ Jus. B. J. III. viii. 5, 6, 7, vii. viii. 6, 7 ; Gittiii bib ; Cliulliu
94a.

- 1 Sam. xxi. 13, 14. ^ 1 Sam. xvi. xviii.-xxi.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 109

David occurs in connection with the ode of
triumph- —

Saul has slain liis thousands,

And David his ten thousands.

From that day onward, he eyed David. The period
of the insane interpretation of the conduct of others
has now begun ; also a deeply rooted aversion to
David as the cause of all his troubles. Probably, the
king suffered, like others of this class, from hallucina-
tions ; such as imaginary voices, urging him on to
acts of violence. Preceding these outbreaks, there is
a phase of mental exaltation, with much incoherent
talk. He prophesied (raved E.V.) in the midst of the
house. The sequel was a deliberate attempt on the
life of David. Failing in this, he adopts a more
politic course by giving David a commission against
the Philistines. Again disappointed, he incites others
to secret assassination ; but in accordance with the
usual course of this ailment, he shows himself, for a
little, amenable to reason, upon the intercession of
Jonathan. His derangement again suddenly asserts
itself; and, yielding thereafter to his homicidal im-
pulses, the king renews his attempts on the life of
David. Being thwarted once more, he sends forth
emissaries to kill him at dawn. His morbid sus-
picion is now fully organised ; and in the pursuit of
David, he passes again into the ecstatic state ; strip-
ping himself of his clothing ; lying down unclad, all
that day and all that night. After David's escape.
Jonathan falls under suspicion as the accomplice of

110 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

the absentee ; and becomes in turn the object of
homicidal passion. This third outbreak of maniacal
fury is the antecedent to the characteristic complaint
against the army as partisans of the son of Jesse.
The outcome of this is the ferocious onslaught on the
priests. Then follow two prolonged pursuits of David,
which mark the progress of his malady.^ It is not at
all surprising to find again that Saul on each of these
occasions, should again prove for a season amenable
to reason. His mental vigour as yet does not seem
to be impaired in other directions. His suicide saved
him from the dementia in which such cases usually
end. The whole case is a notable illustration of
" persecution mania." Its affinities are w^holly remote
from the fine poetic creation of Eobert Browning,
entitled " Saul." 2

3. NebucliadnezzcLrs lyccmthropy.^ — The historical
difficulties of the narrative are not under considera-
tion ; but the enumeration of a set of symptoms indi-
cating the presence of that peculiar form of mental

^ The two narratives are from different sources, aud some regard
tliem as duplicates (1 Sam. xxiv. 1-22, xxvi. 1-25). From the psycho-
logical standpoint, two separate pursuits are extremely probable.

^ Josephus misunderstands the disorder of Saul. He speaks of
"dreadful and demoniacal disorders," involving "suffocations" and
"strangulations" ; "an evil spirit and demon assailing him" {iyKadi-
^oixevuv). He evidently relies on the Sejituagiut, which asserts that
"an evil spirit from the Lord choked him " (^7r>'t7e;'), rather than on
the Hebrew, which declares that ' ' an evil spirit from the Lord troubled
him." Josephus thinks, no doubt, of ejiileptic seizures; and ascribes
these to demonic agency. He is at the ethnic standjioint ; not so, the
first Evangelist.

" Dan. iv. 33.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 111

disorder, in which the person imagines tliat he is
changed into a beast, and attempts to act in character.
This disease was much commoner in ancient times
than now ; judging from the numerous forms of the
myth of the were-wolf. Here the king flees the
habitations of men ; eating grass like an ox ; his body
being wet with the dews of heaven, till his hairs were
grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's
claws. It is interesting to recall, in this connec-
tion, the story of the hero, Eabani, of Chakhean
legend. He was apparently the victim of lycanthropy
also.^

In addition to these specific cases of mental disease,
which were familiar to the Jews, there are other in-
dications of the existence of a large amount of mental
disorder. There is madness from drunkenness (Jer.
XXV. 16, li. 7); from misfortune (Deut. xxviii. 34);
from religious excitement (Hos. ix. 7; Jer. 1. 38):
from prophetic afflatus (2 Kings ix. 11 ; Jer. xxix. 26).
In the progression of events, circumstances emerged
unfavourable to the vigorous mental health of the
nation. Their whole environment in the land of their
captivity among Babylonians and Persians tended to
agsrravate latent elements of mental disease. " The
Preacher " testifies to an extensive prevalence of in-
sanity in his times. He professes to have made a
special study of it (Eccles. i. 17); referring to the same
in a series of passages.- This writer brings us near to

^ See Maspero, Dawn of Civilisation, p. .57611".
- Eccles. ii. 2, 12, vii. 7, 25, ix. 3, x. 13.

112 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

the year 200 B.C. Eenan suggests the year 125 B.C.
These dates both introduce us to troublous periods in
the history of the Jews. In the former case, they
were distressed under the Seleucid^e ; in the latter,
they bore the hardships of the War of Independence.
Any existing mental infirmity among the people would
now tend to a disastrous issue. But the crowning
aggravation of previous adverse conditions was the
weary struggle against the might of Eome, with its
tyrannies, its fanaticisms, and its copious bloodshed.
These things prepare us for the discovery of a large
amount of psychical disease among the Jews in the
time of Christ.

E. The repi^esentations of the Gospels

1. Capernaum is the first scene of Christ's activity
in this department; but not the first scene of His
miraculous powers. In addition to the healing of the
demoniac in the synagogue, we find a large concourse —

When the even was come, they brought unto him many
that were denionised and he cast out the spirits witli a word,
and all that were ill he healed. Matt. viii. 16. Cf. Mark
i. 3-2, 34. Luke iv. 40, 41.

2. The scene of a wider ministry is now Galilee, of
which we have little more than summary notices —

Jesus was goiug about in the whole of Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom,
and healing every disease, and every infirmity among the people.
Matt. iv. 23. Preaching and casting out demons. IVIark i. 39.
Cf. Luke iv. 44.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 113

3. The climax of this work appears in the great
multitudes who were drawn from all parts of the
country and from regions beyond —

The report of him went into the whole of Syria, and they
broiTght unto him all that were sick, holden of divers diseases
and torments, specially also ^ the denionised and the epileptic
and the palsied ; and he healed them. And there followed him
great multitudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem,
and Judsea, and from beyond Jordan. Matt. iv. 24, 25. Cf.
Mark iii. 7, 8, 10, 11. Luke iv. 14, 15.

4. This vast movement proved that the harvest
was great and the labourers few, so that the choosing
of the Twelve is in close relation to it —

He called unto him his twelve disciples, and gave them
authorit}^ over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal
every disease and every infirmity. Jesus commanded th6m,
saying, Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,
cast out demons. Matt. x. 1, 5, 8. Cf. Mark vi. 7. Luke
ix. 1.

5. At a later date, the healing of the possessed is
still proceeding apace —

Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name and we
forbade him. Mark ix. 38. Cf. Luke ix. 49.

Go ye and tell that fox. Behold I cast out demons to-day and
to-morrow. Luke xiii. 32.

G. The mission of the Seventy is important in
attempting to estimate the mmiber of the demonised ;
both on account of the numbers employed and the
success attained. The arguments of Strauss, De
Wette, Gfriirer, Baur, and others, lack cogency to pro-

^ ileycr, in loco.

11-i Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

cure its rejection. A full examination of the subject
leaves no doubt upon a candid mind regarding the
reality of the Mission.^ The record of it is brief and
somewhat paradoxical —

Heal the sick and say to tliem, The kingdom of God
is come nigh nnto you. The Seventy returned with joy,
saying, Lord even the demons are subject to us, in thy name.
Luke X. 9, 17.

7. There may have been other occasions when
the demoniacs were healed, though unmentioned ; as
when Jesus went forth and " saw a great multitude,
and was moved with compassion towards them, and
healed their sick" (Matt. xiv. 14); or as when they
broucrht to Him the afflicted " out of the cities and
villages and country " of Gennesaret (Mark vi. 55, 56).
It is a mistake, however, to suppose that the demon-
ised were always in evidence when the healing of
disease was going forward. The testimony of Christ
is explicit on the point. To the deputation from the
Baptist, He said. Go and tell John the things which
ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight
and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the
deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor are
evangehsed (Matt. xi. 4, 5).-

^ Appendix E, The ^lissiou of the Seventy.

- Luke repeats the words of Matthew with a notable addition as
jireface : "In that same hour, he cured many of their diseases and
plagues and evil spirits, and unto many that were blind, he gi-anted
sight " (Luke vii. 21). The mention of ' ' evil sitirits " is an independent
touch. Is it the hand of a redactor ?

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 115

F. Comparison of the Jews ivith the Greeks and the
Romans

It has been shown that the hereditary factor was
pronounced in the case of the Jews, and was much
aggravated in later times. The narratives of the
Synoptists prove the existence of a large amount of
lunacy and idiocy among this people in the time of
our Lord. Were they, then, any worse off than their
neighbours in this respect ?

1. The Greeks. — Latent elements of mental dis-
order are here also clearly perceptible. Lycanthropy
was rather common in Arcadia. The daughters of
Proetus were thus afflicted, and the contagion spread
to the women of Argos. Bellerophon was insane,
" shunning the trodden path of men." Sophocles, in
his noble Ajax, skilfully describes a case of acute
mania. Similarly, Euripides, in his thrilliug Hercules
Furens, depicts artistically a case of epileptic
insanity. Herodotus records at some length the
madness and self-mutilation of Cleomenes. Plato, in
his BepuUic, provides for the adequate cai'e of
lunatics. Aristotle repeatedly refers to such ailments.
Plutarch, in his Superstitions, gives an excellent de-
scription of religious melancholy. In his work on
" The Failure of the Oracles," he relates the case of
the Pythoness at Delphi, who became insane in the
discharge of her office ; being seized with " a speechless
and evil spirit," and dying shortly afterwards.^ In

^ The Pythoness inhaled the vaiiours emanating from the oracular

116 Demonic Possession in the Ncio Testament

accordance with these indications, we find insanity
and allied diseases receiving scientific attention in
the Greek schools of medicine, from the time of
Hippocrates onwards. These meagre hints go far
to show that in the matter of mental temperament
and health, the Greeks were not superior to tlie
Jews.

2. The Bomans. — Hereditary factors are here also
strong. That popular play-wright, Plautus, used to
spice his comedies with the lighter phases of insanity,
as in his Amphitruo, Aulularia, Captivi, Mensechmus,
and P(ienulus. Horace gives an amusing instance of
delusional insanity in the gentleman of Argos, who
listened with rapt pleasure to imaginary actors in the
empty theatre. He denounced his meddlesome friends
for curing him of a most delighful delusion. In one
of his satires (il. iii.), this poet gives a locus classicus
on the subject ; describing the simple mania of one
who treasures up trash ; the acute mania of him who
pelts his neighbours with stones ; the delusional
insanity of him who takes a lambkin for his daughter ;
the dementia of the grey-beard whose joy is baby-
games ; the active melancholy of the slave who rushes
through the streets, bawling out for immortality.
Then we have also the valuable treatise of Celsus on
mental diseases, and the appalling array of quack
remedies preserved (passim) by the elder Pliny in his

cave. When under tlieir influence, licr movements and utterances were
interpreted hj the presiding priest. These niephitic fumes may have
precipitated lier insanity.

Medical Asjiects of Demonic Possession 117

Natural History. The Emperor Caligula (37—41
A.D.) was full of the wildest ideas ; being a sufferer
from epileptic insanity. These fragmentary indica-
tions demonstrate that in regard to mental tempera-
ment and health, the Eomaus were not superior to
the Jews.^

G. Comparison of the Jews with the peoples of the
British Isles

Many other standards of comparison are available ;
this being merely a matter of convenience. An
attempt is here made to reach the practical bearing
of the preceding facts, namely, the discovery of the
probable number of the possessed in the time of our
Lord. The general similarity of the conditions pre-
valent among those different nations is much more
striking than appears at first sight. A comparison is
feasible, provided that two things are constantly kept
in view.

1. The factors of causation of mental diseases in
general. — These cannot be enumerated in detail ; but
with a wide outlook on all the elements of a perplex-
ing problem, it may be asserted that the two cases are
fairly on a par. In favour of the Jews was their
greater temperance ; to their disadvantage was their
adverse environment at this date. The excessive use

^ Suicide among the Romaus throws little or no light upon the
present subject ; having practically become a philosophic adieu to
life. The act is, however, always inconsistent with a healthy, self-
sufficient temperament.

1 1 8 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

of stimulants in these Islands is confessedly re-
sponsible for more than twelve per cent, of the
existing cases of mental disease. But tlie trying
surroundings of the Jews, social and political, could
scarcely be less baneful, in this regard. The " occur-
ring " cases must therefore be regarded as nearly
equal.

2. The treatment of the 2^ossessed. — The Jewish
methods were magical and irrational ; productive of
much harm on the whole. That is part of the infor-
mation conveyed in the parable of the demon return-
ing reinforced by other seven, worse than himself
(Matt. xii. 43-45). But the ill effects of the ancient
methods acted in two directions. The rude empiri-
cism of an ignorant age multiplied the numbers of
the possessed. Injudicious treatment or neglect
killed them off. The one factor balanced the other.
Similarly, the beneficial effects of modern medicine
act curiously in two directions. The scientific
methods of to-day tend to the restoration of mental
health and to a diminution in the numbers of the
insane and idiots. But rational treatment and care-
ful nursing prolong lives formerly sacrificed by the
lack of these advantages. The total, therefore,
of " existing " cases stands somewhere about the
old level.

Where the factors of causation are so nearly identi-
cal, and where countervailing elements in treatment
produce almost similar results, the proportion of
" existing " cases of mental diseases in those two

Medical Asjjeds of Demonic Possession 119

communities is practically the same. If so, then the
following results accrue : —

Census returns for the British Isles (1891) —

Total Population . . . 37,888,153
Insane and Idiots . . . 115,641

Estimated returns for Palestine {circa 30 a.d.) —

Total Population . . . 4,000,000

Insane and Idiots . . . 12,000

That seems to be the nearest possible approximation
to the numbers of the possessed in the time of onr
Lord. The application of the proper technical
formulae would readily disclose the average number
cured within any given period. But such an attempt
would be useless ; because the healing of the possessed
neither proceeded at a uniform rate, nor was it com-
pleted. Christ had at one time the assistance of the
Twelve ; and at another, the aid of the Seventy. Help
was thus placed within the reach of all. Yet large
numbers at a later date resorted to the Apostles in
Jerusalem for the cure of such ailments (Acts v. 16).
That fact, coupled with the representations of the
Gospels, seems to corroborate the foregoing estimate
of the numbers of the demonised in Palestine in the
time of our Lord.^

^ The Jews of Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt alone were reckoned
at many millions. Being in very close touch with their brethren in
the home-land, they were doubtless aware that ' ' a great prophet " had
arisen in Galilee. But their contribution to the number of the de-
moniacs cured by Christ must have been small, if any. The difficulties
in tlie way of bringing such patients so far were enormous. Perhaps

120 Demonic Possession in the Nevj Testament

NATUKALNESS OF THE ETHNIC THEORY OF POSSESSION

The physical basis of the " demoniac state " has
been shown to be " lunacy or idiocy." We have now
to consider how natural the ancient theory of pos-
session was. The demonstration need not proceed
beyond the three typical cases.

1. Epileptic insanity. — During his convulsive
seizures, the person seems to be throttled by an
unseen foe, as he writhes and foams on the ground.
During the fury of his maniacal excitement, conduct
and character seem to have wholly changed. There
is also an air of purpose and method in those out-
bursts of fury and destructiveness, which bespeaks a
guiding agency. At the end of this abnormal state,
the patient may have no remembrance of wliat has
transpired, or he may give an erroneous account of
himself. What simpler explanation of the matter,
then, than that of the untutored mind ? A demon
has entered into the person, overpowering his soul,
and compelling the members of the possessed to do
its wicked will.

2. Acute mania. — The personality is here also
changed ; the thoughts, affections, and activities being

the heathen contributed more than those Jews to the multitudes of
the demonised. There is the case of the Syro-Phoenician girl ; possibly
also that of the Gerasene. At least, Josephus calls the adjacent
Gadara "a Hellenistic city." The natives of Decapolis, who in
characteristic phrase, "glorified the God of Israel," may have witnessed
the cure of the possessed in their midst ; among the "many others"
(Matt. XV. 30).

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 121

disordered. Memory is dislocated. The person is
out of harmony with his surroundings. He becomes
indifferent to social customs and established usages ;
sometimes so violently hostile to them that he prefers
wild solitude. He seems to have entered the society
of invisible beings ; holding ghostly conference with
them ; seeing what no other sees ; hearing what no
other hears ; now crouching in dread before his
spectral foes ; now shouting out defiance ; now re-
lentlessly mutilating himself. What other inter-
pretation can the unscientific mind put on these
proceedings than demonic possession ?

3. Epihptic idioey. — The epileptic seizures are
evidently the work of a wicked spirit. If the con-
dition has begun early in life and is constantly
progressing, then it is plain that the demon has been
gaining the upper hand and usurping the body of
its victim. If the attacks are severe and frequent,
then it is evident that the " demon hardly departeth";
every fresh attack being a new onset of the foul
demon ; every cessation of the symptoms a departure
of the assailant. Attempts at suicide are clearly the
efforts of the malignant demon to destroy the life
of the possessed. The simplest explanation is the
primitive one. The person is demonised !

NATURALNESS OF THE TEEMS " EVIL AND
" UNCLEAN "

Evil and unclean spirits are sometimes " spirits of

122 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

the tombs," ^ " spirits of foul places," " spirits of un-
clean diseases," " sonls of the wicked dead." But in
connection with the demoniacs, this nomenclature has
evidently a significance of its own. On ethnic prin-
ciples, the conduct of the possessed was the clue to
the character of the possessing demon. The use of
the preceding descriptive terms arises naturally out
of the circumstances ; and remembering that the
physical basis of the demoniac state is lunacy or
idiocy, a further study of the subjects of those
derangements at once discloses the rationale of the
designations, " evil " and " unclean." Esquirol declared
that moral alienation is the proper characteristic of
mental derangement ; adding that though " there are
madmen in whom it is difficult to find any traces of
hallucinations, there are none in whom the -passions
and the moral affections are not perverted or de-
stroyed." These propositions may not command un-
limited assent ; but they represent the facts of a very
wide experience, and help us now. A consideration
of the three typical cases explains and justifies the
use of the terms under consideration.

1. The demoniac of Capernaum. — His outburst of
epileptic insanity was preceded by a certain amount
of mental deterioration, shown in his aimless wander-
ings which implied inability to discharge the duties
of his position, and loss of interest in his occupation.
In cases of this sort, memory becomes defective ; the
temper is liable to exacerbations of violence or homi-

^ See note on Sauli, Ql)h.

Medical Aspects of Demonic I^ossession 123

cidal fury. The finer sensibilities are impaired ; low
tastes or nasty habits are contracted. Eeligious
monomania may coexist with erotomania. As the
case advances to its worst, brutish instincts tend to
predominate, and the very physiognomy may assume
a brutal aspect. With such crass comminglings of
religion and repulsiveness, the terms " evil " and " un-
clean " are sadly significant.

2. The demoniac of Gerasa. — This man, prior to
his being healed, was in a most deplorable state. His
normal memory was gone ; his sense of propriety had
vanished. He was quite unfit for the society of his
fellows, and sought a congenial abode in the place of
uncleanness. But things still worse were present.
There was his delight in odious nudity, and his
horrid self -mutilations. In him, as in others of his
class, the moral sense is largely suppressed ; the
result being that brutish impulses become regnant.
Through all these phenomena of degradation, physical,
mental, and moral, there appears to have run, as so
often under such circumstances, a strain of religious
fervour. The terms " evil " and " unclean " are there-
fore most unfortunately in place.

3. The idiot hoy. — The welfare of maturer years
presupposes the acquisition of correct habits in child-
hood. The early onset of the boy's illness may have
prevented him from surmounting the normal in-
firmities of infancy. To these initial defects, others
would be added in the course of years. Where the
primary instincts are distorted or depraved or sup-

124 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

pressed, the rudiments of a sound morality are
wanting. Under those conditions, the impulses of
youth are likely to defy the decencies of life. The
instability of temper and the tendency to violence,
common to epileptic idiots, are not to be lost sight
of. What piteous emphasis is thrown into the appeal
of the despairing father : If thou canst do anything,
pity us and help us ! In the lurid background are
the spectres, " evil " and " unclean."

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE POSSESSED

Having discussed the raison d'etre of the preceding
terms, their natural sequel now claims attention,
namely, the responsibility of the demonised. On
ethnic principles, these unfortunates were supposed,
through some fault or other, to have given occasion
and opportunity to the demons to enter them. They
were therefore answerable for their incipient condition
as well as for its continuance. But the demoniacs
were either lunatics or idiots, whose mental defects,
according to the teaching of modern science, were a
bar to their being held responsible for their doings.
Insanity or idiocy is ahoays a devolution. The higher
centres of the brain are enfeebled, while the lower are
more or less unchecked in their operation. Lunatics
and idiots, being mentally below par, cannot be held
responsible for their behaviour.

Was that also the opinion of Christ ? Some have
attributed to Him another view, JSTo one emphasised

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 125

moral responsibility more than He. With a keen out-
look upon men and the facts of disease, He asserted
at times a connection between the sufferer and his
sins, in a tone which could not be misunderstood. To
the man sick of the palsy He said, Courage, child,
thy sins be forgiven thee (Matt. ix. 2). To the man
at the pool of Bethesda He said, See, thou art now
well ! Sin no more, lest a worse thing happen unto
thee (John v. 14)! The hideous physical and moral
disabilities of the possessed could not be hidden from
Christ ; yet He never once hinted that they were
monsters of iniquity, who were receiving the due
reward of their deeds. He healed them of His
own accord ; dismissing them without reproach or
rebuke. He regarded them evidently as beyond
the common rule ; and in this respect, His attitude
towards those demoniacs was in perfect accord
with the highest requirements of science and
humanity.^

THE TREATMENT OF THE POSSESSED

This subject is really encyclopaedic ; and a meagre
sketch of the same must suffice. Only a few typical
methods can be adverted to, which were used either
singly or in combination.

^ It is hardly possible to take Olshausen, Trencli, aud others,
patiently, when they affirm that Christ required even from the pos-
sessed a declaration of their fiiith in Himself. It was not a fact ;
because it was not a possibility !

126 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

A, Jewish methods of treatment

1. Coaxing demons. — This method implies a timor-
ous attitude towards the demons, rather inconsistent
with the grandiose claims of the exorcists. It was
however not uncommon. In the case of Saul, it
took the form of music. Justin Martyr notes it in
connection with adjuration. " Now assuredly, your
exorcists make use of art when they exorcise, even as
the heathen do ; employing fumigations of incense and
incantations." ^

2. Disgusting demons. — The case of Sarah, the
daughter of Eaguel, is of great interest, whether
regarded as a case of obsession or possession ; the
treatment being the same. Eaphael, the angelic
comrade of Tobias, has a fine conception of the mal-
odorous. He advises that the heart and liver of the
magic fish be laid upon the embers of ashes. The
fumes from the putrid remains of the fish must have
been outrageously irritating (sulphuretted hydrogen,
acrolein, etc.), — " fiend-smiting " and " most healing " ;
amply sufficient to drive Asmodreus " post to Egypt," ^
or anywhere else. In Tanchuma 70, fumigations are
also mentioned.

3. Terrorising demons. — Josephus affirms that he
was witness of the performance of Eleazar, before the
Emperor Vespasian and his army ; when the exorcist
put a ring that had a root of one of the sorts men-
tioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demonised

1 Dial, iciih Tnjpho, Ixxxv. - Tob. viii. 2.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 127

(BaifiovL^o/jbivov) ; after which he drew out the demon
through the nostrils. When the man fell down instantly,
he adjured the demon to return into him no more ;
still mentioning the name of Solomon, and reciting
the incantations he composed. The root referred to
is, no doubt, that which our author elsewhere calls
" baaras," whose colour was like that of a flame ;
emitting towards evenmg a ray like lightning. The
root could only be got by magical means, one of
which involved the death of the dog yoked to it.
The sole value of the plant depended on its anti-
demonic properties.^ It is really the mandrake (Man-
dragora verncdis). A little imagination with a little
manipulation soon discovers in the root the semblance
of a man ; so that Semitic and Aryan races have
deemed it the home of a spirit and possessed of
supernatural qualities. Pliny gives the Latin rite for
gathering the plant {H. N. xxv. 94).^ He knew that
it possessed certain soporific and anaesthetic powers.
The practice and the outfit of Eleazar are of great
interest ; because they clearly show the relation of
Jewish demonology and exorcism to ethnic principles
and customs.

"^ Ant. viir. ii. 5. Cf. B. J. vii. vi. 3. The name "baaras" may
have two references —

1. Burning, — n-ij'3 : in reference to its red and white flowers.

2. Stupid, — nyn : in reference to its anresthetic and soporific pro-

perties. The folk-lore of Shakespeare included the mandrake —

The insane root that takes the reason prisoner. Macbeth.
Give me to drink maudragora. Antony and Cleopatra,
Not poppy nor mandragora. Othello.

128 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

(a) The ring. — This plays the part of the magic
pentacle in the extraction of demons. Liician, in his
Fhilopseudes, mentions an iron ring, obtained from
a gibbet, as used for a similar purpose. Among
Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, and others, spirits
were supposed to enter the interior by the mouth or
nostrils. The ear-ring was originally the nose-ring,
designed to guard these portals. The former remains
as an ornament ; the latter has disappeared in the
West, owing to adverse climatic influences. Eleazar,
in imitation of Solomon, had his ring probably
engraven with the Ineffable Name ; so rendering it
super-potent against all demons.

(b) The root. — This really included the whole plant
(B. J. VII. vi. 3). Pliny, in the passage already
cited, says that the odour of the mandrake was so
potent that it sometimes struck persons dumb. It
was inherent mainly in the root and the fruit. The
application of the plant to the nostrils brought its
powerful odour into operation ; and at the same time
utilised the bright colour of its flowers.

(c) The ineanfation. — Eleazar was not content with
an appeal to the senses of smell and sight. He
appealed also to the sense of hearing ; making use of
the rubric ascribed to Solomon. This reference to a
" Past-Master " of the black art and the use of his
incantations reminded the possessing spirit of the
triumphs of the king over " the prince of male
demons." The success of these menaces is as little
to be doubted as their alleged authorship.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 129

B. Ethnic parallels to Jewish methods

The demonology of the Greeks/ and their scientific
system of medicine/ claim a place of their own. The
treatment of the insane among this people is sur-
prising for its excellence and its effectiveness. The
sufferer was a patient, labouring under mental disease,
whose relief v)as to he accomplished hy rational thera-
peutics. But among other pcoijles, the sufferer was the
hold of an unclean spirit, which had to he dislodged
hy magical processes. In the West, the foundations of
scientific medicine were already laid in observation
and experiment. In the East generally, professional
lore was but superstition systematised. In these
matters, the Jews were simply at the ethnic stand-
point ; only more humane. The following parallels
are proof.

1. Coaxing demons. — Evil spirits are still soothed
by the burning of incense in India and China. Music
is also a recognised mode of effecting the same end.
The offering of savoury foods for the pleasuring of
demons has still its advocates. Tylor cites an excel-
lent instance of the same, in the case of a Bengalee
cook, who was seized with an apoplectic fit. His wife,
among other things, laid out little heaps of rice, saying,
Oh, ride him not ! Ah, let him go ! Grip him not
so hard ! Thou shalt have rice ! Ah, how good it
tastes ! Among certain savage races, evil spirits are to

^ Appendix F, Greek Demonology.
- Appendix G, Greek Medicine.

130 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

be extracted by stroking, sucking, licking, or caressing
the person of the possessed.

2. Disgusting demons. — This implies an appeal to
the senses of smell and taste. On the theory that
a demon has been inhaled or swallowed, this method
is obvious, and of easy application. Apuleius mentions
the use of " artemisia," an aromatic plant, extolling
also " aristolochia" for fumigations. Serenus Samonicus
notes that " villainous odours often cure the insane."
The concoction of " hell-broths " requires but little
more ingenuity. The Babylonians had reduced the
preparation of these to a fine art. Brecher mentions
mixtures of wood, snake, mead, and raw flesh ; tree
root and dog's tongue ; sheep's heart, skin, herbs, and
reed. The Eomans, according to Pliny {H. N. passim),
were not less ingenious in the making of things loath-
some to smell and taste. Not one whit behind the
chief of exorcists are the witches of Macbeth —

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake :
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blindworm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,

These substances, powerfully odorous or fearfully
nauseous, by their very loathsomeness to the senses of
smell and taste, must often have produced violent
emetic or drastic effects. The result would be an
occasional success, in cases of epilepsy and hysteria ;

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 131

sometimes even of insanity. Thus, the art of the
exorcist would perpetuate itself, and plunge still more
deeply into tlie vile and the loathsome, for the ejection
of demons.

3. Terrorising demons. — This was vii'tually an appeal
to the further senses of the demonised, — to hearing,
sight, and touch. These had their respective functions
to fulfil.

3a. Terrorising hy menacing ttwds. — The adjuration
is the simplest of all methods ; but as the fancy or the
need of the exorcist directed, the appeal was made to
various parties.

A. The gods might he direetly invoked. — The ancient
Egyptians applied to Thot, the Master of the Magic
Formula, skilled in the fears, the infirmities, and the
ritual, which dominated all superhuman beings. The
magician being partner in this lore, was the equal of
Thot ; and from the utmost bounds of space could
summon the mightiest of the mighty, against mischiev-
ous spirits. In like manner the Babylonians appealed
to the gods of heaven, specially to Merodach, Gibil,
and Ea. Of this trinity, Ea was the most powerful ;
being lord of spirits. Justin Martyr says to Trypho,
Though you Jews exorcise any demon in the name of
those who were among you — either kings, or righteous
men, or prophets, or patriarchs — it will not be subject
to you. But if any of you exorcise it in the name of
the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, it will
perhaps be subject to you {Dialogue, c. 85). To the
same effect is the testimony of Origen, who says that

132 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

" many of those who give themselves to the practice
of conjuring demons, employ in their spells the expres-
sion, 'God of Abraham'; though they do not know who
Abraham is. And the same remark applies to Isaac
and Jacob and Israel ; which names, though confessedly
Hebrew, are often introduced by those Egyptians who
profess to produce some wonderful results by their
incantations" {Contra Celsum, i. 22).

B, The sujjerior demons miglit he directly invoked. —
After Ea had been confounded with Mul-lil, lord of
spirits and ruler of the under-world, appeals to this
" prince of demons " for the ejection of lesser demons,
became current. At the present day in China, the
same idea holds sway. Where the native doctor fails
to cast out a demon, spiritualists are called in. A
charm is written out and then burnt, that it may
reach any spirit hovering about. Incense is also
burnt. If no name is written on the paper, the
nearest demon accepts the invitation to eject his
feebler congener. The first comer may offer " a
robustious and rough oncoming " ; so that another
charm is prepared, and inscribed to Lu-tou, a more
facile demon. These are instructive illustrations of
one satan casting out another. This pagan rite was
Christianised, when the angels were invoked instead of
the superior powers of evil {Clem. Homil. v. 5).

C. Tlie infesting siyirit might he directly menaced. —
The Jewish adjuration addressed to the demon of
epilepsy is a fine sample of " a railing accusation " :
0 tliou demon that art hidden, thou son of foulness,

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 133

thou son of abomination, thou son of uncleanuess, be
thou cursed, crushed, anathematised, as Schmagas,
Marigas, Istemaa (Shab. Bab. 67a). Words were
often used, devoid of any significance, save perhaps to
the demons thus menaced. Plutarch relates that the
magi advised the demonised to read and repeat the
" Ephesian Letters" when alone {Sympos. vii. 5).
These words were said to have been uttered with
great effect by Croesus on the funeral pyre ; and were
also said to have been used by an Ephesian wrestler,
whom his Milesian antagonist could not overcome, till
these " Letters " were removed from his ankle, when
the Ephesian was overthrown thirty times in succes-
sion.^ The " Letters," often referred to, but never
quoted, are cited by Clement of Alexandria and by
Hesychius : — askion (darkness), kataskion (light), aix
or lix (earth), tetrax (year), damnameneus (sun), aision
(true). The Milesians had a similar set of words for
the plague-demon : — bedu, zaps, chthon, plectron,
sphinx, knaxbi, chthyptis, phlegmon, drops. Lucian
testifies also to the use of occult Hebrew and
Phoenician names in his Pseudomantis. On a grade
little inferior to the foregoing are the noisy demonstra-
tions of the Indian " medicine-man," aided by drum
and rattle, who barks the demon out of his patient.

3&. Terrorising hy startling sights. — Here the appeal
was to the sense of sight. Fire was commonly used
in this connection ; and the rite became Christianised
at an early date, when it was thought sufficient to

^ Eustathius. Homer, Od. 24.

134 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

warn the demons of the fire of hell in store for them.
Exorcists have always sought to enhance their dignity
by grotesque exhibitions and fantastic dress. The
following quaint tale illustrates a regal method of
imposing upon a stubborn demon. When Eameses xii.
was suzerain over Mesopotamia, he met and married
one of the daughters of a subject chief. At a later
date, came a request to Egypt for a physician to cure
the sister of the queen, who had become possessed of
an evil spirit. A physician was sent ; but his best
efforts were futile. Eleven years later, came another
request ; this time not for a physician, but for a god,
to heal the patient. Accordingly, the god Khonsu of
Thebes was sent in his ark, taking some eighteen
months on the journey. Confronted by the god, the
demon cried out, Great god, that chaseth demons, I
am thy slave, I will go to my place whence I came !
They sacrificed therefore to the spirit, and it went in
peace. Bat the father-in-law of Eameses coveted this
mighty god, and resolved to cheat the Pharaoh out of
his property. This knavish design was frustrated by
a dream, in which tlie chief saw Khonsu flying off to
his own country in the form of a golden sparrow-hawk ;
while the would-be thief was suddenly seized by ill-
ness. Thus admonished again of the powder of the
demon-compelling deity, the latter was returned, after
an absence of some seven years from his Thcban
home.^

^ Lenoi'iiiaiit, Anci'-nl Ilislory, i. ]>. 270 f. Maliafiy, ProJcgomena
to Ancient Hisiory, }>. 300.

Medical AsiKcts of Demonic Possession 135

3c. Terrorising ty 'painful sensations. — Here the
appeal is to cutaneous sensibilities. This method is
heroic, and has been unhappily popular in all ages.
Cyprian put the matter in its true ethnic form when
he asserted that Christians were able to compel evil
spirits, to overcome them, and to force them to confess
what they were, by threats and rebukes ; and by harsh
stripes, press them to depart ; to augment their punish-
ment more and more, till they were forced to struggle,
to lament, and to groan ; to beat them with stripes
and to burn them with fire. These things were done
upon the theory that they operated invisibly on the
demons, and were manifestly a punishment to the
possessing spirits.^ Among savage races, beating,
squeezing, and kneading of the possessed are still
common methods for expelling those baleful foes.
Torture by fire is frequent. The Sumatrans enclose
the possessed in a hut, which is then set on fire ; leav-
ing the occupant to escape as best he can, — minvs
his demon. In China, the thumbs of the demonised
are tied together ; also the great toes. A pill is then
placed at the root of the finger-nails, and another at
the root of the toe-nails. These are kindled and kept
in place till the flesh is deeply burned. During the
process the demon cries out : I am going ! I am
going at once ! I'll never dare to return ! Oh, have
mercy on me this once ! I'll never dare to return !
In that country also, needles are not infrequently
plunged into the tips of the fingers, likewise into the

' Ujiisfic lo Duncdits.

136 Demonic Possession in the Ncio Testament

nose and the neck of the possessed, for the removal of
the demon.

COMPARATIVE RESULTS

It has been shown that between the Jewish and
the ethnic doctrine of demons there is substantial
agreement. Both bespeak a hoary antiquity. But
the treatment of the possessed is only the practical
application of current theories to individual cases.
Harmony in regard to underlying principles, carries
with it harmony in concrete methods. The preceding
parallels are the demonstration of that essential agree-
ment in therapeutic practices. The belief of the
exorcist was that the demon was to be reached through
the avenues of sense. By these channels, influence
might be brought to bear upon the possessing spirit in
the way of coaxing, or disgusting, or terrorising it ; the
result being the dislodgement of the enemy and the
restoration of the possessed. But it is to be very
distinctly noted that the success of all these methods
depended on the comparative soundness of the organs
of sense.^ Given a fairly healthy organism, the possess-
ing demon was open to assault through the medium
of the senses, either singly or in combination.

1. Through the sense of smell, hi/ fumigations,
pleasant or odious.

^ Wliere tlie sensory organs were but little affected, the illness was
slight and likely to proceed to spontaneous cure. That result would be
claimed by the exorcist as his ; hence the perpetuation of superstitions
arts.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Poi^scssion 137

2. Throwjh the sense of taste, hy " hell-broths," or

vile mixtures.

3. Through the sense of hearing, hy violent threats

or withering abuse.

4. Through the sense of sight, by fantastic or terrific

exhibitions.

5. Through the sense of touch, by the infliction of

m anifold tort arcs.
These circumstances are of special importance in
clearing up the cases of the dumb demoniac, the blind
and dumb demoniac, and the idiot boy. To the two
former, is attached the charge of Christ conspiring with
the prince of demous. In the light of the preceding,
their former obscurity vanishes.

CHEIST AND CURRENT METHODS OF TREATMENT

The Gospels show that Christ's method was neither
magical nor medical. The cures of Christ were
effected quite apart from the popular superstitions of
the East or the scientific methods of the West.^ He
cured "by a word" (Matt. viii. 16), and "instantly"
(Luke xiii. 13). If so, then the treatment of the
possessed by Jesus was transcendental in character
and attainment. But that is the very conclusion
which a negative criticism has always deprecated. It
has its philosophic inventory of things in heaven and
earth, and aught beyond that is inconceivable. Its
mood has changed for the moment. Where an older
' Appendix G, Greek Medicine.

138 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

scepticism once denied the miraculous with offensive
assurance, a more recent rationalism gives effusively
with one hand what it artfully removes with the
other. A striking feature of the present situation is
the concurrence of an ostentatious acknowledgment
of the miraculous with a real negation of it. The
psychological ex2)lanation is the grand instrument of the
modern Naturalistic School. The views of its principal
representativ^es demand consideration.

1. Strauss attempts to explain the cure of the
possessed by two remarkable canons.

{a) The more strictly the malady was confined to
mental derangement on which the word of Jesus might
have an immediate moral influence, or to a comparat-
ively slight disturbance of the nervous system, on
which He would be able to act powerfully through the
medium of the mind, the more possible was it for
Jesus, " by a word " or " instantly," to put an end to
such states. On the other hand, the more the malady
had confirmed itself as a bodily disease, the more
difficult is it to believe that Jesus was able to relieve
it in a purely spiritual ^ fashion and at the first
moment.

{h) To any extensive spiritual^ influence on the
part of Jesus, the full recognition of His dignity as a
prophet w\as requisite ; whence it follows that in
districts where He had long had that reputation,
He could effect more in this way than where He
had it not.

' Psycliolugical.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 1 '-5 9

Strauss here contempktes three degrees or forms of
the malady : (1) affecting the mind; (2) affectmg the
nervous system ; (3) confirming itself as a bodily
disease. Yet he regards possession as "a species of
madness." But mental disease is not an entity,
separable from the nervous system, or from the body.
The brain is the organ of mind ; and mental disease
has always a physical basis, the pathological traces of
which are to be sought in the brain. To throw the
prophetic character of Christ into the scale is most
misleading ; for that, as will be shown, was not at all
apparent to the possessed. Apart from the heated
imagination of its author, this pathology of Strauss is
purely " mytliical."

2. Eenan holds that the disorders which were ex-
plained by possession were often very trilling. " In
our times, in Syria, they regard » as mad or possessed
by a demon (these two ideas were expressed by the
same word — medi/noun), people who are only some-
what eccentric. A gentle word in such cases often
suffices to drive away the demon. Such were, doubt-
less, the means employed by Jesus. Who knows if
his celebrity as an exorcist was almost spread without
his knowledge ? Persons who reside in the East are
constantly surprised to find themselves possessed of
a great reputation as doctors, sorcerers, or discoverers
of hidden treasures, without being able to account
to themselves for the facts which have given rise to
these strange fancies."

Here again is a total lack of api)reciation of the

140 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

gravity of the disorders, ]iianifested in the three
typical cases of possession. Kenan's explanations are
even less satisfactory than the pseudo-scientific canons
of Strauss. Slight eccentricity may sometimes pass
for possession in the East ; but to present such cases
as genuine parallels to the three foregoing instances,
described in detail Ijy the Evangelists, is to ignore the
facts of observation. To call persons suffering from
grave forms of epileptic insanity, acute mania, and
epileptic idiocy, " only somewhat eccentric," is an
abuse of language. To suggest that such would be
cured by " a gentle word," betrays the profoundest
ignorance of the ailments under consideration.

3. Keim holds that it was the superstition itself,
the superstitious idea of possession, and not any actual
phenomenon, which formed the generative cause of
the disease. In the cure of demoniacs, therefore,
Jesus did not put foreign guests to flight ; but only
freed an enslaved self-consciousness from the morbid
dispositions and the melancholy with which the super-
stition of the sufferers themselves, and of others,
were w^ont to trammel men. If incantations, magic
formulae, fumigations, anointings, and ablutions were
conceivably beneficial to the insane, restoring them to
health for a longer or shorter time ; then must we
attribute much greater success to the impressions and
influences produced and exercised by the person of
Jesus, by His holy calm. His imposing confidence, and
His authoritative word of command ; even without
semi-magical formuhf. The influence of Jesus was

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 141

brought to bear with triple energy upon the possessed,
through His name in the mouths of the people, His
look, and His authoritative utterance. Keim adds that
modern science is unanimous in accepting this view
of Christ's influence; Paulus, Schleiermacher, Hase,
Neander, De Wette, Bleek, Winer, Strauss, Schenkel,
Holtzmann, Weizsiicker, and others, being cited in this
regard.

Medical experts liave still to learn that these autlior-
itics are representatives of " modern science " ; wliatever
their worth otherwise. It is natural that one w^ho finds
the cause of possession in the mere superstitious con-
ception, should laud psychical and moral agencies for
the cure of such troubles. Yet even hallucinations
and delusions have an organic basis ; and the cor-
rection of the psychical processes attends the adjust-
ment of the physical functions. The demoniacs of
Keim are certainly not those of the Gospels; but fig-
ments of his own imaghiation. His pseudo-scientific
therapeutics are on a level with his imaginary
patients.

4. Matthew Arnold asserts that " medical science
has never gauged — never perhaps set itself to gauge
— the intimate connection between moral fault and
disease. To what extent, or in how many cases, what
is called illness is due to moral springs having been
used amiss, wdiether by being over-used or not being-
used sufficiently, we hardly know, and we too little
inquire. Certainly it is due to this much more than
we commonly think ; and the more it is due to this.

142 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

the more do moral therapeutics rise in possibility and
importance. The bringer of light and happiness, the
calmer and pacifier, or invigorator and stimulator, is
one of the chiefest of doctors. Such a doctor was
Jesus ; such an operator, by an efficacious and real,
though little observed and little employed agency, upon
what we, in the language of popular superstition, call
the unclean spirits, but which are to be designated
more literally and more correctly as the uncleared,
unp^irified spirits, which came raging and madding
before him."

The litterateur, doubtless, finds more " sweetness "
in the term " uncleared " ; but the scientist more
" light " in its alternative — " unclean." Psychological
medicine takes account of " moral causes " in the pro-
duction of mental disorders ; but holds aloof from
" moral springs," and allows to the former only a
limited field of operation. In hke manner, it takes
cognisance of moral treatment, in the prosaic form
of rational discipline ; but has not yet generally, if
at all, risen to the moral glorious term " moral
therapeutics." These, however, are points of minor
consequence. What we have to notice is the assertion
of Matthew Arnold that " by an efficacious and real
agency," " upon unpmified spirits," Jesus proved Him-
self in such cases " the bringer of light and happiness,
the calmer and pacifier, or invigorator and stimulator."
In a word. He acted as " one of the chiefest of doctors."
But that is essentially an under-statement. Take
again the three typical cases of possession, which on

Medical Asj^ects of Demonic Possession 143

their physical side are instances of epileptic insanity,
acute mania, and epileptic idiocy. If Jesns here
operated " by an efficacious and real agency," then
He cured those patients. Hence it follows, that He
did what no other has ever been able to accomplish ;
for we freely challenge the records of medicine to
produce three similar cases of epileptic insanity, acute
mania, and epileptic idiocy, where the cure was
effected " by a word " and " instantly." He Who
confessedly attained to such results is not merely "one
of the chiefest of doctors," — He is indefeasibly the
Chiefest ! In a sense wholly unique. He proved for
those patients " the bringer of light and happiness,
the calmer and pacifier, or invigorator and stimulator."
It will be time enough to discuss the modus ojjcrandi
of our Lord, when the followers of Arnold furnish us
with a scientific definition of " moral springs," ^ and a
complete system of " moral therapeutics." Till then,
the student of science must regard these elegant dis-
quisitions as superfluous verbiage.

It is needless to go beyond these representatives
of the Naturalistic School. Their fundamental mis-
take is an inability to discover, or a refusal to recog-
nise, the fact that mental diseases of a most formidable
type can never be equated with simple eccentricity

1 What had the idiot boy, whose illness dated " from childhood," to
do with the excessive use or the disuse of "moral springs" ? Had the
Gerasenes some fore-glimmerings of the value of "moral theraiieutics,"
when theytried to "tame" their demoniac (Mark v. 4) ? In Jerusalem
the method was unknown or lightly esteemed, judging by the remark :
He has a demon and is mad ! Why hear ye him ?

144 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

or common hysteria. The pathological factors can
neither be minimised nor dismissed. It remains,
therefore, for the negative critics, either to acknow-
ledge outright the supernatural success of Jesus or to
renew their Sisyphean labours.^

PROOFS OF THE EXPULSIONS OF DEMONS

Josephus relates that wiien Eleazar wished to
demonstrate to the Emperor Vespasian and his army
the ejection of a demon from his demoniac, he placed
a cup or foot-bath, filled with water, a little in front
of the spectators. The demon was charged to upset
the vessel on his exit ; to furnish ocular demonstra-
tion of his departure. The evil spirit, from fear or
courtesy, complied with the injunction, to the satis-
faction of all. Philostratus, in his Life of ApoUonius,
tells how the sage discovered a demon in a young
man, who laughed and cried, without apparent reason.
The evil spirit, when disclosed, broke out into all the
foul language used by people on the rack, and swore
to depart for good. ApolloDius rebuked the demon
as a master does a saucy, cunning slave ; bidding him
depart. At once the spirit cried out and promised
to go ; the proof of departure being the overturning
of a certain statue. That was done accordingly, amid
great uproar. The young man then woke up, as out
of sleep, and thereafter amended his ways according
to the precepts of Apollonius. A modern instance

^ Appendix H, Testimonies to the success of Jesus.

Medical Aspects of Demonic Possession 145

of a similar sort is that recorded by Nevius, in his
Demon Possession. It occurred in the house of one
Chang, a Chinaman, in 1883. Different women of
the family were demonised. Worship was demanded
for the demons in their name ; but refused by Chang.
Thereupon, food, clothing, and valuables were stolen
in the most mysterious way. Furniture and dishes
shook and rattled without perceptible cause ; fires also
broke out without apparent reason and destroyed
several buildings. On one occasion, two women were
possessed. One of them set herself to the drinking
of wine ; tossing her arms about, using strange lan-
guage, and giving way to tears. A religious service
was held by some Christians, at the conclusion of
which the woman was lying unconscious or asleep.-^
After a time she woke up, and sought out her visitors
who were still in the house. She said she had had
a long sleep and was her old self again ; having had
no idea of what had happened during her aljuormal
state. " About this time, just before dark," there was
a great commotion among the fowls and swine of the
house, which continued for some time, and was be-
lieved to he due to the entrance of the demons into
them. We need not tarry over the credibility of
these events ; but note that ethnic custom required
tangible proof of the departure of possessing demons.
The onlookers had to be convinced of the reality of
success by spectacular results. How different the
practice of our Lord ! He offered no ocular demon-

1 Tipsy ?
lo

146 Demonic Possession in the Keiv Testament

stration of the ejection of spirits. The stampede of
the swine is no exception to that rule. Such a sign
loould have been useless to the man under any circum-
stances. If really cured, he had the witness in himself
in the sense of restoration. If still uncured, no
hecatomhs of swine would have convinced him that
he was sane. The old hallucinations and delusions
would have remained. In these cases, Jew and Greek
and Chinaman trust to lying vanities ; but Christ is
wholly superior to such devices. He effected the cure
and left it to bear its own testimony.

CHAPTER V

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession

~DY placing the symptoms of the possessed alongside
-*-^ of their modern parallels, it has been shown
that all cases designated " demoniac " belong to the
category of "Lunacy or Idiocy." But was there
aught in these cases which went beyond the mere
pathological phenomena ? Were there forms of
possession with which real demons were directly con-
cerned ? Two simple rules must guide this inquiry.

(a) Whatever is explicable on the principles of

modern science is to be regarded as natural.

(b) Whatever is inexplicable on the principles

of modern science is to be regarded as super-
natural.

Corresponding to those axioms, two classes of the
possessed emerge potentially.

(a) Cases simply natural and not genuinely demonic.

(&) Cases truly supernatural and genuinely demonic.

The latter appear as a residual phenomenon ; tran-
scending the former. As the issue may seem to turn
here upon a single point, the real strength of the
position is to be recognised. That introduces a new
element.

148 Demonic Possession in the Mew Testament
THE HISTORICITY OF THE GOSPEL NARRATIVES

There is no need to travel far afield, as the facts
to hand have a cogency of their own. The narratives
of the three typical cases are varied ; but at the
same time, congruous and complementary. They
afford clear testimony to the veracity of the different
authors.

1. The Capernaum demoniac. — Keim says, " This
incident did not happen." That dictum only proves
that he has no eye for the luminous background
which is patent to the expert alienist. The signi-
ficance of the symptoms here described was not
open to the spectators and reporters of this miracle.
They merely narrated what they saw and heard ;
interweaving the same with collateral events in the
synagogue. But the product is the correct repre-
sentation of a set of complex morbid phenomena with
a complex local environment. Invention is entirely
out of the question ; because it is so manifestly beyond
the capacities of the writers or their informants.
They are saved from inevitable blunders, only by
faitliful delineation of an actual case of epileptic
insanity.

2. The Gcrascnc demoniac. — This example is equally
instructive and reveals the same fidelity to fact. Here
the symptoms are manifold and the details of time
and place plentiful. The stampede of the swine is
an integral part of the narrative which greatly com-
plicates the whole situation. Yet it is in a precise

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 149

and natural relationship to the cure of the possessed.
The occurrence gave rise to a theory of the occur-
rence ; but the objective phenomena are thoroughly
in harmony with each other. That result is accom-
plished only by unswerving adhesion to the concrete
facts, in a manner which is wholly beyond the power
of any literary artist who lacks either the training or
the guidance of an expert in mental diseases.

3. The idiot hoy. — His condition is set forth with
large enumeration of features whose meaning was
quite beyond the comprehension of the spectators ;
such as the query about the onset of the illness, and
the remark about the lad being cast " both into the fire
and into the waters." The command of Jesus and
the subsequent convulsions are essential parts also of
one great whole, which is fitted together, not by art,
but by precise attention to the solid facts. The close
and necessary inter-connection of the diverse parts of
this spectacle is not within the ken of the observers.
Yet the Gospels furnish a consistent succession of
events which could only be derived from an actual
example of this ailment.

The correlation of so many diverse elements in
those three cases, in a manner which satisfies the
highest scientific requirements, spontaneously produces
the impression that we are here on the impregnable
rock of solid fact. This is one of the most delicate
tests of historicity which can be applied to the records
under consideration. There are other arguments of
a technical sort, whose nature, force, and relevancy

150 Demonic Possession in the Xev: Testament

may be ascertained from formal treatises on evidence.
But the preceding test can stand by itself ; for it is
minute, searching, complete, and decisive. It cannot
be surpassed or superseded : for it eliminates the
subjective factor which is the bane of historical
criticism. It rests upon objective data, and stamps
vrith authenticity, if not with inerrancy, the material
subjected to it. The historicity of those narratives of
possession is thus placed beyond conjecture.

THE CEITEKION OF GESTINE DEMONIC POSSESSION

That is now discoverable from the Gospels them-
selves—

1. The Capernaum demoniac —

The man in the unclean spirit said, I know Thee Who Thou
art, the Holy One of God. Maik i. 24. Cf. Luke iv. 34.

2. The Garasene demmiiac —

He saith, What have I lo do -with Thee, Jesus, Son of God
Most High ? Mark v. 7. Luke viii. 28. (Matt. viii. £9.)

3. The general cases —

He cast out many demons, and He suffered not the demons
to speak, because they knew Him. Mark i. 34. Cf. Luke
iv. 41.

And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down
before Him, and cried, saying. Thou art the Son of Grod. And
He rebuked them much that they should not make Him manifest.
Mark iii. 11, 12.

The confession of Jesus as the Messiah or Son of God
is therefore the classical criterion of genuine demonic
possession.

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 151

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS CONFESSION OF JESUS

Tills phenomenon is without parallel anywhere.
It therefore demands the most careful scrutiny.
Attempts to explain it have usually ended in explain-
ing it away. The following hypotheses really cover
the whole ground : —

1. Accident. — This theory recognises that in the
case of the insane, the unexpected is that which
happens. Their mental instability renders them
extremely sensitive to external influences ; so that
the issue is beyond prediction. Their freedom from
conventionality of speech and imagination, and their
tendency to refer their novel sensations and experiences
to the mysterious but plastic element of religion,
predisposes them to all manner of erratic things. But
the confession of Jesus as the Messiah is not an
accident. This striking feature is manifested under
the most diverse circumstances, by different persons
who suffer from different types of mental disease.
This strange constancy among a class notorious for
caprice and inconsequence is the condemnation of any
theory of accident.

2. Clairvoyance. — This we may call the theory of
Lange; who does not define his terms. He declares
that the nervous and insane subjects of our time, as
well as the demoniacs of the Gospels, are capable of
divining the disposition and intention of persons
around them, by an intensified power of foreboding.
They are in a morbid state of psychical agitation and

152 Demonic Possession in the Nev) Testament

iu closer affinity to the psychical movements of by-
standers than healthy persons ; having specially an
extraordinary sensitiveness to states of mind which
are in contrast to their own. And as clairvoyantcs
can be disturbed by the nearness of impure persons,
so demoniacs and lunatics often become excited by
the approach of saintly persons. They feel the opera-
tion of a power which even at a distance comes into
collision with their own, and presses punitively on the
secret consciousness of psychical terror with which
commonly their state of bondage is connected. That
the demoniacs were the first to proclaim Jesus as
Messiah, may be accounted for, by the activity and
perceptive vigour of their intensified power of fore-
boding, which brought them into a peculiar relation
with the consciousness of Christ and with the secret
thought of their own time. Such is Lange's theory.
The truth or falsehood of clairvoyance is immaterial
to the issue on hand. What is " intensified power of
foreboding " ? Whatever else it may stand for, in this
sample of obscurantism, it clearly implies a concentra-
tion of attention. But that is the very point wherein
the insane are specially defective. It is not at all too
much to say that even believers in modern spiritualism
would have found the intense mental disturbances
of the demoniacs of Capernaum and Gerasa, an in-
superable obstacle to the conditions supposed to be
necessary for clairvoyance. Eeactions produced on
lunatics by the mere presence of saintly persons are
the wildest fancies. This theory of clairvoyance is in-

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 153

effably impossible as an explanation of the recognition
of the Messianic dignity of Jesus by the demonised.

3. Vei'hal information. — The question before us
touches the possible sources of information. Jesus
Himself could not have been the informant ; because
He uniformly and vehemently repelled the testimony
proffered by the demoniacs. His attitude determined
that of the Apostles in this matter ; whatever their
private hopes or convictions might have been thus
far. These did not receive formal expression till
late in the ministry of our Lord, at Ciesarea-Philippi
(Matt. xvi. 13—20). On that occasion also the
strictest silence was enjoined upon the disciples. Nor
could the information have been derived from persons
outside of the circle of Jesus, because, up to the
moment of Peter's confession, public opinion had not
ventured beyond the timid conjecture that Jesus
might be Jolm the Baptist risen from the dead, or
Elias, or Jeremias, or one of the prophets (cf. Matt,
xvi. 14). Any authoritative declaration from any
external source was not available for the information
of the possessed. Yet their confessions of Jesus as
Messiah are coincident with the beo-innintr of the
ministry of Christ, and are made without reserve or
hesitation. Truly, flesh and blood had not revealed
this secret unto them.

4. Genuine discrimination. — This theory has found
considerable favour where the recognition of Jesus is
regarded as the resultant of the Messianic hope and
the impression ])roduced by the august personality of

154 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

Christ. " The Messianic hope was immanent in the
hearts of the Jewish people, ever ready to break forth
into expression, and it was quite to be expected that,
when the Messiah came, among the first to recog-
nise Him should be those diseased in their minds,
especially those whose thoughts moved within the
religious sphere. Insanity is much nearer the king-
dom of God than worldly-mindedness. There was,
doubtless, something in the whole aspect and manner
of Jesus which was fitted to produce almost instantane-
ously a deep spiritual impression to which children,
simple, ingenuous souls like the Galilean fishermen,
sinful yet honest-hearted men like those who met
at Matthew's feast, readily surrendered themselves.
Men with shattered reason also felt the spell, while
the wise and strong-minded too often used their
intellect, under the bias of passion or prejudice, to
resist the force of truth. In this way we may
account for the prompt recognition of Jesus by the
Gadarene demoniac. All that is necessary to explain
it is the Messianic hope prevalent in Gadara as else-
where, and the sight of Jesus acting on an impression-
able spirit. The view of the Blessed One acting on
the remnant of reason drew the poor sufferer to His
presence in instinctive trust and expectation of benefit.
The same view acting on the dark element produced
repulsion and fear. Hence the self-contradictory
attitude, as of one saying, It is the Christ ; He is
come to save me ; He is come to destroy me." ^

^ Bruce, MiraciiJous Element, p. 187.

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 155

Certain things here are really preposterous ; ^
certain others are to be freely admitted ; such as the
impressiveness of the person of Jesus, and the wide
prevalence of the Messianic hope. The latter may
even have crossed the seas to an alien race.- But
the bearing of these things on the sane is one thing,
and on the insane (demonised) is quite another.

The Messianic hope was both variant in form and
complex in character. Jewish literature, canonical
and extra-canonical, reveals different types of it. But
that hope, wherever found, was in essence a mental
image of " The Coming One," projected into the near
future, as the object of the national desire. The
image, however, was not innate. It was the product
of education. Its initial development in the case of
those whose early years were severely marred by
mental disease was an impossibility.

Supposing even that the image of the Messiah had
been duly fixed in the mind, there was always the
risk that through the accident of mental disease, it
might be obscured, or distorted, or blotted out. It is
notorious that such an event affects the mental land-
marks ; denuding some, destroying others, and more
or less confounding the whole. The demoniacs of
Capernaum and Gerasa may have at one time shared
the hope of the nation. If so, that hope was not at
all operative on their encounter with Jesus. The

1 Appendix I, Fallacies.

" See Suetonius, Vexp. 4. Tacitus, Hid. v. 13. Cf. Joseplius, B. J.
VI. V. 4.

156 Demonic Possession in the Xeio Testament

suspension of memory, judgment, and susceptibility,
so prominent on those occasions, was wholly incon-
sistent with the recognition of Jesus as Messiah, in the
manner suggested. The vast incoherences, contra-
dictions, and confusions of their mental life, thoroughly
disqualified the possessed for such discrimination.

5. Demonic inspiration. — The preceding theories
cover the whole field of what can be called the human
and the natural. Their rejection logically carries us
into the sphere of the superhuman and the super-
natural. The agency behind these ostentatious con-
fessions of the Messianic dignity of Jesus, was
evidently hostile. That is implied in their vehement
rejection on the part of Christ. Such disclosures
were really dangerous to the person of the King and
the establishment of His kingdom. They were an
incitement to the populace to precipitate a crisis with
the Eoman authorities. Any day there might arise
an attempt to make Jesus a king ; creating thereby
an intolerable situation. These proclamations from
the unseen world were also misleading. Moral pro-
gress must proceed accordmg to moral principles.
Confessions of Jesus as Messiah which failed to do
justice to His ethical claims upon humanity might
create excitement, but not faith. Such testimonies
were not more embarrassing than mischievous. Their
intent was malicious ; their source was tainted.
There is no escape from the simple statement of the
Evangelist, that " the demons knew that Jesus was the
Christ" (Luke iv. 41). Once we find our Lord refer-

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 157

ring to David as speaking " in the Holy Spirit " (]\Iark
xii. 36); i.e. "inspired by the Holy Spii'it." The
same Evangelist notes that the demoniacs of Caper-
naum and Gerasa were " in an unclean spirit " (Mark
i. 23, V. 2). By parity of reasoning, therefore, we
conclude that the confessions emanating from the
mouths of the possessed were due to demonic in-
spiration.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE POSSESSED

The preceding investigation has brought into clear
litrht two distinctive characteristics of genuine
demonic possession.

1. Insanity or idiocy of some sort, forming the

natural element.

2. The confession of Jesus as Messiah, forming the

supernatural element.
The former is established on scientific grounds and
cannot be shaken ; the latter on exegetical, and equally
invincible. This confession is a residual phenomenon
which is not reducible by any means to the purely
natural. Where this classical criterion is found, there
we postulate without hesitation, the activity of an
evil spirit. To this category belong the cases of the
demoniacs of Capernaum and Gerasa ; with the general
cases similarly attested. But there remain other cases
labelled " demoniac," where this criterion is not men-
tioned. At this stage, then, we recognise two classes
of the possessed in a tentative manner.

158 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

1 . Those manifesting the natural features of mental

disease, coupled with the supernatural feature
of the confession of Jesus as Messiah.

2. Those manifesting the natural features of

mental disease, without report of the super-
natural feature of the confession of Jesus as
Messiah.
Does the absence of the report of the confession
denote the non-existence of that confession ? Presum-
ably that is the case. No one has ever suggested that
the writers of the New Testament aimed at belittling
the power of Christ. Tlie opposite is often asserted.
But this confession of Jesus was a feature surprisingly
novel, and absolutely unique. It could not fail to be
profoundly impressive to memory and imagination.
Is it conceivable that such a striking phenomenon
should have been overloooked or suppressed ? We
may hold, then, that the absence of the record of
confession denotes the real absence of the same. But
we are not left to mere presumption or conjecture.
Several instances corroborate this view of the
matter.

(a) The idiot hoy. — The illness of this lad antedated
the ministry of Christ. The father described a series
of symptoms which had persisted with painful
regularity from childhood onwards. These, neither
more nor less, according to the narrative, were wit-
nessed by Jesus when the patient was brought for
cure. The symptoms thus enumerated or witnessed
are such as are purely natural ; being readily matched

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 159

by others in the present day. They present nothing
inexplicable on the principles of scientific pathology.
There is nothing corresponding to the criterion of
genuine demonic possession.

Further, as the lad was dumb, it is not possible to
see how a demon could utilise him for perverting the
minds of the spectators. What testimony could be
borne to Jesus otherwise than by articulate speech ?
The sudden scream, the violent fall, the writhing
limb, the ghastly aspect of one as dead, could have no
theological significance whatever. Distinct utterance
was the only weapon wherewith a demon might
adversely disclose the Messianic dignity of Jesus.
Other movements could not be thus construed. So
the lad was useless for the end in view. We therefore
conclude that the absence of any report of the confes-
sion of Jesus as the Christ, points to the exclusion
of this case from the category of genuine demonic
possession. A confirmation of this view may be
sought in the peculiar remark of Jesus, This kind
(of thing) goeth forth by nothing than by prayer
(Mark ix. 29).i

Q)) The Philippian Pythoness.- — Was there anything
more than insanity here ? She followed Paul and his
company, crying out, These men are servants of the
Most High God who announce to you a way of
salvation ! Is this the equivalent of the confession of
the demoniacs of Capernaum and Gerasa ? At first

^ See International Critical Commeiitarj^, in loco.
- Appendix J, The use of popular language by Jesus.

160 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

sight, that is credible ; but closer inspection of the
narrative does not confirm that view. Her declaration
contains elements that are of a neutral character, such
as " Most High," and " salvation." The former term
is really international, and applies to such deities as
Jupiter and Baal. It appears even in the " Poenulus "
of Plautus as an imported phrase — "Alonim valoniuth,"
" gods and godesses most high." ^ The term " salvation "
has also a non-sectarian significance ; belonging to
poetry, philosophy, politics, commerce, and common
life. These words, if used by Paul, would be easily
taken up by this woman ; and appear to be a blurred
remembrance of words uttered by him. The recogni-
tion of Paul as a servant of the Most High God was
not immediate. That is to be expected of one who
was weak of intellect ; not from one truly possessed
of an evil spirit. The mental capacities of this person
did not unfit her for picking up a few catchwords,
such as " way," " salvation," and " announce." These
were fused together in an incoherent manner, so that
the combination was not distinctively Pauline ; though
its parts might be such. In this proclamation, there
does not seem to be anything inexplicable on natural
principles, nor anything at all approaching the
immediate and unhesitating confession of Jesus as
Messiah, which is the criterion of genuine demonic
possession.

Further, this woman belonged to the order of the
Puthones {irvOoives:). Plutarch relates that they were

1 vi. 1.

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 161

formerly called Euriikleis (EvpvKX€t<;), after Eurukles,
mentioned by Aristophanes. He was a famous
ventriloquist, who was supposed to deliver true
oracles. Galen notes that the ventriloquists

(iyyaarpL/j^vOoL) were so called, because they spoke
with their mouths shut, so as to seem to speak out
of their belly. In any case, it is not feasible to rate
this woman higher than a common ventriloquist or
fortune-teller ; in whose case no genuine demonic
activity is discoverable. Was Paul then mistaken
when he charged the spirit to go forth ? It is possible
that at this stage he was not fully emancipated from
the traditions of the fathers ; but even that cannot be
proved. Eabbinic custom permitted a certain amount
of personification in the nomenclature of disease.
Paul may have used an ethnic formula without en-
dorsing ethnic doctrine.^ It is remarkable that in
none of his Epistles does he refer to the ejection of
evil spirits as one of the " gifts " {'xapia-fjiara) of the
Church ; while the charisma of healing is repeatedly
mentioned (1 Cor. xii. 9, 28, 30). Whatever view of
the matter be now taken, we note that the woman
was miraculously healed and the Name of Christ
magnified.

(c) Tlie Ephesian demoniac. — The extraordinary
strength alleged to belong to this man is quoted as
proof of demonic agency. But while he put to flight
his would-be saviours with sovereign rage and con-
tempt, supernatural strength is not demonstrable.

' Appendix K, The deniouising of the heathen god.s.
II

162 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

When operating in the presence of what was beheved
to be a dangerous demon, Jewish exorcists were in a
state of high nervous tension, ready to flee at the iirst
approach of peril. Here we recall the tale of the
Eabbi saved by the friendly cedar and similar stories.
The dangers inherent in the treatment of the demonised
were real, and here emerged with explosive violence.
The hearty onslaught of this demoniac on those parties
is no proof of superhuman vigour ; but an exhibition of
portentous cowardice on the part of those miserable
vagabonds.

The mention of the names of Jesus and Paul is no
indication of a supernatural knowledge. To begin
with, the demoniac was in a quiescent state. He was
not under bonds, but free to go abroad and shift for
himself in some sort. That argues a capacity for
receiving and retaining impressions of current events.
Now the preaching of Jesus by the Apostle was the
great topic of conversation in the city. Wherever
this man might go, he was sure to hear of Jesus and
of Paul. But even if he had no previous knowledge
of this kind, these two names were put into his mouth
by those exorcists : We adjure you by Jesus whom
Paul preacheth ! The reply of the demoniac is an
echo of that formula : Jesus I know, and Paul I am
acquainted with ; but who are ye ? There is nothing
here, then, corresponding to the confession of Jesus as
Messiah by the demoniacs of Capernaum and Gerasa.

The cases of the Syro -Phoenician girl, the dumb
demoniac, the blind and dumb demoniac, and Mary

The Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 163

Magdalene, need not be discussed. Presumably, if
not certainly, they belong to the same order as the
foregoing. By the application of the criterion of
genuine possession, a twofold classification of the
possessed has become possible —

1. Cases self -attested and clearly supernatural.

2. Cases not self-attested and simply natural.
These two classes must have been very conspicuous

to the contemporaries of Jesus. The first was ab-
solutely novel and unique. The second class was
commonplace. The " sons of the Pharisees " ^ dealt
with the latter ; attaining a show of success. It is not
necessary, with Pressense, Steinmeyer, and others, to
deny thisy Their remedies were perhaps heroic upon
occasion, and no doubt beneficial at intervals, because
of their pungent, drastic, or emetic effects, in cases of
hysteria, epilepsy, and mild insanity. Jesus acknow-
ledged so much, and in doing so confirms the preceding
classification.

IIESULTS OF THIS CLASSIFICATION

1. In the cases " not self-attested," there seems to
be an unwarrantable reduction of the miraculous.
But that is not so ; for even where there is no more
than the removal of physical disease, there is no dis-
paragement of the power of Jesus to save unto the
uttermost. He is adequate to every occasion.

Members of the order ol' the Pharisees : I'U'nsri '33 ; like ' ' nieuibers
of the order of the Elohim " : wrhan 'J3

164 Demonic Possession in the Nev) Testame7it

2. In the cases " not self-attested," there is a real
enhancement of the authority and dominion of our
Lord. There come into clear light two facts of
immense importance, which have hitherto received no
recognition —

{a) The remarkable paucity of the cases " self-attested."
{!)) The restriction of them to the earlier portion of

Christ's ministry.
Here then is proof that the demons did obey the
injunction of Jesus that they should cease to " make
Him manifest." They were already " muzzled." Here
also is a demonstration that the " strong man " has
been bound by the Stronger.

3. This enables us to understand why certain cures
of the demonised are put on a level with the healing
of non-demonic ailments —

In Thy Name have we not cast out demons, and in Thy Name
done many mighty works ? Matt. vii. 22.

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
demons. Matt. x. 8. Cf. Mark vi. 7. Luke ix. 2.

In that hour He healed many of their diseases, and plagues,
and evil spirits, and to many that were blind He granted sight.
Luke vii. 21.

Certain women wlio had been healed of evil spirits and
infirmities. Luke viii. 2.

Go ye and tell that fox : Beliold, I cast out demons and I do
cures to-day and to-morrow. Luke xiii. 32.

This classification of the demoniacs thus fully
approves itself. The cases " self - attested " were
clamorous and aggressive. The historical imagination
can form but the feeblest conception of the powerful
impression which demonic confessions were fitted to

The Existence of (jemiine Demonic Possession 1 6 5

produce on the minds of the contemporaries of our
Lord. It was never so seen in Israel ; no, nor anywhere
else ! That fact spontaneously determined a cleavage in
the ranks of the possessed.

THE ANTECEDENTS OF GENUINE DEMONIC
POSSESSION

Moral depravity has been generally cited as the
precursor to the demoniac state. Proof of the same
has been sought in the Beelzebul controversy, where
the ejection of spirits is coupled with the overthrow
of the kingdom of Satan. But that passage is not
decisive in favour of this view. The kingdom of
Satan has its physical as well as its ethical aspects,
corresponding to the cases " natural " and " super-
natural." The remark of Christ on the return of the
Missioners carries us no further. The language of
Jesus is highly pictorial : I beheld Satan as lightning
fall from heaven. It is to be remembered that Christ
offered Himself to men as the Healer of disease and
the Vanquisher of sin ; so that the successful establish-
ment of His kingdom involved the curtailment of the
devil's power in both directions, though these processes
do not advance j^aW passu. The ethnic theory always
assumes fault of some sort on the part of the unfortun-
ate sufferer. That idea appears in the early Church,
and has maintained itself in some sort until the
present day.

The author of the Clementine Recognitions describes

166 Demonic Possession, in the Nev Tcsfamcnf

Simon Magus as one possessed and incurable ; " be-
cause his sickness arises from his will and is become
spontaneous," the demon not dwelling in him against
his will (ii. 72). It is further asserted that a demon
has no power against a person, unless one submit of
his own accord to its desires (iv. 34). Likewise also,
Origen declares that demons gain a lodgment in minds
which have been already laid open to their entrance
by intemperance {C. C. ill. iii. 2). Jerome likewise, in
his Life of Hilarion, tells us that a maid, who had
been cured by the saint, had before her possession,
induced the demon to take up his abode within her,
by her unseemly conduct. These ancient authors are
all on the plane of the old-world superstitions, and it
is needless to multiply evidence from this source. It
is remarkable that these old pagan theories should
reassert themselves in modern times, and should
receive specific formulation from eminent theologians.
The following are sufficiently representative : —

John Lightfoot asserts that the demons were com-
mon in the time of Christ above all the times of
the Old Testament, and beyond any instances in any
other nation. Whether this were due to the fact
that the spirit of prophecy had so long departed from
them (cf. 1 Sam. xvi. 14); or that the Lord would in
justice confute the cursed doctrine of the Sadducees
(cf. Acts xxiii. 8) by this dreadful experience ; or that
He did evince His great displeasure against the sin-
fulness and falsehood of those times which was now
grown intense, by the delivery of so many to the

The Existence of rjemmu Demonic Possession 1G7

power of the father of sia and error ; or that He
would by this painful experience read all men a
lesson as to what a misery it is to be in the power
and subjection of Satan, and so make them more
intent to hearken after Him that was to break the
Serpent's head ; or all these things together ; it cer-
tainly did greatly redound to the honour of Christ
and to the magnifying of His divine power, and did
mightily prove that He had come to destroy the
works of the devil, when, finding so many that lay so
visibly under his power, He enlarged them all and
brought them from under that power, and bound the
strong man who could not resist Him.^ In another
passage, the same author holds that the cause of the
trouble was that the " Jewish people, having arrived
at the very summit of impiety, now also arrived at
the climax of those curses which are recited in Lev.
xxvi. and Deut. xxviii." Further, this " nation beyond
measure addicted to magic arts, did even affect devils
and invited them to dwell with them." "

Olshausen in his commentary on Matt. viii. 28-34,
advocates a similar view. He says that the demoniac
state presents psychical and physical features which
always seem to presuppose some form of moral
delinquency, " not so much as wickedness, properly
speaking, but more as predominant sensuality (prob-
ably lasciviousness in particular), indulged in con-
trary to their better self," Hence a weakening of

' Lightfoot, Horce Hcbraiccc, i. 639 (1684).
- Ibid. ii. 175.

168 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

the bodily organisation, specially the nervous system,
due to such sinful indulgence. This reacts on the
inner life, which suffers derangement, apparently pro-
portionate to the former acuteness of conscience. The
latter testifies against the demoniac, as to his personal
responsibility and his inability to save himself from
the fetters of sin and the kingdom of darkness, to
whose influence he has resigned himself. In such
cases there is, however, a desire for deliverance,
a spark of hope and faith which makes the subjects
of it susceptible to the powers of a higher life. This
hope is expressed by all the demoniacs, and faith is
the necessary condition of their healing. The indi-
vidual consciousness of the possessed is suppressed or
absorbed in the influence of the power of darkness,
but returns to the surface. The condition is not
therefore to be conceived as if two or more persons
were contained in them. The hostile power may be
alternately in the ascendant or in retreat. Demoniacs
are very miserable, but not the most wicked of man-
kind. Their state is distinguishable from that of
those who are " decidedly wicked." In the former
there is a contest against evil ; whereas in the latter,
the hostile force has been admitted undisturbed and
unopposed into the recesses of the heart. The first
class is salvable ; the second is not.

Dieringer, a Roman Catholic theologian, puts the
matter thus. Fallen man is in inward sympathy
with fallen spirits, and this inward affinity exposes
him to their seducin^ and tormenting influence. The

The Existence of genuine Demonic Pofisesdon 169

extent to which this influence is exercised, depends
on the moral self-assertion of the individual and the
decree of God. The antecedents to possession proper
are temptations, snares, besieging, blockade. These
preliminaries are hostile influences to which all men
are more or less exposed ; and possession occurs when
the self-assertion of the human over against the
demonic personality, present in the blockading, ceases ;
so that the demonic force has appropriated the use
of the bodily organs, and the soul appears to be in
bondage. The latter is not destroyed but may reassert
itself, when the possession reverts to obsession.^

Trench's views are practically those of Olshausen.
He holds that the demoniac state presents a blending
of the physical and the spiritual. Demoniacs are not
merely great sufferers, but great sinners also ; " greatly
guilty, though not the guiltiest of all men." Lavish
sin and specially indulgence in sinful lusts, super-
inducing a weakness of the nervous system, may have
laid such sufferers open to the incursions of the
powers of darkness. There is present in such cases
a sense of misery, of the true life utterly shattered,
of an alien power which has mastered them wholly
and is ruling in the high places of their soul, having
cast down the rightful lord. The demoniacs feel that
by their own acts, they have given themselves over
to the tyranny of the devil, so that his power is no
longer outside of them as a power which they can
successfully resist or from which they can save them-
1 Delitzseh, Biblical Psychology, p. 351 f.

170 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

selves. The demoniacs do not, however, acquiesce in
their misery but cry for redemption, when a glimpse
of hope offers ; and this yearning for deliverance
makes them the objects and subjects of Christ's
saving power. Otherwise, there would be nothing
for the divine power to lay hold upon. Faith is
the condition of their healing. While the individual
consciousness may for a moment reassert itself, the
foreign power forces itself upon the demoniac, taking
possession of him so that he speaks and acts as its
organ. Demoniacs are among the most miserable of
men ; but not of necessity, the most guilty. They
are distinguishable from " surpassingly wicked men,"
who with heart and will and waking consciousness,
do the devil's work. In the latter case, there is a
unity with evil and no cry for pardon.^

Weiss regards sin as the precursor of possession.
" The radical matter of fact was simply this, that the
sinful condition had reached a height where the man
no longer had the mastery of sin, but sin of him ; and
when sunk in his utter impotence, and possessing no
will of his own, he yielded to the enslaving power of
sin, this dominion is referred to a superhuman spiritual
power w^hich held sway over him and deprived him
of all volition." " What was most striking about the
appearance of these so-called demoniacs was the con-
junction with this yielding to Satan and the power of
sin, of a state of disease whether of a psychical or
bodily character, which is regarded as the result of
^ Notes on the Miracles,

TJie Existence of genuine Demonic Possession 171

their moral coudition." " These sufferers retained a
consciousuess of their moral bondage by the powers
of darkness, such as did not usually appear before the
beginning of their moral deliverance." ^

Further evidence to the same effect is superfluous.
The relevancy of that already adduced is easily dis-
posed of, without inquiring into the correctness of
Lightfoot's conjectures, or the views of Olshausen and
Weiss regarding the nature of demonic beings. The
only antecedent to all " self-attested " cases of posses-
sion is mental disorder of some sort or other.

THE LIMITS OF GENUINE DEMONIC POSSESSION

To attempt the unattempted is somewhat audaci-
ous ; but the enterprise here is not without promise
of success. The phrase, " moral and intellectual
damage," has passed into international politics. It
comes to hand conveniently. We have again to
recall the two factors pertaining to every case of
possession which answers to the criterion already laid
down —

1. The physical element or the presence of mental

disease.

2. The super-physical element or the presence of

demonic agency.
(a) The moral damage. — It has been shown that
the terms " evil " and " unclean " have only a patho-
logical significance in relation to the conduct of the

1 Life of Christ, ii. p. 81 ff.

172 Demonic Possession in the N'or Testawent

possessed. Their aberrant behaviour is completely
explained by the facts of psychlogoical medicine.
The depravity present is but an integral part of the
disease. Jesus did not therefore hold demoniacs
responsible for theii" condition ; nor did He at any
time ascribe to possessing spirits moral influence over
the possessed, so that the condition of the latter
should be ascribed to the former. Following that
ruling, no moral damage can be attributed to the
possessing spirits.

{h) The intellectual damage. — The symptoms of the
possessed have their parallels among the insane of
to-day ; the confession of Jesus as Messiah alone
excepted. But the pathological features existed in
the possessed prior to their confrontation by Jesus.
There is not the slightest indication of any aggrava-
tion of the purely physical derangement when the
demonised of Capernaum and Gerasa were brought
face to face with Christ. Luke says expressly con-
cerning the former that the demon went forth,
" having done no harm." The new feature in these
and kindred cases was " the confession " ; but that was
an intercurrent and momentary phenomenon, entail-
ing no intensification of the mental disorder. No
intellectual damage is therefore imputable to the
possessing spirits.

(c) If " moral and intellectual damage " be thus
excluded, then the range of the action of possessing
spirits becomes rather limited. It can have reference
only to the residual, the super-physical phenomenon,

The Existence of (jenuinc Demonic Possession 173

i.e. to the classical criterion of genuine demonic
possession, — the confession of Jesus as Messiah.
While the morbid concomitants of the demoniac con-
dition pre-existed in the cases under consideration,
this confession was an instantaneous act, evoked in,
with, and under, the i^'^'&sence of Christ.^

(d) Hypnotism is generally supposed to offer a true
analogy to the action of a possessing spirit upon one
possessed. That is a twofold error. Hypnotism is a
physiological or pathological process, always induced
through the organs of sensation. But the operation
of a spii'it is not conceivable on this wise. It is
further supposed that the hypnotic state is due to
the imposition of the will of the hypnotiser on his
subject. But the will has really nothing to do with
it ; for the operator may suggest one thing, and with
all his power will another, without altering the result.
Space forbids any theorising on the modus agendi
here. The fact of experience is to be recognised, —
the reality of psychical influences or interactions.

' lu the cases "not self-attested" or "natural," the \vhole of the
phenomena belong to psychological medicine. To raise there the
question of antecedents is simply to go back upon the causation of
insanity and idiocy iu general. Moral depravity may occur as one
among many other causes of these disorders. It could have no })lace
iu regard to the idiot boy, whose illness dated " from childhood."

CHAPTER VI

The Beelzebul Controveksy

the occasion of the same

rpHERE are three cases of possession whose intrinsic
-^ relations, historical, medical, and theological, set
them apart as a special group. These are —

1. The dumb demoniac.

2. The blind and dumb demoniac.

3. The epileptic idiot.

The healing of those three produced an astounding
effect ; being in each case as follows : —

1. They wondered, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
Matt. ix. 33.

2. They were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David ?
Matt. xii. 23.

3. They were all amazed at the majesty of God. Luke ix.
43.

Compare with this emotion, that aroused by the
three raisings from the dead. In connection with
the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Nain,
and Lazarus, w^e read respectively—

1. They were astonished with a great astonishment. Mark

V. 42.

174

4

The Beclzcbul Controversy 175

2. There came a fear on all, and they glorified God. Luke
vii. 16.

3. Caiaplias said, It is expedient that one man die. John
xi. 50.

The comparison is instructive ; because it suggests
that the people regarded the cure of those demoniacs
as a task rivalling the raising of the dead. The
sensation produced on those occasions is wholly
unique. Instances of a similar feeling are to be
found occasionally ; but only as the product of
cumulative causes. The healing of the paralytic is
accompanied with the forgiveness of sins ; and the
cure of the Gerasene is connected with the destruc-
tion of the swine. So in other cases, where there is
a great astonishment, the antecedent is not single
but composite. The foregoing point is worthy of
consideration.

That brings us back to the diagnosis of these three
cases of possession —

1. Idiocy, with deafness and dumbness.

2. Idiocy, with deafness, dumbness, and blind-

ness.

3. Idiocy, with deafness, dumbness, and epileptic

seizures.
There is an undoubted increase in the severity of
these cases, as in the admiration of the multitudes.
There is likewise a change in the attitude of the
enemies of Christ —

1. They said, He casteth out demons iu the prince of demons.
Matt. ix. 34.

176 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

2. Tliey said, He lias Beelzebul, and in the prince of demons
casteth out demons. Mark iii. 22.

3. They (with the others) were all amazed at the majesty of
God. Luke ix. 43.

Here then we have the beginning, the culmination,
and the sequel of the Beelzebul controversy. We
soon discover how this personage comes into view.

These three demoniacs suffered from idiocy, with
deafness, dumbness, and other sensory defects. The
exorcist, charged with his superstitious lore, has to
study his cases for their appropriate treatment. The
dumbness is immaterial to him ; because, per se, it
offers no bar to his operations. But the deafness shut
one door of access to the demon. Adjurations were
quite useless. The deafness had virtually rendered the
demon curse-proof. But other avenues of approach
remained for attacking the loathly tenant ; provided
that the other organs of sense were comparatively
sound. But idiocy involves many and grave defects ;
in advanced cases such as these were. Was the sense
of smell greatly impaired ? Then the most cunning-
fumigations were naught. Was the sense of taste
much disordered ? Then the most odious concoctions
were irrelevant. Was the sense of sight grievously
defective ? Then the most startling exhibitions were
worthless. Was cutaneous sensation much below
normal ? Then the severest inflictions were out of
place. The foul spirit was sheltered under the very
sense-defects of tlie possessed. The exorcist was
baffled at every turn. His resources were completely

The Beelzebul Controversy 177

exhausted. The case was hojjelesshf incurable ! The
hapless demoniac was abandoned to his malignant demon!
That then was the conditiou of those three. They
were wholly beyond professional aid. But in the
last resort, they had been brought to Jesus. He
succeeded with ease where all others had failed. The
further surprise of the situation was that He used no
fumigations nor other devices of the vulgar exorcist.
Candid observers could not withhold their tribute of
admiration. Prejudiced onlookers cast about them
for an explanation which would be plausible with
the multitude yet detrimental to Jesus. The ethnic
doctrine of demons aptly met all the requirements.
It fancied a world of demons or satans where the
greater lorded it over the lesser. To an exorcist on
a friendly footing with " The Prince," nothing was
impossible in the way of expelling recalcitrant spirits.
Hence on the cure of the dumb demoniac, the know-
ing Pharisees said, He casteth out demons in the
prince of demons ! " The Prince " was then a well-
known personage ; now he is little more than a great
enigma.

WHO IS BEELZEBUL ?

The theory of the Pharisees embodied current con-
ceptions regarding the orders and functions of spiritual
beings. These must therefore be kept steadfastly in
view. Thus we learn first of all what Beelzebul was
not.

1. He is not Ashmedai. To the latter, the title of

178 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

" Prince " is commonly applied. But his authority
extended over " male demons " only. The other wing
of the demonic host was controlled by Lilith, as queen
of " female demons." These spirits are of the same
order as Beelzebul ; but his authority is superior to
theirs. He is sovereign over all foul demons.

2. He is not Satan, the great devil. Beelzebul is
a "foul spirit" (Mark iii. 30); and belongs therefore
to the order of the Shedim, who are semi-sensuous
beings. He is also a possessing spirit (Mark iii. 22);
the result of his action being in part conceived as
a driving of Jesus out of His senses (Mark iii. 22).^
But these attributes are in sharp contrast with
those of Satan. The latter, though " head of all
the Mazziqin," is no " half-spirit," like the Shedim ;
but belongs to the order of purely spiritual beings.
While demon-possession is common ; Judas is the sole
instance of Satan-possession ; the result of the latter
is not insanity ; but moral and spiritual ruin. This
" prince of demons " is clearly not to be identified
with Satan.-

Had this " prince of demons " ever enjoyed the
honours of divinity ? There is a suggestion of that
in the variant reading of the name ■ — • Beelzebub.
The authority for it is certainly not the highest ; but
Jerome accepts it. As science can ignore no fact or

^ Appendix L, Jesus out of His Senses ?

- Beliar, Berial, Malkira, Mastemah, Mekembekus, Matanbukus,
Mastiphat, Mansemat, Asbeel, Satanail, occur as names of Satan in
extra-canonical writings ; but not Beelzebul. That is distinct con-
firmation of the foreeoing conclusion.

The Beelzehul Controversy 179

suggestion, however tritiing in appearance, the hint
must not be overlooked. It leads us therefore to
consider the fly-gods of the ancients, in the hope that
we may thus discover a clue to the antecedents of
" The Prince " —

1. The Egyptian fly-god. — This was the venerable
Scarab-Beetle. According to Maspero, the scarab was
" khopirru," and was confounded with Khopri — He
that is — the sun of the morning. Khopri is thus
represented as a disc enclosing a scarab, or as a man
with a scarab for his headpiece.^ The scarab was
likewise adored as an emblem of Phthah, the Creator.
In the following fragment, wrongly ascribed to
Orpheus by Gregory of Nazianzen and Philostratus,
this deity seems to be referred to —

Most glorious Zeus, greatest of gods, enwrapt in dung.
Zev KvBiaTe, /xe'ytcrre 6ea)v, elXvfieve Konpo).

But no connection is traceable between the scarab-
god and the prince of demons. The function of the
latter pertains to Thot among the divinities of Egypt.

2. The Ekronite god. — Strictly speaking, the name
Baalzebub denotes " owner of flies." It is thus a title
of office rather than a personal name. This deity
was probably of Babylonian origin, and a relic of
Babylonian supremacy in the West, like his neigh-
bour Dagon. This Ekronite god had more than a
local reputation as a giver of oracles ; having been
applied to by King Ahaziah (2 Kings i. 3). In

' Maspero, Datcn of Civiliya/ion, p. 139.

180 Demonic Possession in the Neio Tcstciment

Babylonia, flies were believed to possess a competent
knowledge of tlie future, and were consulted accord-
ingly.^ But the function of the ancient Baalzebub
is quite remote from " the prince of demons," and
cannot be in view here.

3. The classical divinities, — Zeus and Hercules.
They bore distinctive titles in connection with this
useful but humble function : — fjbVL-aypo<;, — hunter of
flies, and — dvo/ubvio'i, — averter of flies. Hercules is
said to have banished flies from Olympus by sacri-
ficing to Zeus. Pliny relates that the Eleans acted
similarly for the removal of flies which were bringing
on a plague. Clement of Alexandria records that the
Eomans, in like manner, sacrificed to Hercules. The
Jews also understood that the divine presence repelled
flies. Two Eabbis were discussing how the Shunamniite
knew that Elisha was " a holy man of God." The
reply was. She never saw a fly cross his table (Ber.
105). Again it is written. In the place of sacrificing,
no fly is seen (Pirqe Abh. v. 6, 7). But even so,
there is here no clue to " the prince of demons."

It is necessary therefore to turn to the etymologies
of the better reading — Beelzebul. Only two of these
are of any consequence.^

1 Lenormaut, La Divination, p. 95.

^ Beelzebul might be derived from Beelzebulj in two ways. Bau-
dissin suggested a change in the final letter, in the interests of euphony.
Beelzebul might also be a pun on Beelzebub ; the prophets even being
fond of punning (of. Micah i. 10 ff.). Both conjectures are unproven ;
though not without precedent. These suggestions are of no value,
as at most they lead back to Beelzebub, which has been already
discussed.

I

The Beelzehul Controversy 181

1. Lord of dung. — So the name is rendered by
John Lightfoot, followed by Fritzsche, De Wette,
Bleek, Gesenius, and others. The arguments of
Lightfoot need not be reproduced. They are vastly
unconvincing. The insuperable objection to this view
is that the proper word for dung is not " zebul," but
" zebel."

2. Lord of the divelling. — That is the interpret-
ation of Michaelis, Paulus, Jahn, Hitzig, Hilgenfeld,
Volkmar, and others. This gives to the name its
natural significance ; and has also in its favour the
analogous title of the Phcenician Saturn. There is
perhaps not much in the discovery of ]\Ieyer that the
Greek term for '•' the master of the house " is the
exact equivalent of the Hebrew Beelzebul."^

The first interpretation is discredited on many
grounds ; but the second is plausible. If, however,
we can proceed no further than mere etymologies,
our knowledge is little increased. The meaning and
source of this title are to be further inquired into.

WHO IS THIS " LORD OF THE DWELLING " ?

When describing the case of Mary Magdalene,
evidence was found of the prevalence of Babylonian
influences. Among Jewish cultivators of occult arts,
these influences were making themselves energetically
felt. In this direction, then, we may seek an explana-
tion of the name Beelzcbul.

^ Meyer, in locu. oIko — Sot ; oco-ttotvjs — H'2.

182 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Proiniuent in the Babylonian pantheon was the god
Ea. He became also a Semitic Bel. Bel-Ea signifies
exactly — " Lord of the dwelling." It is therefore
the precise equivalent of the designation — Beelzehul.
But we may go beyond this coincidence. The name
of Ea has reference to the region over which he ruled.
That was the home of man and animated things.
His domain was the earth, the sea, the air. As spirit
of the world and animating it, he possessed all know-
ledge. As the soul of the zone of the world of living
things, he was the god who saw that all was in order ;
defending- the frame of nature asjainst the attacks of
evil spirits. Having all knowledge, he knew all the
tricks of demons and w^as able to balile all their
enterprises. He knew all the magic formulae for
subduing evil spirits, and was thus of exceptional
helpfulness to the magician and the exorcist. His
aid was sought where no rite or word or talisman
of any other god or goddess availed to destroy the
power of the demons.^

But the god Ea became identified with Mul-lil,
" lord of the ghost-world," and " king of all the
spirits of the earth," whose messengers were diseases,
nightmares, and demons of the night." Like Ea, he
too became a Semitic Bel. In the Magic Texts of
Babylonia, he is invoked — -

O spirit of Mul-lil, king of the world conjure !

^ Leuormaut, Bahylonian Magic, p. 158 ft'.

- Sayce, Hihbert Lectures, pji. 140-147 ; p. 455 ct pas im.

The Beelzehid Controversy 183

Mul-lil had thus become an expeller of spmts as
Ea had been ; and when thus merged in the latter,
his title and function are those of Beelzebul —

Bel-Ea . . . Lord of the chvelliug.

Bel-Mul-lil . . Lord of evil spirits.

Bel-Ea-Mul-lil . Lord of the dwelling and of evil spirits.

Here at last then we have found " the prince of
demons," who is also " a foul spirit." The identifica-
tion seems to be complete. We can easily understand
how exorcists who practised upon refractory spirits,
according to the Babylonian rubric, should have but
one explanation of the phenomenal success of Jesus.
That is reflected in the words of the Pharisees : He
casteth out demons in the prince of demons.

This first accusation belongs to an early period in
the ministry of Christ. It spread with amazing
rapidity. When sending forth the Tw^elve, Jesus
warned them. If they have cast up Beelzebul to the
Master of the house, how much more to them of His
household ? ^ That charge had a twofold merit. It
satisfied at once the claims of science falsely so called,
and served to discredit Christ as an ally of the
powers of darkness. It had, therefore, an ingenious
and malignant vitality about it which ensured its
repetition. As the enmity of the scribes and Pharisees
gathers way, the names of " glutton and winebibber "
come to be well fixed. The Synagogue Ministry is
now over ; and the house to house visitation of the
Twelve also. The training of the Apostles now

' Appendix M, Was Jesus nicknamed Beelzeliul ?

184 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

engages attention. " The Teaching on the Mount "
is concluded. Jesus returns unexpectedly to Caper-
naum, and the word goes round, He is home (Mark
iii. 19). These are the antecedents to the more
embittered accusation which is connected with the
healing of the blind and dumb demoniac. The whole
nuance of the narrative presupposes the performance
of this miracle in the neighbourhood of Capernaum.^

CHPJST POSSESSED OF BEELZEBUL

Such was the wretched counterblast of desperate
men in their most desperate mood. The people had
said, Is not this the son of David ? Meyer notes
this as the " question of imperfect but growing faith."
But faith in Jesus was the very thing which these
Pharisees deprecated, and for the prevention of which
they had already sent forth their cunning accusation.
The people had shown an ability to judge for them-
selves which was most ominous to the future sup-
remacy of those lordly hypocrites who claimed to do
the thinking for all. This prospective loss roused
them to fury. Incipient independence must be
crushed instantly and for ever. But, upon principle,
Pharisaic godlessness proceeds in godly fashion. So
those saintly villains said, He has Beelzebul, and in
the prince of demons casteth he out demons.-

^ Appendix N, Scene of the healing of the blind and dumh
Demoniac.

- Appendix L, Jesus out of His Senses '{

The Bedzcbul Controversy 185

But with this passionate declaration there mingled
a deep note of insincerity. It was reckoned not only
possible to form compacts with demons, but even
highly respectable to do so. Had not Solomon, in
his halcyon days, summoned male and female demons
to dance before him ? Had he not also through
those agents got possession of the worm Shamir, in
the highest interests of religion ? Had not this
darling of the people likewise been the famihar of
Ashmedai, the prince of demons ? Could any man
therefore forbid tliose excellent Pharisees to follow
these royal precedents ? A public avowal of those
sentiments might not at this juncture enhance the
reputation of those Pharisees ; but none the less were
they convinced that an alliance with Beelzebul meant
— Power ! That surely was a consummation to be
devoutly coveted ? How fervently those deceivers
wished to be potent as Jesus now !

CHKIST's refutation of the PHARISAIC THEORY

There was no question as to the reality of the
cure of the blind and dumb demoniac. The only
point at issue was, Whence hath this man this
power ? Is it devilish or divine ? Jesus refutes His
enemies calmly and magnificently, by simply pushing
their theory to its furthest issues.

1. The logical issue. — The Pharisees believed in a
kingdom of evil organised on the common ethnic
model. It was a loose organisation, wherein the

186 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Satanic units possessed no real community of in-
terest, sentiment, or activity. One member could
therefore cast out another. The displacement was
a mere question of caprice or strength. But Jesus
showed the utter absurdity of such a conception.
Under those conditions, the kingdom of Satan must
have an end. But its continuance proves that it is
a compact organism ; wherein the several units are
pervaded by an essential identity of interest, senti-
ment, and activity. There is one head of this king-
dom and therefore one responsibility. In this sense,
then. How can Satan cast out Satan ? He is not
divided against himself. The ethnic conception of
the kingdom of evil is irrational ; because it involves
division and consequent instability. The Pharisaic
theory is logically untenable.

2. The social issue. — This is an argumentuni ad
hominem. If the Pharisaic theory was correct, then
it was also defamatory to the confreres of this party,
who busied themselves with the ejection of demons.
" Jesus reasons ex concessis." He does not deny that
the Pharisaic exorcists might sometimes attain a
modicum of success. He is fully aware of the nature
and limits of it. He argues that if the degree of
His success is to be taken as the measure of His
alliance with Beelzebul, then the same rule must
apply to " the sons of the Pharisees." If a surpass-
ing infamy attaches to Him because of His surpassing
success, then highly respectable exorcists must bear
a proportionate dishonour. The Pharisaic theory,

The Beelzebul Controversy 187

already shown to be crassly absurd, now becomes
socially monstrous.

CHRIST S PROPOSAL OF AN ALTERNATIVE

The healing of the blind and dumb demoniac
remained as a supernatural fact. The achievement
was either devilish or divine. There was no tcrtium,
quid. Jesus had shown that the former alternative
was impossible. He had burst up the old theory
from the bottom, and had covered its advocates with
shame and confusion. But He never sought a cheap
triumph even over His enemies. In a conciliatory
manner, He makes a new sugfgestion. The success

' CO

of the ordinary exorcist was at best, occasional,
accidental, and mostly temporary; the result of
spells and fumigations. But the success of Christ
was uniform, immediate, and always permanent ; ^ the
result of " a word." Collusion with Beelzebul was
an infamous absurdity. How could Jesus succeed
otherwise than " in the Spirit of God " ? - The only
reasonable conclusion was that the power resident in
Him was truly divine. Here emerges the moral
argument. Miracles which curtail the dominion of
Satan are proofs that a new era has dawned. There
stands One already in their midst Whom they know
not. The Messianic King achieves His saving pur-
pose " in the Spirit," as " the Lord and Giver of life."

^ A[ipendix H, Testimonies to the success of Jesus.
Luke xi. 20, " With the liu<j;er of God."'

188 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Therefore the announcement is to all : The kingdom
of God has come upon you {ecfiOaaev icf) u/xa?, Matt,
xii. 28).

But the moral argument is capped by the prophetic.
The victory obtained over Satan that day implied a
prior one. The spoiler was already spoiled ; the
captor already captured. The strong man has been
bound by the Stronger. Therein is the ancient oracle
fulfilled : Shall the prey be taken from the mighty
or the lawful captive delivered ? But thus saith the
Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken
away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered ;
for I will contend with him that contendeth with
thee, and I will save thy children (Isa. xlix. 24, 25).
In the rescue of that blind and dumb demoniac, the
Pharisees had presented before them the promise and
the potency of the true Messiah. What was the
event ?

THE SIGN FROM HELL

Jesus had rectified the errors of His adversaries
and had proposed the true alternative for their
acceptance. But Pharisaic superstition and malignity
were invincible. Christ endeavoured in vain to
cure the one and abate the other. The only result
was a demand for a sign from heaven. For these
Pharisees, then, neither moral proof nor Messianic
miracle possessed the slightest value. They had con-
temptuously brushed aside the most cogent evidence,

The Beehehul Controversy 189

and had thus come indefinitely near to the sin that
hath no forgiveness. They refused to be enlightened,
and had now the poor satisfaction of learning that
they were " an evil and adulterous generation." No
other description was more appropriate. That age
had witnessed a real return to sorcery and mongrel
worship. Lilith, Ashmedai, and Beelzebul were con-
spicuous proofs of the same. The people which
united an illicit regard for those principalities and
powers with professed allegiance to Jehovah was
deservedly reprobated as an " evil and adulterous
generation." " Teacher, said they, we wish to see a
sign from heaven." The response was most disquiet-
ing. The sign was from hell, — The Beturn of the
Demons !

THE PARABLE OF THE LAST STATE

It is quite necessary to remember that Jesus spoke
here " in parables" (Mark iii. 23). The parable is
essentially " an illustrating analogy." This one moves
in the region of popular conceptions.^ Elements of
the ethnic doctrine of demons are numerous here :
such as the arbitrary going forth of the unclean
spirit ; his roaming at large in the waterless desert ;
his longing for a material organism wherein to rest :
his commandeering of seven others more malignant
than himself ; the united invasion of the house that
was empty, swept, and garnished ; the increased de-

^ Ajipeiidix 0. Did Jesus practise aceonnnodatioii ?

190 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

structiveness of the more wicked fiends ; so that
the last end of the possessed is worse than the first.
But glancing backwards at Christ's attitude towards
popular superstitions, we find those points anticipated
and refuted. At the very beginning of this discourse,
Jesus showed His aversion to ethnic superstitions.
At the end of it, He does not return to the same.
He uses, as the basis of His argument, the language
of His opponents ; and He had a right to do so. These
men refused to be divorced from their stubborn mis-
conceptions. For them no illustration could possibly
have been more clear and telling than this one. The
aptness of it was its completest justification. More-
over, the parable was in process of fulfilment. In
the eager study of occult lore and in the practice of
the black art, the demons of the prime had returned,
and had recovered for themselves a place in the
imagination and the creed of the populace. Modern
Judaism with its strange customs and doctrines offers
the best commentary on the prediction of a latter
state worse than the former.

THE SEQUEL TO THE BEELZEBUL CONTROVERSY

Instead of reaping the rewards of zealous piety,
these scribes and Pharisees liad the mortification of
being exhibited as pagan theorists. Moreover, their
pretty suggestion that Jesus was confederate with the
prince of demons was now so deftly, yet withal so
forcefully, knocked about, that they never had the

J

The Beclzelnd Covtroversy 191

courage to air it again. The reproach of possession
reappears in Jerusalem ; but not the old accusation.^
The very name of Beelzehul henceforth sinks into such
disrepute that it vanishes from Jeioish literature.

Though worsted in argument, the wounded vanity
of the scribes and Pharisees did not permit them to
retire from the arena. The cure of the idiot boy at
the Hill of Transfiguration is the true sequel to the
Beelzebul controversy. In the narratives of Matthew
and Mark that is the recognised order of events.-
Though silenced in public, those malicious enemies
continued to dog the footsteps of Jesus, even as far
as the remote regions of Csesarea-Philippi. Here in
the absence of the Master, the idiot boy was brought
for cure. At first sight, there is no reason manifest
why the Apostles should not succeed. On their first
Mission, they had not known of failure (Mark vi. 13),
But somehow the Nine failed at this critical juncture.
The scribes must have been rendered jubilant over
their impotence ; for the power which wrought in
them was the self-same power as wrought in Jesus.
The drying up of the stream implies the exhaustion

1 John vii. 20 ; viii. 48, 52 ; x. 20.

- Luke has reversed the order ; but without clear reason for it.
"The Ebionitic tendency of the third Gosjjel," if any, does not clear
up the matter. The charge of conspiring with Beelzebul has been
shown to attach itself naturally to the healing of the dumb demoniac.
Its repetition in a more aggi-essive form is equally natural in con-
nection with the severer case of the blind and dumb demoniac. Its
total absence in relation to the worst of these three cognate cases is
wholly inexplicable, unless on the assumption that it has already been
suppressed. Matthew and Mark have, doubtless, preserved the true
chronological sequence.

192 Demonic Pofifieasion in the New Testament

of the fountain. Had the ceaseless vigilance of these
men at last obtained its reward ? Were their former
charges now to bo proved np to the hilt ? So they
seem to have thought. Hence their enthusiastic
haste to examine the crestfallen disciples (Mark ix.
14). That precious opportunity, which they were so
fervently embracing, was sadly marred by the return
of Christ, Who cut short their inquisitorial proceed-
ings. The malevolent intention of the scribes was
at once unmasked ; and they were asked to show
cause for this magisterial action. After a leading
question or two had been put to the father, the lad
was healed. A sharp lesson was read to all concerned.
He rebuked them, saymg, 0 faithless and perverse
generation, how long shall I be with you ? How
long shall I bear with you ? The distribution of the
blame has puzzled commentators ; but the answer is
now self-evident. The faithlessness is that of the
Apostles in particular; the perversity, that of the
scribes and their sympathisers in general. The dis-
abling unbelief of the former was disappointing ; the
aggressive violence of the latter, intolerable. But in
the end all discordant voices were hushed ; even the
scribes were overawed. " All were astonished at the
majesty of God."

" WHY COULD XOT WE CAST IT OUT ? "

This case was apparently of a novel character.
Among demoniacs, it is the worst on record. Cases

The Bechchul Controversy 193

of this sort must have beeu rare in the land. The
mortality, always high among such patients, must
have been phenomenal in Palestine, owing to neglect
or maltreatment. We are therefore entitled to believe
that the Nine had never been confronted with a case
of such extraordinary severity. But what was the
special feature which must have impressed them as an
invincible barrier to the healing of this lad ? Clearly,
the deafness ! Whereas the ordinary exorcist supple-
mented his adjurations by a variety of methods, the
Apostles had to rely on the Name alone. But how
could the Name operate when the sense of hearing
was defunct ? That seemed fatal to success. Accord-
ing to current notions, the demon was thus en-
trenched in security behind the deafness. By such
false ideas, the Nine were reduced to helplessness.
The old leaven of superstition was their undoing.
The power delegated to them was not to be exercised
in any magical or mechanical fashion ; but only on
the basis of intelligent faith and earnest prayer,
sustained by an inward harmony of thought, desire,
and will, with Christ. Dark superstition is to rational
belief as night to day ; they are mutually exclusive.
" This kind (of thing) can go forth by nothing but by
prayer."^ The later records of the New Testament
prove that the lesson was laid to heart by the
Apostles. There ended their enfeebling superstitions.-

' Appendix P, Ejection of demons by " fasting."
- Appendix Q, The popular treatment of epilepsy.

13

CHAPTER YII

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair

TyUXLEY referred to this with uunecessary vehe-
-'— '- mence as " the Gadareue pig affair." lu this
couuection, he remarks : " (Mr. Gladstone's) strategic
sense justly leads him to see that the authority of
the teachings of the synoptic Gospels, touching the
nature of the spiritual world, turns upon the accept-
ance or the rejection, of the Gadarene and other like
stories. As we accept, or repudiate, such histories
as that of the possessed pigs, so shall we accept, or
reject, the witness of the synoptics to such miraculous
interventions." A critique of the potential fallacy
underlying this statement is not called for at this
stage. Truth rarely consorts with the purely con-
troversial mood. If the difficulties of the narrative
have been felt to be real, there remains the possibility
of a restatement of the whole case, with the prospect
of diminishing or removing most of them.

THE SCENE OF THE EVENT

The locality has been variously assigned to the
Gadarenes, Gerasenes, and Gergesenes — ■

194

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 195

Laclimaun . . .
Tregelles . . .
Tischendorf
Westcott and Hort
Revised Version .

Matt.
Gerasenes
Gadarenes
Gadarenes
Gadarenes
Gadarenes

Mark.
Gerasenes
Gerasenes
Gerasenes
Gerasenes
Gerasenes

Authorised Version . Gergesenes Gadarenes

Luke.
Gerasenes.
Gerasenes.
Gergesenes.
Gerasenes.
Gerasenes.
Gadarenes.

Origen clears up the matter ; remarking that the
precipitation of the swine is recorded to have taken
place in the country of the Gerasenes. In a few
manuscripts he found mention of the country of the
Gadarenes. He objects to Gerasa, which was a city
of Arabia (Gilead), having neither sea nor lake near
it ; also to Gadara, noted for its warm springs, but its
lake or sea was not at all near to precipices. There
remained Gergesa by the Lake of Tiberias, near which
was a precipice adjacent to the Lake, from which
it was pointed out that the swine were precipitated
by the demons. Origen thus makes it clear that in
his time, " Gerasenes " was the prevalent reading ;
" Gadarenes," that of a few manuscripts ; " Gergesenes,"
being unattested.^ The weight of textual authority
thus favours the reading, " Gerasenes."

The indications of the site are sufficiently ex-
plicit—

1. A place over against Galilee.

2. A place with tombs adjacent to it.

3. A place sloping steeply towards the Lake.

^ Keim calls Gergesa a mere giiess of Origen ; but Jerome affirmed
the existence of a village of that name, "still shown above tliC
jriouiitain, close by the Lake of Tiberias,"

196 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

The site of tlie ancient Kerza or Gersa, discovered
by Thomson, answers all the reqnirements of the
case. The ruins of the old town are descril^ed as
but a few rods from the shore ; but there is no l)old
overhanging cliff, or "jumpiug-off place." Sir C. W,
Wilson notes that about a mile south of the town, the
hills approach within forty feet of the water's edge ;
not terminating abruptly, but in a steep evenly slope.
That spot would accord with a desire on the part of
the demoniac(s) and the swineherds to avoid the town.
Neither Gadara nor Gerasa affords the proper environ-
ment. The former on the Hieromax (Um-Keis on
the Jermuk), some ten miles from the Lake, was the
capital of a district which apparently included Kerza.
The latter was east of the ancient Eamoth-Gilead ;
being some twenty miles from the Jordan, and some
forty miles from the Sea of Galilee. It may be affirmed,
on physiological grounds alone, that the swine were
unequal to the physical task of galloping without
rest from either of those towns to tlie Lake ; even
though ridden by a whole legion of demons. These
considerations lead to the unhesitating acceptance of
Kerza as the scene of this affair. That is also the
verdict of numerous competent travellers.

The mention of the locality introduces us to the
" Huxley-Gladstone controversy," which has already
an antiquarian flavour.^ It is immaterial, whether

^ Nineteenth Century, "Agnosticism," Fob. 1889 ; " Keepers of the
Herd of Swine," Dec. 1890 ; " Huxley and the S\vine-Mirach>," Feb.
1891. Cf. Imjjregnable Roch of Holy Scripture, p. 268 ff.

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 197

we hold with Huxley that " the legal provisions which
alone had authority over an inhabitant of the country
of the Gadarenes were the Gentile laws sanctioned
by the Eonians " ; or believe with Gladstone that the
Gadarenes were " Hebrews bound by the Mosaic law."
The ownership of the swine is completely hidden from
us, and the conclusions on either side are open to a
twofold objection. The arguments really proceed, —
c sikntio. Moral issues cannot rest upon mere topo-
graphical considerations.

THE NUMBER OF THE DEMONIACS

That Matthew should have two demoniacs where
the other Synoptists have but one, is a surprising but
not a singular occurrence.^ Attempts to make the
diverse accounts agree with each other have met with
small success, and the tendency is to get rid of one
of the possessed. Thus Chrysostom, Augustine, and
Calvin thought of the greater importance of one of
the demoniacs compared with the other. Amnion's
suggestion of a madman and his keeper is too
ridiculous to deserve attention. The difficulty is
hardly removed by the supposition of communicated
insanity (folie a deux) ; for Matthew contemplates no
difference either in the type or in the severity of the
symptoms of the two possessed. We have thus to
consider two men suffering from the most furious
mania, both manifesting the same homicidal pro-
1 Cf. Matt. XX. 30 ; Mark x. 46 ; Luke xviii. 35.

198 Demonic Possession in the Neio Testament

pensities, both harbouring the same dehisions, both
practising the same mutilations, and both uttering
the same menaces. How two lunatics aniipated by
such terrible passions, could dwell together in unity,
" for a long time," surpasses comprehension. The
theory of folie a deux is inadequate to the occasion,
and the circumstances raise an inherent, if not an
invincible, doubt as to the accuracy of this detail.

Various conjectures have been offered as to the
source of this discrepancy. Matthew does not aim at
a heightening of the miraculous here. The concentra-
tion of the demons in one subject comes much nearer
to that. Nor does the first Evangelist introduce the
two demoniacs here to make up for his omission of
the possessed of Capernaum. Ebrard, Bleek, Holtz-
mann, and others, overlook the fact that Matthew is
usually precise in distinguishing things that differ.
He separates the epileptics from the demonised, and
differentiates the dumb from the blind - and - dumb
demoniac. Another explanation, usually associated
with the name of Weiss, is that Matthew found the
term " demons " in his original ; and for the plurality
of these postulated a plurality of demoniacs. Yet
Jewish, not less than ethnic, doctrine contemplated
the possibility of a single person becoming the hold
of many unclean spirits. Matthew was therefore
under no necessity of introducing two subjects of
possession where one sufficed. The suggestion of
Weiss thus becomes of none effect, and there is still
left an unsolved antinomy.

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 199

THE ALLEGED TRANSMIGRATION OF THE DEMONS

The statements of the Synoptists are as follows : —

1. The demons, having gone out, departed into the swine;
and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea
and died in the waters. Matt. viii. 32.

2. The hlthy spirits, having gone forth, entered into the
swine ; and the herd rushed down the steep, some two thousand
of them, and began to be choked in the sea. Mark v. 13.

3. The demons, having gone out of the man, entered into the
swine ; and the herd rushed down the steep into the lake and.
were choked. Luke viii. 33.

On the understanding that the transmigation of
the swine is a fact, there have arisen questions of
motive which must be considered.

A. Motives have been assigned to the demons —

1. Their desire was to prejudice the Gerasenes
against Jesus, whose permission of the demons to
enter the swine involved the pig-owners in loss. But
those people raised no threat of legal action. They
offered no violence to the party. They wislied simply
to get rid of Jesus quietly as an uncanny personage.

2. Their desire was to escape from the torments
of hell ; an organism, animal or human, being sup-
posed to afford the requisite shelter. This poor
apologetic elicited the cheap sneers of Strauss, Keim,
and others, who pointed out how little the demons
were to be congratulated on their foresight ; the
possession of the swine proving a short cut to the
abyss. But these remarks are puerilities. If demons
are sph-its, then the ethical element must enter into

200 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

their " torments," and from these no physical environ-
ment can save them.

B. Motives have been assigned to Jesus —

1. The destruction of the swine was intended to
alleviate the final paroxysm of the demonised, caused
by the exit of the " legion." But this is a triple
error. As a matter of fact there were no final
paroxysms. Even had such existed, their alleviation
by transference to an animal organism is a physio-
logical impossibility. Finally, the death of the swine
could afford to the demonised no demonstration of his
cure.

2, The destruction of the swine was intended to
test the Gerasenes as to whether they would prefer
eternal life to the loss of their property. But they
had no option in the matter. They were apprised of
their loss after its occurrence. In any case, Jesus
never attempted conversions by physical methods.
He came not to judge but to save. The foregoing
suggestion is an absurdity.

We need not proceed further with the enumeration
of motives on either side. It is evident that no light
comes from these sources, and it is therefore necessary
to consider anew the fundamental facts.

DATA FOR A CONSTRUCTION

We recognise here a solid nucleus of fact, which
remains after the application of the canons of his-
torical criticism. That unassailable residuum com-

The DifLCuUics of the Gerasenc Affair 201

prises the cure of the demoniac and the precipitation
of the swine.

We recognise here also a certain theory of this
occurrence. The facts are separable from the theory,
and furnish material for testing its validity. The
facts remain unchallenged ; the soundness of the
theory is legitimate matter of inquiry. The record
is as follows : —

The demons besought him, saying. If thou cast us out, send
us away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them. Go !
Matt. viii. 31, 32.

Jesus asked him, What is thy name 1 And he said unto him,
My name is Legion ; for we are many. And he besought him
much that he would not send them away out of the country.
And they besought him, saying. Send us into the swine, that we
may enter into them. And he gave them leave. Mark v. 9,
10, 12, 13.

Jesus asked him. What is thy name ? And he said. Legion ;
for many demons were entered into him. And they besought
him that he would not order them off to hell.^ They besought
him that he would give them leave to enter into the swine.
And he gave them leave. Luke viii. 30-32.

These remarkable differences of the Triple Tradi-
tion give us the theory emergent from the facts — •

1. The prayer of the demoniac becomes the prayer

of the demons themselves.

2. Leave to remain in the district becomes a

request to escape the abyss.

^ Luke regards tlie netlier region of hell {a^vaaos) as the proper
home of the demons, not the country (xwpa) round the Lake. Cf.
Luke viii. 31 ; Mark v. 10. But the sea was a recognised route to hell.
The Jews knew of three gates to Gehenna — one in the wilderness (Num.
xvi. 33) ; another in the sea (Jonah ii. 2) ; another in Jerusalem (Isa.
xxxi. 9). See Erul>in 19a.

202 Demonic Possession in the N'ew Testament

3. The word, Go, — is interpreted as permission to
enter into the swine.

It is to be noted that the possession of animals by
demons is an ethnic idea, which found entrance into
the early Church. Origen asserts that demons enter
into birds, serpents, foxes, wolves, and weasels. Jerome
relates the success of Saint Hilarion in casting a
demon out of an unspeakable Bactrian camel. The
transference of demons from human beings to objects,
animate and inanimate, is likewise an ethnic concep-
tion.^ Charles vi. of France, the Mad or the Beloved,
was experimented on by a bold priest for the removal
of his demon ; twelve men being chained up for its
reception. The Indian exorcist of Cumana, when
called in for "the treatment of one possessed, after
much toil brings up a thick black phlegm, having in
its centre a little hard black ball. The latter is
carried into the field with the words : Go thy way,
devil ! Farrar asserts that the passage of unclean
spirits from the demoniac to the swine was " a
thoroughly Jewish belief." Edersheim takes excep-
tion to the statement. But the proof-passage of the
former is no proof ; and the denial of the latter is
not an argument. The idea of such a transference
could not have been quite foreign to the Jews. The
point of paramount importance relates to the question.
Did Christ sanction that belief by directing or per-
mitting the demons to invade the swine ?

1. The case seems to be regarded as one of

^ D'Alviella, Hibhcrt Ledures, p. 88 fi'.

The Difficulties of the Gerasenc Affair 203

multiple or manifold possession. " ]\Iany demons
were entered into him." But that was an opinion
which Jesus did not hold. The evidence on the
point is perfectly clear.

Mark has these oscillations —

The man is in an unclean spirit, v. 2.
He cried, What is there between me and thee ? v. 7.
Jesus said, Come out of the man, unclean spirit, v. 8.
The man besought him not to send the demons away. v. 10.
The unclean spirit besought him, Send us into the swino.
V. 12.

Jesus suffered them to enter the swine, v. 1.3.

The spirits, having come out, entered the swine, v. 13.

Jesus allows of only one demon throughout ; Mark
has one also in v. 3. The demoniac surmises a multi-
tude ; so does Mark in v. 12, 13.

Luke has these oscillations —

The man has demons, viii. 27.

He cried. What is there between me and thee ? viii. 28.

Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to go forth, viii. 29.

The unclean spirit had seized him many times, viii. 29.

He was driven by the demon into the wilderness, viii. 29.

He said. Legion ; for many demons had entered into him.
viii. 30.

The demons besought him not to order them off to hell,
viii. 31.

The demons besought permission to enter the swine, viii.
32.

The demons, having come out of the man, entered the swine,
viii. 33.

Jesus allows cf only one demon throuyhout ; Juhe
has one cdso in viii. 29. The demoniac sur)nises a
m^dtitudc ; so does Luke in viii. 30, SI, 32, 33.

204 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Entirely in harmony with this view of our Lord is
the demonic confession —

What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Son of God Most High ?
Mark v. 7.

What have I to do witli Thee, Jesus, Son of God Most High ?
Luke viii. 28.

The textual variations have long been known ; but
no one has ventured to draw the proper inference.
The statement of Jesus is precise and unfaltering.
He did not regard this as a case of manifold
]}Ossession.

2. What meaning then is to be attached to the
words : Send US into the swine ? They obviously
imply a plurality of demons in the man ; whereas
Christ expressly recognised one only. Was this the
prayer of " many demons " ? Evidently not ; for Jesus
did not believe in the existence of such a host. Was
this then the prayer of the single demon ? Clearly
not ; for it belies itself in the contradiction of terms.
The correct formula for the single possessing spirit
would have been : Send ME into the swine ! There
is therefore no demonic request to invade the herd.
The utterance is human, and proceeds naturally from
a lunatic who harbours the delusion that he is
possessed of a " legion." No real reply to this man's
request was possible. Did Jesus then offer a pre-
tended reply ? Was this a case of accommodation ?
Within narrow limits, the practice is a legitimate one
in the treatment of the insane. The danger is that
recognised by Ctelius Aurelianus of old, viz., the con-

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 205

firmation of the existing delusion. An instance taken
almost at random illustrates the method. Thus, a
person who believed that a snake was present in his
internals was cured by a pretended operation. But
he thereafter took up the notion that, while the
serpent itself was removed, its ova were left behind,
ready to be hatched into a new brood of vipers. He
was relieved, however, by the dexterous reply that the
snake was a male.^ Accommodation is thus a form of
condescension {a-vyKaTa^aaL';). The insane person
assumes the leading role ; the physician, for the time
being, abdicates his intelligence. But such procedure
in no wise corresponds to the case under consideration.
The demoniac is never regnant. From first to last,
Jesus is supreme. The very conditions of accommoda-
tion are conspicuous by their absence. There could
be no response, real or pretended, to the words of the
possessed : Send US into the swine. That statement
is wholly unrelated to anything that follow^s.

According to Matthew, Christ uttered one word :
Go (vTrdyeTe) I - The same term is implied, not ex-
pressed, in the narratives of Mark and Luke. A
severe and enlightened criticism must find in it the
nearest approximation to the ipsissinium verlum of our
Lord on this occasion. It can have no reference,
logical or practical, to the demoniac himself ; but only
to his possessing demon. The word — virdyeiv — occurs
in the New Testament in two distinct senses — •

' Guy and Ferrier's Forensic Medicine, '• Mania."
- Pluval for two demouiacs.

206 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

(a) As the symbol of an absolute command.

(h) As the vehicle of a simple permission.

The first Evangelist clearly favours the former
interpretation ; the second and third evidently con-
template the latter. If it be granted that a demonic
request is contained in the words : Send US into the
swine ; then it must also be granted that the answer
to that request is contained in the word, Go. But
excellent reasons have been offered in proof of the
conclusion that no demonic request for permission to
invade the herd is to be found there. Petitions for
leave to enter into the swine are but the vagaries of
one who has lost his reason. Where there was no
genuine prayer hy the possessing demon, there coidd he no
genuine ijermission hy the sovereign Christ. The term,
Go, must therefore bear the former interpretation in
preference to the latter. It thus denotes an imperial
injunction which shows that Jesus is in unbending
opposition to the enemy. " Go," is but the repetition
of the first behest : Get out of the man, thou filthy
spirit ! Neither direction to enter the swine, nor per-
mission to do so, nor compensation for disturbance,
can be thought of here. The first is an assumption.
No command to this end is recorded in the Gospels.
The naked mandate is : BEGONE ! The second is an
inference. No passage of the demon into the swine
was visible. The former is a spirit. The third is an
impossibility. Demonic confession was an oflence to
Christ. No mitigation of its evil desert is conceivable ;
least of all by hiding in the swine.

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 207

THE STAMPEDE OF THE HERD

As the panic among the swine seems no longer
explicable by the action of a legion or a unit, the
cause of this incident must be sought elsewhere. The
conceited dogmatism of Krug, Schmidt, and Volkmar,
lacks even the saving grace of " most ingenious and
beautiful poesie." The more serious attempts to
understand this event require brief consideration.

1. Paulus supposed that the demonised in the last
paroxysm of their illness, rushed upon the herd with
loud cries, hunting them over the cliffs, while the
keepers fled. There was, however, no final paroxysm ;
and there is no trace of such a driving of the swine
into the sea.

2. Lange, along with final paroxysms, fancies that
the cries of the demonised rose to a most horrible
shout — the thousand voices of the demons now beins
expelled. This acted like an electric shock, causing
a panic among creatures " susceptible of dark sylvan
terror " ! But this author's imagination so occludes
his practical understanding that the matter remains
obscure as ever.

3. Farrar conceives that the shrieks and gesticula-
tions of a powerful lunatic might strike the swine
with uncontrollable terror ; adding that the " spasm of
deliverance was often attended with fearful convul-
sions, sometimes perhaps with an effusion of blood." ^

^ A curious integratiou — Shrieks (Bleek, Laiige), gesticulations
(Ewald), spasms (Paulus), etc.

208 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

The last is a notable addition, not attested in
the records. It is really irrelevant to the issue.
In swine, the senses of sight and smell are highly
developed. Their being "far oif" at the moment,
might possibly be no bar to their seeing and scenting
effused blood, if any. But while cattle and some
other animals are sensitive to the sight and smell of
blood, swine are psychically indifferent to the same,
whether animal or human. No panic could therefore
arise from this cause.

4. Eosenmiiller suggests that hot weather might
have something to do with the stampede of the herd ;
one perhaps being morbidly affected, and beginning to
run about wildly, then followed by the whole flock.^
If the first point be conceded, the rest might follow.
But whatever the season of the year, the heights
round Gerasa, on which the swine pastured, must
have been cool at this particular hour. The strong
wind of the previous evening had been sweeping these
hills for hours. This suggestion cannot be accepted ;
and in any case it would leave the panic of the herd
more mysterious than ever.

5. Lutteroth thinks of the incidence of giddiness
upon the swine, permitted by Christ, Who thereby
intended to give the demonised a sign of deliverance,
and so remove his fixed idea.^ But a fixed idea con-
notes physical disease as its substratum ; and, as
already noted, a sign for the confirmation of the man's
sense of restoration was superfluous and absurd.

^ Expositors Greek TcHamcnt, i. p. 148.

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 209

Further, the smiting of some two thousand swine with
vertigo defeats the end of this suggestion. If the
herd were smitten with giddiness, their phmging into
the Lake, by a movement, direct and rapid, would
have been impossible. The effect of severe vertigo
is the suspension of all power of locomotion. This
proffered solution is a multiplication of existing
difficulties.

With the failure of these explanations, we are
driven back upon the simple narrative. Clearly,
Jesus issued no injunction, direct or indirect, for the
destruction of the herd. It is equally certain that
there is some connection between the healing of the
demoniac and the rushing of the swine into the
sea. The time and place must be carefully scrutin-
ised once more as a clue to the solution of this
difficulty. Specific notes are furnished by the three
Evangelists —

1. All are agreed that the cure of the possessed

coincided with the panic among the swine.

2. At this juncture, the demoniac and the herd

were separated from each other by a con-
siderable distance (fjuaKpav, Matt. viii. 30).
The term — fiaKpuv — is an elastic one. Meyer
translates it in a relative sense ; Weiss renders it —
" afar off." The latter contradicts the Vulgate —
" non longe." These sharp differences only prove that
the ordinary philological methods are of little use in
dealing with a colloquial term like tliis. The com-
bination of the descriptions of Mattliew and Mark
14

210 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

happily furnishes a concrete basis for determining the
lineal value of the word under consideration —

There was a good way off (fxaKpdv) from them a herd of swine.
Matt. viii. 30.

Having seen Jesus afar off (nanpuOev), he ran and worshijjped.
Mark v. 6.

The two terms are equipollent and commensurate.
The distance is reckoned from the point of landing.
That was the centre of a circle ; the demoniac being
at the extremity of one radius, the herd at the ex-
tremity of another. These adjacent extremities were
the loci from which the running in each case began.
But it was shown that the demoniac, when within the
tomb, became aware of the arrival of Jesus and His
party through the sense of hearing. The interval
between them was not great. They were within ear-
shot of each other. When the demoniac " ran," he
met them " instantly."

But the terms — jxaKpau and /jbUKpoOev — are often
applied to distances within which distinct vision is
possible —

Ilagar watches Ishmael, — fiaKpdv ; as it were a bowshot off.
Gen. xxi. 16.

The father recognises the ragged prodigal, — /xaKpav. Luke
XV. 20.

Those at the cross ave—jxaKpuBev ; but within earshot. Mark
XV. 40 ; John xix. 26-27.

In these instances the distances do not exceed two
or three hundred yards at most. This would amply
suffice to harmonise all the philological and topo-

c

The Difficulties of the Gerasene Affair 211

graphical data of the narrative here. It is a reason-
able estimate, and brings us within sight of the
solution of the problem, viz., the cause of the stampede
of the swine.

The herd was some two or three hundred yards from
the spot whereon the party of Jesus was gathered
and whereon the demoniac was cured. Prior to these
events, there may have been an initial restlessness
among the herd. It is a striking fact in the natural
history of these animals, that they are peculiarly
sensitive to aerial disturbances in the open field. Like
the horse, they are very liable to panic. During the
preceding evening a strong gale had been blowing off
shore. It may have engendered a state of excitement
not allayed towards morning. But the point need not
be pressed. There was more than enough in the
following events to produce a stampede.

There were the fierce yells of the maniac as he
rushed down the hill. Now the shrieks of a homi-
cidal lunatic are particularly penetrating, even when
he is under confinement ; but if heard, when he is at
large, they are unspeakably disconcerting. They can
never be forgotten. But above those wild shouts of
the demoniac rose the voice of Christ : Get out of the
man, thou filthy spirit ! The response was the fierce
defiance, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou
Son of God Most High ? I adjure Thee by God that
Thou torment me not ! Then finally, the great
commanding word of Christ, addressed to the demon :
BEGONE !

212 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

The mad rush of the demoniac and these many
loud voices were more than sufficient to arouse the
most stolid creatures. Each interjectional episode was
stormier than its predecessor, till the terror of the
swine, passing beyond all control, projected them,
down the steep declivity, over the narrow foreshore,
almost in a solid mass, into the waters. The whole
series of events was probably comprised within a few
moments.

But let us return for an instant to the state of
the demoniac. The departure of the demon does
not follow upon the first word of Christ ; the cure is
not instantaneous. There is a brief period of physical
reaction, during which strange thoughts flit through
the mind of this man. His abnormal sensations had
formerly produced the hallucination of gigantic
strength, which took local form and colouring in the
delusion that he was possessed of a " legion." Some-
thing similar is happening now. He is conscious of
a change in his condition, and seeks an explanation
of his novel sensations. His imagination couples
the subsidence of his more acute symptoms with the
increasing excitement among the swine. Hence the
idea of a transference of his demons and his prayer
for their welfare. Then, with one word of majesty,
Christ completes the stage of convalescence, and the
man sits " clothed and in his right mind, at the feet
of Jesus."

The Difficulties of the Gcrasene Affair 213

THE LOSS OF THE SWINE-OWNERS

Travellers iu the Orient laay deem the destruction
of the swine a welcome riddance. Probably it was
so to some of the people of Gerasa ; for those beasts
did not add to the amenities of the place. Still the
death of these creatures meant loss for the owners ;
the swine being in demand among the Gentiles for
dietetic and sacrificial purposes. The damage has
probably been overrated hitherto. At least there are
certain countervailing factors —

1. The estimate of two thousand is approximate.
It may be a little high ; having been made under
unfavourable circumstances. There is no suggestion
that precise information was furnished on the point.
The keepers fled, and the others " were afraid."

2. The loss may have been diminished by retriev-
ing the carcases and utilising them afterwards. The
removal of the dead hogs from the Lake was a
necessity for " the long-shore folk," both on hygienic
and ceremonial grounds. Witness the results of the
sea-fight of Tarichtea, as related by Josephus.^ There
is perhaps something in the serio-comic suggestion
of Wetstein that the flesh of these drowned animals
may have been pickled or made into smoked hams !
If so, some of the Gerasenes or their neighbours may
not have been worse than certain degraded classes in
India and China, whose long living on the margin of
existence has created a penchant even for carrion.

' £. J. III. X. 9.

214 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

3. The plunging of tlie herd of swino into the
waters may have been less fatal than is commonly,
supposed. These animals are excellent swimmers.
No higher authority for this statement can be found
than Heilprin. When discussing the migration of
animals, he says : The domestic pig, even at a very
young age, has been known to swim five or six miles ;
and it is not exactly impossible that the wild hog,
in cases of absolute necessity, might successfully
attempt a passage of three or four times this distance.^
Huxley betrays no inkling of this fact, which is
rather damaging to his advocacy of the imaginary
claims of the " Gadarene Swinefolk."

THE WORTH OF SOME CRITICISMS

In connection with this miracle, Christ has been
repeatedly accused of being a law-breaker and an
injurious person. Woolston asserted that no jury
would have acquitted one arraigned and accused in
such case ; coarsely adding that our laws and judges
of the last age would have made such a culprit
" swing for it." - Strauss lauded the greater justice
of Pythagoras, who is said to have compensated
some fishermen for his alleged liberation of fish from
their nets. Huxley has given us this flourish of
trumpets : " Everything that I know of law and justice
convinces me that the wanton destruction of other

^ Distribution of Animals, p. 42.
' Miracles, pp. 35-39 (1727-1729).

The Difficulties of the Gerascnc Affair 215

people's property is a misdemeanour of evil example." ^
But as neither command nor permission from Jesus
is discoverable in this regard, these ponderous
accusations must take their place among exploded
fallacies.

^ " Keepers of the Herd of Swine," Nineteenth Century, Dec. 1890.

CHAPTER VIII

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic
Possession

possession in sub-apostolic times

TT has been shown that apart from the earlier
-^ portion of the ministry of our Lord, cases of
genuine demonic possession, as attested by the
criterion of the Gospels, are not discoverable. No
case of this sort is reported by the Apostolic Fathers
who shared the illumination of the Apostles. As a
whole, their writings fall well within the first half of
the second century ; while the regions represented
by them include Egypt, Italy, and Asia Minor.
They possess very varied degrees of culture ; but are
at one in their freedom from the superstitions of
possession and exorcism, so prominent in later ages.
The sequel proves that they had abundant oppor-
tunity for the expression of such views, had they
entertained them.

1. The Didache or Teaching of the Twelve
Apostles, was written, apparently in Egypt, about
100 A.D. It forbids one to become "an omen-
watcher or enchanter or astrologer or purifier," or " to

210

Alleged Continuance of gemiine Demonic Possession 217

be willing to look " on the same (iii.). The way of
death includes magic arts and sorceries (v.) ; and
earnest counsel is given against things offered to
idols ; " for it is a worship of dead gods " (vi.).
Possession is not mentioned.

2. The Epistle of Clement of Eome, to the
Corinthians/ written about 92—101 a.d., shows a
knowledge of Apocryphal literature in its quotation
from the Book of Judith (Iv.), whence we may
presume a knowledge of the extra-canonical books.
But the writer makes no mention of demons ; and
knows of no such powers disturbing the harmony of
the universe (xx.). Their oppression of the human
race is not contemplated by him.

3. The Shepherd of Hermas, written by a con-
temporary of Clement, in Italy, is a crude kaleido-
scopic affair, a very primitive Pilgrims Progress.
Spirits and angels, good and evil, are much in
evidence. In the building of the Tower (Church),
twelve holy spirits appear as virgins — Faith, Con-
tinence, Power, Patience, Simplicity, Innocence,
Purity, Cheerfulness, Truth, Understanding, Harmony,
and Love {Sim. ix. 13, 15). There are also twelve evil
spirits, appearing as women in sable robes and dis-
hevelled hair — -Unbelief, Incontinence, Disobedience,
Deceit, Sorrow, Wickedness, Wantonness, Anger,
Falsehood, Folly, Backbiting, and Hatred {Sim. ix.
15, 18). Doubt is an earthly spirit, daughter of the
devil {Mand. ix.) ; Lust is another {Mand. xii. 2).

1 The Second Epistle of Clement is spurious.

218 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Slander is a restless demon {Maud, ii.) ; Passion, an
unclean spirit which straitens and strangles the
Holy Spirit, Who then departs. From folly is be-
gotten bitterness ; and from bitterness, anger ; and
from anger, frenzy. When all these evils dwell in
one vessel (the heart), in which the Holy Spirit also
dwells, the vessel overflows. The tender Spirit, not
being accustomed to dwell with the evil spirit, with-
draws ; and the man is henceforth filled with evil
spirits {Mancl. v. 1, 2). Grief is said to be " more
wicked than all the spirits," and crushes out the
Holy Spirit {JIand. x. 1). Self-will with empty self-
contidence, is likewise a " great demon" (Sim. ix. 22).
The spirit of the false prophet is empty, powerless,
foolish, and devilish ; fleeing from the assembly of
the righteous, who are possessed of a spirit of
divinity {Mcind. ix.). There are also two classes of
angels ; indeed every man has two such attendants.
When the angel of righteousness ascends into the
heart, then he talks of righteousness, purity, chastity,
contentment, and of every righteous deed and
glorious virtue. When the angel of evil enters, then
ensue anger, harshness, and a whole train of other
vices {Mctnd. vi. 2). The enumeration of the works
of the evil angels include sins already called demons.
It is therefore evident that the language of Hermas
is greatly pictorial. There is no reference to posses-
sion or exorcism. Xo suggestion of that sort can lie
in the statement that one is saved in the Name of the
Lord {Vis. iv. 2), nor in the declaration that one

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 219

caunot enter the kingdom of heaven except in the
Name of the Beloved Son (Sim. ix. 12). Conybeare's
inference is untenable ; the clear Scriptural signifi-
cance of these phrases being otherwise.^ The magical
element is absent from this Epistle, and the ethical
is exalted in quaint, rustic fashion.

4. The Epistle of Barnabas was written about the
beginning of the second century ; possibly by a
Gentile, judging from the statement that before con-
version the heart was " full of idolatry and an house
of demons " (xvi.). It hails apparently from Alex-
andria, and is severely anti-Judaistic. It savours of
the jungle in its references to the hare, the hyena,
and the cloven foot (x.) ; and might be expected to
reflect vulgar superstitions. Satan is said to possess
the power of the world (ii.) ; and men are warned
to hate the works of iniquity, lest " the black one "
(6 /ieXa?) should enter into them (iv.). Over the
way of light are the light-bringing angels of God ;
over the way of darkness are the angels of Satan
(xviii.). In the way of darkness are such soul-
destroying things as magic (xx.). Yet there is no
reference to possession or ejection of demons.

5. The genuine Epistles of Ignatius are the pre-
face to his martyrdom (110-118 A.r).).^ These

^ See Jewish Quarterly Eevievj, July 1896, p. 596.

- To the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Pliiladelphians,
Smyrnseaus, and Polycarp. The spurious Epistle to the Antioehians
contains the following passage : — " I salute the holy presbytery. I
salute the sacred deacons, and that person dear to me (Hero, the
deacon). Him may I through the Holy Spirit, behold, occupying

220 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

writings refer to the gradation of angels {Tral. v.),
and to " things in heaven and earth " {Eph. xiii.).
Satan obtains frequent mention as the wicked one,
the seducing spirit, and the author of all evil. After
the resurrection, Jesus is said to have addressed the
disciples : Lay hold, handle me, and see that I am
not a bodiless (da-cofiaTov) demon {Smyr. i\\.)} In
the account of the martyrdom, there are several
references to demons, of a popular sort ; but these
are not citable as evidence, because this narrative
contains elements that are confessedly unhistorical.
Possession and exorcism are conspicuously absent
from the genuine Epistles.

G. The Epistle of Polycarp, written to the Philip-
pians shortly after the martyrdom of Ignatius (xiii.),
enjoins prayer and fasting ; but only as aids to the
religious life (vii.). There is a quotation from the
Book of Tobit : Alms delivers from death (x.) ; but
the writer evinces no taste whatever for the supersti-
tions of that book or for kindred absurdities.

7. The unknown author of the Epistle to Diog-
netus writes " not before Trajan, and not much
later." He has a vigorous polemic against idols ;
but says nothing which would imply their animation

my place when I sliall attain to Christ. My soul be a sacrifice for
his ! I salute the subdeacons, the readers, the singers, the door-
keepers, the labourers, the exorcists, the confessors. I salute the
keepers of the holy gates, the deaconesses in Christ. I salute the
virgins betrothed to Christ, of whom may I have joy in Jesus. I
salute the people of the Lord from the least to the greatest, and all
my sisters in the Lord.

^ From the Gospel of the Xazarenes, according to Jerome.

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 221

by demons. Far less does he think of the latter as
infesting man. The Fragments of Papias — " a hearer
of the Apostle John," and " a companion of Polycarp "
— are of a similar tenor.

POSSESSION IX ANTE-NICENE AND POST-NICENE TIMES

From the large mass of material available, only a
few testimonies of leading writers can be cited. It
is convenient to consider these under two categories —

A. The general doetrine of demons

Justin Martyr (105—167 A.D.) represents Samaria
and Ephesus. He was deeply versed in Hellenic
lore ; having studied the Stoic, Peripatetic, Pytha-
gorean, and Platonic systems of philosophy. He
despised the Epicurean. The general date of his
writings is approximately 150 A.D. He is largely
responsible for the invasion of the Church by ethnic
demonology. According to Justin, demons are the
children of the fallen angels {Ap. ii. 5) ; striving to
enslave men by dreams or magic ; corrupting women
and boys by apparitions ; and terrifying them by
fearful sights into the belief that they are gods {Aj:).
i. 14. 5). They endeavour to seduce men from God
and Christ ; producing their counterfeits of Christ
and Christian ordinances {Ap. i. 58. 54. 62. 66).
They subdue men variously by magic writings, fear,
and punishment ; or by teaching them to offer sacri-
fices, incense, and libations. They sow murder, war.

222 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

adultery, intemperate deeds, and all wickedness {Ap.
ii. 5). These things are ascribed to the gods ; but
they are the work of demons, who likewise invent
the foul tales told of the former {Ai). i. 21. 25,
ii. 5). They inspire magicians like Simon Magus
and Menander, and raise up heretics like Marcion
{Ap. i. 26. 56. 58).^ They persecute the wicked,
demanding sacrifices and services {Ap. i. 12). They
everywhere persecute the righteous ; having put
Heraclitus, Musonius, and Socrates to death {Aj). ii.
8. 1, 5, ii. 7). They decree death against those who
read the books of Hystaspes or the Sibyl or the
prophets ; their object being to prevent the knowledge
of good and retain men in slavery {Ap). i. 44).
Demons instigated the Jews to persecute Christ
{Ap. i. 63), and now incite the persecution of Chris-
tians {Ap. i. 57). They are overthrown by the
Name of Christ {Ap. ii. 8), and will finally be shut
up in hell {Ap. ii. 8). Possession is also ascribed to
the souls of the dead {Ap. i. 18).

Minucius Felix flourished about 150 a.d. He
was a Eoman advocate and wrote his Octavius about
this date. He argues that as the magi, the philoso-
phers, and Plato, have shown, the demons as impure
spirits lurk under statues and images and by their
afflatus attain the authority of a present deity ; while
they are breathed into prophets, dwell in shrines,
animate tlie fibres of the entrails, control the flight of
birds, direct the lots, and work miracles. They are
^ Cf. 1 Tim. iv. 1, " Seducing spirits and doctriues of demous."

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic rossession 223

both deceived and deceivers, because ignorant of the
simple truth ; and for their own ruin confess not wliat
they know. They thus bend down from Iieaven and
call men away from the true God to material things.
They disturb life, render all men unquiet, creep
secretly into human bodies, as being subtile spirits.
They feign diseases, alarm the mind, and distort the
limbs, that they may constrain men to worship them ;
so that being gorged with the fumes of altars or the
sacrifices of cattle, they may seem to cure what they
had bound, by remitting the same. These raging
maniacs who are seen rushing about, are also them-
selves prophets without a temple. In them also is
a like instigation of the demons, but an unlike occasion
of their madness. A great many people know all
these things. Saturn himself, and Serapis, and Jupiter,
and whatever demons are worshipped, confess before
Cinistians, who they are. When adjured by the only
true God, these w^retclied beings unwillingly shudder ^
in the bodies (of the possessed), and either spring
forth at once or vanish by degrees, as the faith of the
sufferer assists, or the grace of the healer inspires.
They thus fly from Christians when near at hand ;
though they harassed them at a distance in their
assemblies. They take possession of minds and ob-
struct hearts, that men may begin to hate Christians
before they know them ; lest if they knew them, they
should either imitate them, or not be able to condemn
them (Oct. xxvii.).

^ Cf. Jas. ii. 19, "The demons believe and sliudder."

224 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

Tertnllian (150— 230 a.d.) has an elaborate doctrine
of demons, worthy of North Africa. He starts with
the axiom that there are demons, since Socrates him-
self waited on the will of one. This evil spirit
attached itself to him, even from childhood ; and
doubtless turned his mind from good. The poets
also acknowledge demons ; even the untutored popu-
lace use them for cursing. Indeed, they call on Satan,
the arch-demon, in their execrations as if prompted
by some instinctive knowledge of him. Plato also
believed in angels, and the magi witness to the exist-
ence of both angels and demons. The Scriptures
further teach how there sprang from the fallen angels
a more wicked demon-brood ; condemned of God, with
the authors of their race and the demon-chief. The
great business of these demons is the ruin of mankind.
Hence they inflict on the body, illness and physical
calamities ; and on the soul, sudden and excessive fits
of madness. Their marvellous subtility and tenuity
gives them access to both parts of our nature. These
demons, being invisible and impalpable, can inflict
much liarm on men who are not conscious of their
action, save by their effects. Just as when some
secret blight in the air affects fruit and grain in the
flower, killing them in the bud or blighting them in
their maturity ; or as when in some occult manner,
the tainted atmosphere spreads abroad its pestilential
exhalations ; so by a contagion equally obscure, the
breathing of angels and demons corrupts the mind
and goads it into madness or cruel lusts, with various

Allejed Gontinumicc of genuine Dcvionic Possession 225

delusions. The most prevalent of these deceits is that
by which the demons enthral and delude men to
believe in the gods, that thus they may obtain the
sustenance appropriate to them, — the savour of the
flesh and blood of the sacrifices offered to their effigies
and images : as well as the turning of the minds of
men from the true God by the deceits of false divi-
nation ; that lieing to them a more pleasant repast.
These deceits are ehected by the demons being winged
like the angels, so that they are everywhere in a
moment. The whole world is as one place to them.
Hence with equal ease, they know and report all that
is done over the whole earth. Men do not know
what their real nature is and take their swiftness for
a mark of divinity. Often they foretell evils, and wish
to be thought the authors of the same. They often
have ill news to announce, but never good. From the
lips of the prophets of old, the demons stole the
counsels of God, and the same course is followed by
them when they overhear them in the churches.
Thus acquiring some knowledge of the future, they
set up as rivals to the true God, wliile they steal His
oracles (Apol. xxii.). By the help of angels and
demons, the magi put dreams into the minds of men,
and l)y the latter powers, goats and tables are made
to divine. In proof of the assertion that the gods
of the heathen are demons, Tertullian charges the
pagans to bring before their tribunals one who is
plainly ])0ssessed of a demon. "When challenged by
a Christian, tlie demon truthfully declares himself;

226 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

though elsewhere he has declared himself a god.
Similarly, let one supposed to be god-possessed be
taken, oue of those who by inhaling the fumes of the
altar has conceived divinity, and who is bent double
in belching forth his prophecies ; let the virgin
Coelestis, the promiser of rain, or ^sculapius, the
inventor of medicine, be taken ; if these do not at once
confess to being demons (for they dare not lie to a
Christian), then slay upon the spot that most impudent
Christian (Apol. xxiii.).

Origen (186-253 A. p.) represents the culture of
Alexandria. His demonology is practically that of the
Neo-Platonists. He placed himself under Ammonius
Saccas, the founder of the School, — an apostate
Christian. The doctrine of Origen is mostly con-
tained in his work Contra Celsum (C. C). He
apphes the term " demon " to wicked powers freed
from the encumbrance of a grosser body {C. C. v. 5) ;
the body being naturally fine and thin, as if formed
of air, and by many considered incorporeal {Frincij}.
Proleg. 8). The earth-spirits are intent on frankincense,
blood, fumes of sacrifices, and sweet sounds (C. C. iv.
32, vii. 35, viii. 61). They haunt the images of the
gods (C. C. \dii. 43) ; feeding on blood and fumes and
odours of victims {C. C. vii. 35, 64). They enter
certain animals, as weasels, birds, serpents, foxes, and
wolves (C. C. iv. 92, 93). Evil spirits may take com-
plete possession of the mind ; allowing their victims,
neither the power of understanding nor of feeling.
This constitutes possession or insanity, as in the

Allcjcd Continucmcc of genuine Demonic Possession 227

Gospels (Frincip. ill. iii. 4). Wicked spirits cause
sterility, plagues, tempests, and other calamities, also
famine, blight of fruit trees, and pestilences among
men and beasts (C. C. i. 31, viii. 31). This is done
by them as executors of divine judgment or agents
of divine chastisement. These evil powers lead men
astray, fill them with distractions, and drag them
down from God and super-celestial things to those
below {C. C. V. 5). The demons that haunt unclean
places and the denser parts of bodies, possess oracular
power ; hence their choice of the bodies of animals.
The spread of Christianity destroys the worship of
idols, and thus cuts them off from their former sup-
plies. In this way, some starving demon incited
Celsus to vilify the Christians {C. C. vii. 56). It is
their interest to arrest the Gospel and to cause perse-
cutions (6'. C. iii. 29, viii. 43, iv. 32). Yet the demons
have no real power over Christians {C. C. viii. 34, 36).
Experience has taught them that they are defeated
by the martyrs, whose confessions are tortures to them
{C. C. viii. 44). Origen holds that magic is a consist-
ent system, having words known to a few. These,
when pronounced with the appropriate modulations,
are of great power ; but useless when translated ; for
the local demons have local names and must be cited
accordingly {C. C.'i. 24, 25). The Name of Jesus has
expelled myriads of demons from the bodies and souls
of men. It is still effective for the removal of mental
distractions and diseases (6'. C. i. 25, 67). Unclean
spirits fear the Name of Jesus as that of a superior

228 Demonic Possession in the Nev: Testament

being, or reverently accept Him as theii' lawful Euler
{C. C. iii. 36).

The testimonies of Athenagoras, Irenseus, Cvprian,
Lactantius, and many others, make no substantial
addition to the teachings already adduced. The
superstitions, which invaded the Chui'ch, in the writ-
ings of Justin Martyr and others, are in most striking
contrast to the purity of the Apostolic Fathers.

B. The general treatment of the demonised

Justin Martyr contemplates several elementary
formulae for the expulsion of evil spirits. " AVe call
Jesus, Helper and Eedeemer, the power of Whose
jSTame even the demons do fear. And at this day,
when they are exorcised in the Xame of Jesus Christ,
Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, governor of
Judaea, they are vanquished. And thus it is manifest
to all that the Father has given unto Him such great
power that even the demons are subdued by His Name
and the dispensation of His passion." " Every demon,
when exorcised in the Name of this very Son of God,
the firstborn of every creature, Who became man by
the Virgin, Who suffered and was crucified under
Pontius Pilate, in His Name, every demon is over-
come and subdued." ^ Minucius Felix mentions the
ejection of demons in connection with the torment of
words and the fires of prayers, uttered by Christians ;
the result being sometimes immediate, sometimes
gradual (Oct. xxvii.). Tertulliau asserted that demons

1 Dialogue with 'fi-yplw, xxx., Ixxxv. ; cf. Ixxvi. Apol. ii. 6.

Alkfjed Continuance of fienuine Demovie Po^seasiov 229

fled from " the touch and breathiug " of Christians
upon them ; being overwhelmed by the contemplation
and representation of the fire in store for them (Apol.
xxiii.).^ Cyprian alleges that demons were cast out of
the bodies of the possessed, by the adjurations of
Christians ; being tortured by spiritual stripes, lament-
ing and groaning at the voice of man and the power
of God, feeling the stripes and blows {Epist. ad
Demetr.). Origen knew of a variety of methods for
curing the demonised. Such are the imposition of
hands {Horn, xxiv.) ; the invocation of the God of all
things and of Jesus, with the mention of the history
of the latter {C. C. iii. 4) ; also prayer and simple
adjurations, without magic or incantations {C. C. vii. 4) ;
likewise, prayers and other means which might be
learned from the Scriptures {C. C. vii. 67). This last
method sufficed for the ejection of demons from the
souls of men or from places where they had estab-
lished themselves, or from the bodies of animals which
were often injured by them. It was natural for
Origen to complain of the scientific medicine of his
day, which discovered mental disorder where he found
demonic agency.- Lactantius believed in " the sign
of the passion," coupled with the Name of the Master,
for the ejection of evil spirits {Inst. iv. 27). The
Arabic Canons of Hippolytus prescribed adjurations,
with the sign of the cross upon the breast, the brow,

^ Cf. Cyril of Jerusalem : The simple iu-lilowiiig of the exorcist
becomes a fire to the unseeu foe.
- See commeut on Matt. xvii. 15.

230 Drmnnic Possession in the New Testament

the ears, and the mouth (Can. xix., xxix.). Jerome
tells how the demonised resorted to the tombs of
Elisha, Obadiah, and John the Baptist, at Samaria.
His description makes it evident that most of the
sufferers were lycanthropes (^^ns;^. 108). Chrysostom
reports the case of Stagirius, whose health had broken
down under the strain of monastic life. He had re-
course to the saints and the tombs of the martyrs ;
but his peregrinations were vain {De Provid.). He
suffered from suicidal melancholy. Martin of Tours
(319—400 A.D.) is credited with an unsavoury triumph
over a demon. His biographer, Sulpitius Severus,
relates how one day, on going into a house, the saint
paused on the threshold, saying, I see a horrible
demon in the porch of the house. The good bishop
ordered the demon off"; but thereupon it seized the
cook (?) who still lingered inside. This wretched
man then began to gnash with his teeth and to tear
all that he met. The house was in an uproar ; the
people fled. Martin presented himself to the mad-
man and bade him stand. But when he gnashed
with his teeth and threatened with open mouth to
devour, Martin thrust his fingers into the man's
mouth, saying. If you have any power, eat these !
Then the possessed, as if he had taken a piece of red-
hot iron into his jaws, retracting his teeth, would not
touch the lingers of the saint. The demon, when com-
pelled by punishments and tortures to depart, not
being allowed to escape by the mouth, passed out
" fluxu ventris " ; leaving sad and foul traces behind it

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 231

( Vita, xvii.). But dismissing the embellishments of
this tale, there is here an undoubted case of insanity,
induced by superstitious horror, and cured (!) by
" punishments and tortures."

The treatment of the possessed ^ generally tended
to pass from superstition to barbarity. But there
was another side to it. From the Canons of the
Council of Carthage, we learn that, in certain places
at least, the care of the demonised had become sys-
tematic, if not rational. They had their abode in the
church. The otticial exorcist laid his hands on them
each day. They had to sweep the floors of the
church, and received their meat in due season (Can.
iv. 90, 91, 92). Chrysostom also notes that they
had a place in the prayers of the Church. The
beautiful " Bidding Prayer " of the Apostolic Constitu-
tions is still extant (viii. 6, 7) —

(After the dismissal of the catechumens), let the
deacon say : Ye energumens afflicted with unclean
spirits, pray. And let us all earnestly pray for them,
that God, the Lover of mankind, will Ijy Christ rebuke
the unclean and wicked spirits, and deliver His suppli-
cants from the dominion of the adversary. May He
that rebuked the legion of demons, and the devil, the
prince of darkness, even now rebuke those apostates
from piety, and deliver His own workmanship from
his power, and cleanse those creatures which He has
made with great wisdom. Let us still earnestly pray

^ \a.iixovi^bfj.€voL, KarexofMevoi., ivepyovfj-evoi, xei.ixa^6jXivoL, kKvSuivI-

^OfJL€VOL.

232 Demonic Possession in the Neiv Testament

for them. Save them, O God, and raise them up by
Thy power. Low down }onr heads, ye energumens,
and receive the blessing.

And let the bishop add this prayer and say : Thou
Who hast bound the strong man and spoiled all that
was in his house. Who hast given us power over
serpents and scorpions to tread upon them and upon
all the power of the enemy, Who hast delivered to us
the serpent, that murderer of men, bound as a sparrow
to children, Whom all things dread, and before the
presence of Whose power all things tremble. Who hast
cast him down as lightning from heaven to earth, not
with a fall from a place but from honour to dishonour,
on account of his wilful disposition to evil, Whose
look dries the abyss and Whose threatening melts
the mountains, and Whose truth endureth for ever,
Whom infants praise and suclclings bless, Whom the
angels hymn and adore, Who lookest upon the earth
and makest it tremble. Who touchest the mountains
and they smoke. Who threatenest the sea and driest
it up, Who makest all the rivers as a desert, and the
clouds as the dust of Thy feet, Who walkest upon the
sea as upon solid land, Thou only-begotten God, Thou
Son of the great Father, rebuke those wicked spirits,
and deliver the work of Thy hands from the power of
the hostile spirit ; for to Thee is due, glory and
honour and worship, and by Thee to Thy Father, in
the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

At first, the ejection of demons was not a specialty
among Christians. It belonged to all. Origen says

Alleged Continuance of r/envine Drviovic Possession 233

that the work was mostly that of the imlettered, who
thus made evident the grace of God and the despicable
weakness of the demons {V. C. vii. 4). In the Ajw's-
tolic Ccmons, it is still an exercise of voluntary
goodness (viii. 26). With increasing complexity in
the functions discharged bv the Church, the order of
exorcists arose. The office was a subaltern one ; the
exorcist not being ordained unless required for the
office of bishop, priest, or deacon (Apost. Can. viii. 26).
On appointment, the person received a book of
formulae, containing prayers and adjurations (Con.
Garth, iv. 7). About the middle of the third cen-
tury, Cornelius of Eome had fifty-two exorcists,
readers, and doorkeepers (Euseb. Hist. Ecdes. vi. 43).
In this century also, baptism came to be surrepti-
tiously connected with exorcism. But candidates for
baptism were not on the same plane with the ener-
gumens. The latter were only eligible for that rite
upon recovery or in extremis. The anointing of
catechumens with " exorcised oil," preparatory to
baptism, as practised under Cyril of Jerusalem, does
not bear transcription.

POSSESSION IX MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN TIMES

During the Middle Ages, the old demonism con-
tinued to flourish ; but was partly overlaid by a novel
diabohsm. Gregory the Great (542-604 a.d.) re-
flects the standpoint of his times when he relates
how a nun, in godless haste, proceeded to eat without

234 Tfrmonie Possession in the New Testament

first making the sign of the cross ; the consequence
being that she swallowed a devil in her lettuce
{Dialog, i. 4). This pope, in sending forth his mis-
sionaries to the barbarians, did not aim at the ex-
tirpation of pagan rites. His policy was rather to
Christianise them. His laxity or liberality opened
wide the door for the introduction of heathen supersti-
tions. A quasi-Christian mythology arose, in which
fairies and gol^lins freely mingled with angels and
demons. Under a sanction, sometimes traditional,
sometimes ecclesiastical, the old pagan ceremonies
contrived to maintain themselves and to acquire a new
importance. Satan played the part of dupe or clown,
appearing now as a beast or a black man ; again as an
angel or a fair woman. Yet with all his versatility, he
was only a poor stupid, who might be confounded or
put to flight, with ridiculous ease. Eelics, rosaries,
proven amulets, holy water, the sign of the cross,
and canonical adjurations, reduced him to a state
of impotence ; wherein he was fain to vent his dis-
pleasure by sulphureous fumes as he fled. From the
tenth century, he began to be taken more seriously :
and witchcraft, as a hybrid between paganism and
Christianity, came into prominence.^ That is, how-
ever, a side-issue, and attention is to be directed
to a few of the alleged instances of possession in
mediaeval and modern times —

Tlie demonomania of South-Eastern Eurojte. — This
appeared in the eighth century, and spread through
^ Appendix R, Witchcraft.

Alleged Continuance of gemiine Demonic Possession 235

Calabria to Greece, Constantinople, and the vEgean
Islands. Phantoms were said to have come near and
conversed with the subjects of this disorder. On its
physical side, it was a contagious insanity, wherein
the hallucinations of the afflicted reproduced them-
selves in others.

The dancing manias of the Middle Ages. — The
first appeared at Erfurt in the thirteenth century, but
was of moderate dimensions. In 1374, the most
notable outbreak of this sort occurred. The lunatics
danced hand in hand, in pairs or circles ; on the
streets, in private houses, even in the churches ; with-
out rest and without shame. They were insensible
to ordinary sights and sounds or other impressions.
They professed to have visions of spirits whom they
could name. The wild screams of the dancers were
regarded as the invocations of demons. When this
fierce delirium had produced exhaustion, convulsions
and severe pains set in. The condition was ascribed
to possession, and solemn exorcisms were performed.
After a time the disorder ceased ; but burst forth
again in l-il8. The dancers raved and pranced
as before ; also fasting for prolonged periods. This
time the possessed were put under supervision and
taken to the chapel at Rotestein. Masses were said
for them, and they were led in procession round
the altar, for the ejection of their demons. On the
physical side, these dancing manias are recognisable
as ancient insanities which have become recrudescent
and contagious. Their parallels are the Tarantism

236 Demonic Possesion in the Nev) Testament

of Italy, the Tigretier of Abyssinia, the exercises of
the Jumpers and Shakers.^

The eommhionnaires of France. — These made
their iirst appearance in 1729. In the conflict
between the Jesuits and the Jansenists, the former
got the upper hand. But miracles were reported
at the grave of Dean Francois of Paris. People
crowded into the cemetery, and on approaching the
s;rave, were seized with convulsions. In this con-
dition, they prophesied and testifled in a most edify-
ing manner against the Jesuits and the Papal Bull
(Unigenitus). These prophecies and testimonies were
sealed by miraculous cures at the cemetery. In 1732,
Louis XV. closed this burial-place ; but the epidemic
did not die out for two generations. A kindred
disorder broke out in Morzines in Upper Savoy in
1857. It w^as noticed first among children, from
whom it spread to adults. The convulsionnaires
changed in character ; becoming indifferent to their
friends and to religion. So irritable did they become,
that a word or the mere sight of a stranger was often
enough to provoke a convulsion. These patients soon
became quite furious. They hurled articles of furni-
ture about, and repeated the same things endlessly.
They declared that they were lost souls in hell, and
believed that they were possessed of one or more evil

1 The Junipers appeared in Cornwall in 1760 ; came under the obser-
vation of John Wesley in Wales in 1763 ; patronised by William
Williams, ' ' the Watts of Wales, " at a later date. The Shakers arc the
disciples of Ann Lee (1736-1784).

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 237

spirits whom they felt or heard within them. When
the convulsions subsided, the patients returned to
their normal condition ; being sometimes quite
oblivious of what had transpired during the period of
their convulsions. On their physical side, these
disorders were true epidemic insanities, in which
hysterical phenomena passed over into transient
mania.

The clemonolaters of India. — They are often cited as
parallels to the possessed in the time of our Lord.
Caldwell has given an interesting account of the
same ; but the description apparently applies to the
phenomena generally witnessed on these occasions.^
He tells how the circle is formed, the fire lit, and the
offerings prepared. These consist of goats, fowls, rice,
pulse, sugar, ghee, honey, with white chaplets of
oleander and Inids of jasmine. The tom-toms are
beaten more loudly and more rapidly, the hum of the
conversation is stilled, while a deep expectancy fills
the assembly. The rickety door of the hut is dashed
aside and the devil-dancer staggers out. He is tall,
haggard, pensive, with sunken eyes, and matted hair.
His forehead is smeared with ashes, his face is streaked
with vermilion and saffron. He wears a high conical
cap, which is white with a red tassel. A long robe
invests him from neck to ankle, and on it are tlie
figures of the goddesses of smallpox, cholera, and
murder. On the ankles are heavy silver bangles, and
in the riglit hand a staff or spear, also a bow, which,
' DfUiouolatiy, (Joutcnujoranj Review, Feb. 1876.

238 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

when pulled by the string, emits a dull booming
sound. In the left hand is the sickle-like sacrificial
knife. The dancer, with unsteady motion reels into
the crowd and sits down. The assembly shows him
the oiferings wdiich they intend to present ; but he
appears to be wholly unconscious. He croons an
Indian lay in a low voice, with drooped eyelids and
head sunk upon his breast. He swings slowly to
and fro, his fingers twitch nervously. His head now
begins to wag, his sides heave and quiver. He per-
spires profusely. The tom-toms are beaten faster, the
pipes and reeds wail out more loudly. There is a
sudden yell, a stinging ear-piercing shriek, a hideous
gobble-gobble of hellish laughter. The devil-dancer
has now sprung to his feet, with eyes protruding,
mouth foaming, chest heaving, muscles quivering, and
arms outstretched, swollen, and straining. Now and
again, the quick, sharp words are jerked out, 1 am
God, I am the true God ! To him as to the present
deity, sacrifices are offered up ; while shrieks, vows,
imprecations, and exclamations of thankful praise,
blend together in one infernal hubbub. Above all,
rise the ghastly laughter and the stentorian howls of
the devil-dancer, I am God, I am the only true God !
He cuts and hacks and hews himself, and not infre-
quently kills himself, there and then. Hours pass by.
The crowd remains rooted to the spot. Suddenly the
dancer gives a great bound into the air, and when he
descends he is motionless. The fiendish look has
vanished from his eyes. His demoniacal laughter is

Alleged Gontinttance of geiiwinc Demonic Possession 239

still. He speaks to this and that neighbour, quietly
and reasonably. He lays aside his garb, washes his
face at the nearest rivulet, and walks soberly home, a
modest, well-conducted man.

Is this, then, a case of genuine demonic possession
in modern times ? There are very distinct difticulties
in the narratives, which one would wish to have
cleared up. But these complexities do not obscure
the real nature of the disorder here present. It
remains uncertain whether the spectators uniformly
believe in " demon-possession " or " god-possession."
The point is immaterial, as the line between the two
is not strictly drawn by such spectators. What is
to be noted is the fact that the consciousness of the
devil-dancer himself is beclouded in the highest
degree. The gait is also unsteady. There is twitch-
ing of the fingers, movement of the head, deepening
of the respiration, rise of the temperature, drooping
of the eyelids, stupor of the countenance, general
muscular excitement, delirium with pleasing halluci-
nations. There is also partial amesthesia and loss of
self-control ; evinced by self-mutilations. Evidently
the devil-dancer is inspired ; not by a demon, how-
ever, but by Indian hemp (bhang or ganja). The
physiological effects are all in evidence here ; even
down to the power of partly directing the hallucina-
tions induced. These are specially manifest in the
exclamation, I am God, I am the true God ! The
action of the Indian hemp is heightened by the noisy
music and the general excitement. There is nothing

240 Demonic Possession in the Nevj Testament

here which at all deserves the name of " supernatural."
The " devil-dancer " has simply drugged himself with
his favourite intoxicant.

The dervishes of Algiers. — These present a study-
as interesting as the previous parties. They have
several points in common with them ; probably they
are not identical. These dervishes have been adduced
as instances of genuine demonic possession in modern
times. Tristram has given a vivid account of their
performances as witnessed by himself.^ The place of
meeting was paved in the centre with bright tessel-
lated tiles, on the midst of which the dervishes w^ere
squatted. Eound three sides sat the musicians, beat-
ing large tambourines, and swinging their heads as
they accompanied their voices in a low measured
chant. Nothing could sound more monotonous than
this unvaried wailing cadence, no music less capable
of inspiring frenzy. The fourth side of the square
was occupied by a young man, sitting cross-legged
before a low table on which were a bundle of papers,
and a lighted candle. Near him was a chafing dish
over which the tambourines were frequently baked.
One of the musicians instead of a tambourine, had
a huge earthen jar, with a mouth covered by parch-
ment. This emitted a deeper note than any of
the other instruments. After a while, amid much
noisy music, the dervishes " having now worked up the
steam," a huge negro with a grizzly-grey moustache,
plunged forward with a howl and swayed his body

^ The Great t>ahuno, pp. 12-15.

Alleged Continnance of genuine Demonic Possession 241

to and fro. He was supported by the attendants,
stripped of his turban and outer garments, and
accommodated with a loose burnous. He then danced
an extempore saraband in front of the lights. Mean-
while, he had been anticipated in his excitement by
a little boy in the rear, who had been working him-
self up for the previous twenty minutes, into an
ecstasy, rolling his head and swaying on his seat,
apparently unconscious and unobserved. The negro
had now Ijecome outrageous, his eyeballs glowing
and rolling as he grunted and growled, like a wild
beast. The musicians then plied the sheepskins with
redoubled energy, till the din became deafening. The
negro craved aliment, and a smith's shovel red-hot,
was brought him. He seized it, spat on his fingers,
rubbed them across its edge, found it not sufficiently
tender, blew upon it, and struck it many times with
the palm of his hand. He then licked it with his
tongue, found it not yet to his taste, handed it back
again to the attendant with evident disgust, squatted
down again, glared carnivorously, and was gratified
with a live scorpion, which was eaten with evident
relish, commencing carefully with the tail. Then a
naked sword was handed him, which he tried to
swallow but failed, as the weapon was slightly curved
and a yard long. This negro tlien recommenced the
saraband, brandishing the naked sword in a promis-
cuous fashion, cutting the candle to pieces, and
making the musicians dive to avoid him. He then
tried to bore his cheek through and to pierce himself
i6

242 Demonic Possession in the N'evi Testament

ill the abdomen ; setting the hilt, now against a
pillar, now against the ground. A friendly fanatic
tried to help him by jumping on liis shoulders, but
in vain ; the man evidently being a pachyderm for the
nonce. Then several maniacs howled and staggered
to the centre ; repeating the same extravagances,
including the scorpion. Three of them then knelt
before the presiding chief of the dervishes, who fed
them with the leaf of the prickly pear which they
bit with avidity, and masticated in large inouthfuls,
spines and all. Others repeated the shovel experi-
ment ; and one sturdy little fellow, naked to the
waist, balanced himself on his stomach, on the edge
of a drawn sword, held up b}' two men. Then he
stood on it, supporting a tall man on his shoulders.

Are these cases, then, genuine parallels to the
demoniacs of the New Testament ? There is an
apparent toughness and callousness of certain tissues
of the body. But these features are to be correlated
with the sharpness or bluntness of the swords ; also
with the after-eftects of the red-hot shovel, the
scorpion entremets, and the prickly pear. To begin
with, there is an utter absence of any trace of
mental derangement among those dervishes. In
process of time that is developed. Intoxication by
Indian hemp may be suspected but cannot be proved.
But the phenomena of hypnotism are strongly in
evidence and amply sufficient to account for all the
occurrences described. There is clear proof of former
trainino- or experience among these performers which

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 243

must not be overlooked. The whole environment is
favourable to the production of auto-hypnotism. Hell-
wald, a high authority on this subject, also describes
the dervishes of Algiers ; remarking that by dancing
and singing, they are al)le to throw themselves into
a condition of ecstasy which is difficult to descril^e.
In this state their bodies seem to be insensible to
severe wounds. They are said to run pointed iron
and sharp knives into their heads, eyes, necks, and
breasts, without injuring themselves.^

The aniiesthesia of the hypnotic state is well
known, and has its adequate physiological explana-
tion. It must not therefore be reckoned among
things supernatural. The demoniacs of the New
Testament suffer from natural insanity or idiocy ;
but these dervishes suffer from hypnotism, which is
a transient and artificial mania, as here described.
Nothing at all genuinely demonic can be discovered
here.

The demoniacs of China. — They are among the recent
instances adduced as parallels to the possessed of the
Gospels. Nevius offers numerous examples of this
alleged identity.^ He was for forty years a missionary
in China, and had no medical qualification. The case
of Kwo, given at length, is a good example of the
others recorded. This person was discovered by a
native assistant in 1878. At the date of the first
interview, he was working in the fields and was then

^ Moll, Hyimotism, p. 32.

^ Nevius, Demon Possession and allied Themes.

244 Demonic Possession in the New Testament

free from symptoms of mental derangement. He
conversed rationally, but confessed that he had been
" troubled with an evil spirit," from which he had
vainly sought relief. He was advised to believe in
Christ, and assured that the demon would leave him.
After prayer, and certain directions, he received some
Christian books. Six months later, Nevius found him
in vigorous health of both body and mind. Though
previously illiterate, Kwo had learned to read and had
taught his young daughter to do so likewise. His
age was then thirty-eight, his appearance being normal,
and his disposition " bright and entertaining." He
told how the spirit of the adjacent mountain had paid
him a visit in 1877; but he resisted and cursed it.
Then he became restless and lost control of himself ;
so that one day, seized with an irresistible impulse, he
rushed off to a gambler's den, and there lost ^16 —
a large sum for him. Starting home, he lost his way
in the dark, but got home somehow or other ; being
conscious of what he was doing and saying, in a
mechanical fashion, and soon forgetting what he had
said. Then he lost his appetite, and again went to
his gambling. On returning home, he fell down,
foaming at the mouth and becoming unconscious.
On recovering next day, he tried to run away, when
he staggered. Everything became dark, and he rushed
back to his room, where he became violent, and
attacked all who came near him, even attempting to
shoot his father. For five or six days, he remained
in a wild raving state ; and when more medicine was

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 245

proposed the demon said, No amount of medicine will
be of any use. From the same source came the
advice, Burn incense to me and submit yourself to
me, and all will be well. These statements were
made by Kwo when he was unconscious, and were
followed by another attempt to run away. Further
unconsciousness ensued, and thereafter the demon is
said to have come only at intervals, sometimes of a
few days, sometimes of a month or more, when " a
fluttering of the heart and a sense of fear," and in-
ability to control himself, were experienced ; and the
sufferer was obliged to sit or lie down ; there being
intervals of unconsciousness and mutterings. The
demon often bade them not to fear, and promised
his help in the healing of disease. The neighbours
availed themselves of the promise ; some being healed
instantly and without medicine ; " many not being
under the control of the demon." He even failed with
the child of Kwo ; though asked to cure it. The
final interview between the demon and Kwo's wife
is characteristic. ' We understood that you were
not to return. How is it that you have come back
again ? The demon replied politely : I have returned
for but one visit. If your husband is determined to
be a Christian, this is no place for me. But I wish
to tell you that I had nothing to do with the death
of your child. Then the demon was asked : What
do you know of Jesus Christ ? The answer was :
Jesus Christ is the great Lord over all ; and now I
am going away and you will not see me again ! '

246 Demonic Possession in the Ncio Testament

Since that time, it is said that Kwo has not been
troubled by the demon.

Is this then a case of genuine possession ? There
is nothing whatever inexplicable on common medical
principles. It is a case of epileptic insanity ; with
its local colouring and its reminiscences of Christian
doctrine, mingled with native delusions. The other
cases of Nevius show no more critical acumen, and
are all natural cases of mental disorders. This writer
believed these things to be characteristic of demon-
possession —

1. Automatic representation and persistent and

consistent acting out of a new personality.

2. Evidence of a knowledge and intellectual power

not possessed by the subject nor explicable
on the pathological hypothesis.

3. Change of personality, involving complete change

of moral character.
These are but the misapprehensions of an un-
instructed mind and may be briefly dismissed —

1. The passage from sanity to insanity implies

change of personality. The change follows
a recognised pathological order.

2. There is sometimes a morbid exaltation of cer-

tain faculties ; but never any real augmenta-
tion of intellectual power.

3. The dictum of Esquirol, already quoted, has in

view the fact that moral deterioration is an
integral part of the morbid process.

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 247

WAS GENUINE DEMONIC POSSESSION LOCAL AND
TEMPORAKY ?

This question answers itself when the features of

genuine demonic possession already discovered, are
recalled —

1. Mental derangement of some sort or other,

forming the natural element.

2. The confession of Jesus as Messiah, forming the

supernatural element.
In the whole series of cases, cited or citable, in
support of the thesis that genuine demonic pos-
session is independent of place and time, we
note —

1. The obvious persistence of the first or natural

element.^

2. The conspicuous restriction of the latter to the

ministry of Christ.
The untrained observer has in mind the physical
symptoms manifested by the demoniacs of the New
Testament ; and when confronted by persons exhibit-
ing analogous symptoms, he naturally calls them
demoniacs also. There is an error of judgment ;
because the criterion of the Gospels is not in view.
Its application proves that genuine demonic possession
ivas a unique p)henomenon in the history of the vjorld ;
being confined indeed, to the earlier portion of the
ministry of our Lord.

' The conflition of the demouolaters and dervishes is essentiallj" a
temporary and artilicial insanity.

248 Demonic Possession in the Neto Testament

WAS THE ENl'IKONMENT PECULIAR IN THE TIME
OF CHlilST ?

The increased activity of demons at this date
requires consideration. An old writer remarks that
they were now forsaking the ancient oracles and
taking up their abode in men. The decline of these
institutions was a fact on which Thucydides and
Cicero commented, and on which Plutarch composed
a formal treatise. This work is referred to in proof
of the foregoing statement. It is a conjecture and
a fancy which need not be discussed ; as neither the
location of demons at the oracles nor their trans-
ference thence to men is capable of proof. More
suggestive of the proper explanation of demonic
activity at this time is the passage : Satan is come
down to you, having great wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time (Eev. xii. 12). That
proposition may be taken as a general principle
applicable to the present case. The kingdom of
Satan has its physical and its ethical aspects. The
former has not been found to be specially in evi-
dence at this period ; because it has been already
shown that the Jews in the time of Christ did not
materially differ from their neighbours in regard to
their mental temperament and health. The physical
environment did not contain any novel elements.
But the other aspect of the kingdom of Satan is
thrust into great prominence. The spiritual en-
vironment was wliolly without a parallel. It was

Alleged Continuance of genuine Demonic Possession 249

marked by two residual features of surpassing im-
portance—

1. The confession of Jesus as Messiah by evil

spirits.

2. The suppression of these confessions by Christ

Himself.
According to the evidence of the Gospels, these
demonic testimonies had their beginning and end in
Him. There is but one explanation of the situation.
The incarnation initiated the establishment of the king-
dom of heaven upon earth. That determined a counter-
movement among the poivcrs of darkness. Genuine
Demonic Possession was one of its Manifesta-
tions.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

Eabbinic Liteeatuee. p. 25.

Abodah Zara.

Baba Batlira.

Baba Kamma.

Bekhoroth.

Berakliotli.

Bereshitli Rabba.

Chagigali.

Cliullin.

Debarim Rabba.

Erubin.

Gittin.

Horayotb.

Kethubotb.

Kiddushin.

Nedarim.

Niddab.

Peah.

Pesachim.

Pesiqta.

Pirqe Abhotb.

Pirqe de R. Eliezer.

Rosh-ba-Shanah.

Sanbedrin.

Sliabbath.

Sbeinotb Rablia.

Siplire.

Sopherini.
Succab.

Abod. Zai'a.

Baba Batbra.

Baba Kamma.

Bekborotb.

Ber.

Ber. R.

Cbag.

Cbullin.

Debar. R.

Erub.

Gittin.

Horaj'otb.

Ketbuboth.

Kidd.

Nedar.

Nidd.

Peab.

Pes.

Pesiqta.

Pirqe Abb.

Pirqe de R. El.

Rosb-ba-Sbaiiab

Sanh.

Shab.

.Sbemoth R.

Sipbro.

Sopbeviui.
Succab.

IdoLatry.

Municipal law.

Damages for injuries.

Tbe Firstborn.

Prayers and Blessings.

On Genesis.

The three great Feasts.

►Slaughtering animals.

On Deuteronomy.

Sabbath boundaries.

Divorce.

Unintentional sins.

Marriage contracts.

Betrothal.

Vows.

Female defilement.

Tbe harvest corner.

The Passover.

The " Lessons."

Sayings of the Fathers.

The history of Israel.

The New Year Feast.

The Sanbedrin.

Sabbath observance.

On Exodus.

On Numbers and Deu-
teronomy.

Writing of the Law.

The Feast of Taber-
nacles.

B. — Nomenclature of the Nciv Testament 251

Taanitli. Taanith. Fasting and Fast Days.

Tanchuma Mislipatim. Tanch. Misli. On the Pentateuch.

Yalkut Shinieoni. Yalkut. Shim. On the whole of the

O.T.

Yebhamoth. Yeh. The Levirate.

Yonia. Yoma. The Day of Atonement.

APPENDIX B

Nomenclature of the New Testament. P. 61.

The Authorised Version uses the term " devil " as
the equivalent of two terms which are severely dis-
tinguished in the original —

A. Demon {balij^av, dai/Moviov), one of the subordinate

powers of evil.
JJ. Diabolus (3/a/3oXoc), used in a speciiic and generic
sense —

(a) Denoting Satan, the great devil, par
excellence, the head of the kingdom of
evil. Matt. iv. 5. Mark i. 13. Luke
iv. 3.
(Jb) Denoting a slanderer or false accuser —

Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you

is a devil 1 John vi. 70.
Their wives must not be devils. 1 Tim. iii. 11.
In the last days men will be devils. 2 Tim.

iii. 3.
The aged women should not be devils. Tit.

ii. 3.

There are also two modes of possession which are
strictly differentiated —

1. Demon - possession. This is always associated

with some form of mental derangement ; but
no moral consequences are traced to demons. ,

2. Satan-possession. This is never associated vvith\j

mental derangement; but moral consequences
are traced to Satanic influence.

252 Appendices

The agents of possession are variously designated —

Demon (dalficov). Matt. viii. 31.^
Spirit (TTvevfia). Matt. viii. 16, etc-
Evil spirit (rrvevixa Trovrjpov). jNEatt. xii. 45, etc.^
Filthy spirit {Trvfvfxa aKadaprov). Mark iii. 11, etc*
Spirit of an unclean demon {TTvevjj.a Saifxovlov aKadaprov).
Luke iv. .33.

The subjects of possession are variously designated —

The demonised (Saipovi^opevoi). Matt. iv. 24.

Having demons (e'xcov daipovLa). Luke viii. 27.

Driven by a demon {rjXavvem viro tov baipovlov). Luke

viii. 29.
Whom a spirit seizes {nvevpa 'kapj:icn'ei). Luke ix. 39.
Whom a spirit assails {irvevpa KaraXap^uvei). Mark ix. 18.
Being in a foul spirit (eV Trvevpan nKaddpro)). Mark i. 23.
Having a foul spirit (ex*"" •n-vdpa dKadaprov). Mark iii. 30.
Whom a spirit enters {Twevpa (la-epxfrai). Matt. xii. 45.
Annoved by spirits (oxXovpivoi vtto nvevpcircov). Acts

v. 'l6.
Harassed bv spirits {fvoxXovpevoi drru tj- vevpuraiv). Luke

vi. 18. ■"
Containing a spirit {ev w rjv to nvivpa). Acts xix. 16.

The demoniacs are sometimes said " to have " or
" to possess " (iyjiv) a demon or spirit. The term
" possession " has thus scriptural authority ; but
perhaps it owes its currency to Aristotle's discussion
of the term 'syji\i (Metcqyhysics, iv. xxiii.). The fourth
Gospel is not unique in its terminology ; though the
view of its author regarding the reality of possession
may be matter of conjecture. He mentions the re-
proaches cast on Jesus as one possessed ; but he
records no healing of demoniacs. Ewald in vain tried
to conjure up such an occurrence between chaps, v.
and vi. The omission in itself is not surprising, as
John does not attempt to exhaust the types of
miracles wrought by our Lord. He has no mention of
deafness, dropsy, dumbness, fever, lameness, leprosy,
or paralysis. Silence, therefore, cannot be construetl
into dissent from the otlier Evangelists. Indeed, Jolm
1 icf. - nn. ^ nv"i nn. ■* NDn nn.

C. — Dumh Demoniac v. Blind and Dumb Demoniac 25 o

is entirely at one with Luke in regarding Judas as
possessed of Satan. That is a specific point of contact
which may import agreement elsewhere.

APPENDIX C

The Dumb Demoniac versus the Blind-and-Dumb
Demoniac. P. 90.

Strauss, De Wette, and Keini here hold to a twofold
narration of a single incident. That is possible, but
unlikely. The critical considerations are important ;
but the medical are more so. Dumb demoniacs do not
seem to have been numerous in Palestine in the time
of our Lord. Their rarity is easily explained by the
great mortality among this class of sufferers, con-
sequent upon neglect and maltreatment. But the
survival of blind-and-dumb demoniacs must have been
still rarer, because of their greater proneness to death.
The loss of sight, in the latter case, is not a loss to be
simply added to the existing defects. That new-
feature implied a most serious advance in the whole
course of the disease. There was therefore a very
decided difference between a dumb demoniac and one
who was both blind and dumb. There is no difficulty
in regarding both as genuine cases of serious mental
disease. The historical setting of. the different nar-
ratives is in complete agreement with this view.

1. The cure of the dumb demoniac drew forth tlie
plaudits of the unprejudiced multitudes : It was never
so seen in Israel! With equal emotion the Pharisees
declared : He casteth out demons in the prince of
demons. The charge of conspiring with the prince of
demons is as yet not much more than tentative. It
is a coup d'essai.

2. The cure of the blind-and-dumb demoniac

254 Ajjpendices

astounded the unbiassed spectators, wlio said : May this
not be the son of David ? But the scornful enemies
deprecated this incipient faith, saying : He has Beel-
zebul ! Conspiracy with the prince of demons has now
become possession by him. The charge is now malig-
nant and clamant. It is a coiqj de grdce.

There is a progression of events ; also an enhance-
ment of thought and feeling and activity, in the latter
case compared with the former. The whole environ-
ment of the blind - and - dumb demoniac '< is different
from that of the dumb demoniac. Attempts at
reduction of the miraculous are here unwarranted.

Which of the two cases in the first Gospel is the
true parallel to that in the third ? At first sight,
there seems nothing to arbitrate upon ; for surely the
dumb demoniac of Matthew is also the dumb demoniac
of Luke. Yet Meyer, Arnold, and others take the
opposite view. That means then that Luke omits the
mention of blindness, which ought to have been of
great importance to him as a physician. Yet that is
not surprising in view of the large number of similar
omissions. Some of these are very notable ; such as
the sudden entrance of the Capernaum demoniac into
the synagogue when furiously maniacal ; the excessive
activity, the unwearied vigilance, the ghastly mutila-
tions, of the Gerasene demoniac; the dumbness, the
deafness, the intractable disposition, the suicidal pro-
clivities, of the epileptic idiot. This list of omissions
might be greatly extended ; and is highly instructive.
It raises questions of authorship ; for the omissions
are not such as arise out of the reticence imposed by
the Hippocratic oath.

In this connection also it is curious to note the
omission of the miraculous element by Luke —

The respective reports on the Galilean Ministry
are —

Matt. Preaching and healing, iv. 23.
Mark. Preaching and ejecting demons, i. 39.
Luke. Preaching onlv. iv. 44.

D. — Fact-hr/!iis of the Ej^hesian Narrative 255

The respective reports (»n the Mission of the
Twelve —

Matt

Mark. Preachings, ejections, anointings, vi. 12, 13.
Luke. Preaching and healing, ix. 6.

With Luke, therefore, preaching may inchide heal-
ing ; and healing may include the cure of the
demonised. The latter point is implied again in the
double form of the commission to the Twelve —

He gave them power and authority over all demons and to

cure diseases. Luke ix. 1.
He sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God and to

heal. Luke ix. 2.

These two statements are independent so far ; heal-
ing being common to both. There is no withdrawal
of the powers conferred in the first verse ; though
there is no mention of them in the second. The
healing of the sick thus includes the cure of the
possessed. This mannerism of Luke is of further
interest in connection with the Mission of the
Seventy.

APPENDIX D

Fact-basis of the Ephesian Nakrative. P. 100.

Some of the difficulties of the narrative are remov-
able by the adoption of variant readings (B, D, etc.) ;
others are immaterial to the study of the case as one
of possession. In this respect it is of no conse-
quence whether Sceva is a ruler {up-^M^J), or a priest
{npixjc), or a high priest (ap^npsvc). His seven sons are
exorcists wdio are practising abroad. Their adoption
of this profession in foreign parts and their experi-
menting with a new Name, potent ii; the hands of

256 Appendices

others, are altogether in accord with the historical
situation. The result of this seance, though very iu-
glorious, was proof that there was power in the new-
Name. That determined the continuation of the
practice in later times as expressly testiiied in Shah.
14:d. The account of the experiment is eminently free
from exaggeration, and bears every evidence of being
thoroughly veracious. The force of the remarks of
Prof. Eamsay are thus sensibly abated : " In this
Ephesian description one feels the character, not of
weighed and reasoned history, but of popular fancy ;
and I cannot explain it on the level of most of the
narrative. The writer is here rather the picker-up of
current gossip, like Herodotus, than a real historian "
(St. Paid the Traveller, p. 273).

APPENDIX E

The Mission of the Seventy. P. 114.

Notwithstanding the obscurities attaching to this
narrative, there are sound reasons for accepting it as
founded on fact.

1. The Galilean Ministry is historical ; the Pera^an is
equally sure (Matt. xix. 1 ; Mark x. 1 ; John x. 40).
Two great divisions of Jewish territory were thus over-
taken. It would have been passing strange on the part
of Him whose mission was to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel, had Judtea, the remaining division of
the land, been neglected. The Gospel of John implies
a considerable activity on the part of Jesus in Jerusalem,
but no Judiean Ministry similar to tliat in Galilee or
Pera?a. According to Mark iii. 7, 8, those who followed
Jesus came from —

{a) Galilee.
{h) Pera\i.

E. — The Mission of the Seventy 257

(c) Parts about Tyre and Sidon.

{d) Judtea, including Jerusalem and Idumtea.^
Christ, as it were, returned the visits of those who
came from Galilee, Pertea, Tyre, and Sidon. That was
natural. But we find Him also visiting the outlandish
region of Decapolis. It is inconceivable that while
Tyre, Sidon, and Decapolis shared the beneficence of
Christ, the region of Judsea should remain unvisited.
The mission of the Seventy fills up the blank; and
there is good reason for accepting the suggestion of
Hahn, that Judaea was the objective of the Seventy.

2. The date is not quite certain. The existence of
considerable opposition is assumed. The tension is
similar to that existing towards the close of the
Galilean Ministry. The outlook is tempered with the
hope of an abundant harvest (x. 2). The injunctions
closely resemble those delivered to the Twelve ; proving
that the conditions of the work are not greatly dis-
similar. Luke seems to connect this Mission with the
migration of Jesus from Galilee, through Samaria to
Jerusalem. The suggestion of Hahn is that the place
of appointment is Jerusalem ; and the time, the Feast
of Tabernacles (John vii. 2). The conjecture seems to
be well founded.

3. All things indicate a certain urgency. The
Seventy are appointed without the ceremony of the
Twelve, who were "called" and "chosen" and "named"
Apostles (Luke vi. 13); whereas Jesus simply desig-
nated {av'chii^i'j, — designavit, Vulg.) the Seventy. Greet-
ings by the way and shifting of quarters are forbidden.
Christ seems to have been under the necessity of can-
celling His intention of following the Missioners ; for
they return to one centre to report. The whole situa-
tion is intelligible, if the time and place of appointment
be as supposed. Feeling was then running very high
in Jerusalem (John vii. 20).

^ Iduma>a, "tlien practically the southern Shephelah, with the
Negeb." So, G. A. Smith, Historical Geography. But see 1 Mace,
vi, 31, etc.

17

258 Ajjpendices

4. The Sanhedrim is not to be thought of in connec-
tion with the Seventy ; for that body numbered not
seventy but seventy- one. Nor is it possible to endorse
the view of the Tubingen School, which finds here a
reference to the evangelising of the world. It is true
that the extra-Israelitish nations were computed at
Seventy on the basis of the fanciful interpretation of
Gen. xlvi. 27, and Deut. xxxii. 8. But the outlook of
this Mission is strictly local and temporary. The
Seventy go to the cities and places whither Jesus
Himself was about to come. Now Judaea was divided
into certain districts, enumerated by Josephus and
riiny. Their lists do not quite agree ; but Schilrer has
offered a revised list, which comprises Jerusalem,
Gophna, Akrabatta, Thamna, Lydda, Emmaus, Beth-
leptepha, Idumaa, Engaddi, Herodeion, and Jericho.^
The first and the last of these might be omitted as
otherwise provided for ; so leaving nine only. If the
other reading, Seventy-Two,^ be accepted (and it is
perhaps of equal worth), then there would be eight
delegates to each district ; so permitting the speedy
completion of the Mission. The prompt action of
Christ and the ample supply of labourers thus antici-
pated opposition and secured a surprising success.

The historicity of this Mission amply vindicates
itself as the crown and consummation of the plans of
Jesus for evangelising the whole land of the Jews.

The commission and the success of the Missioners
deserve attention —

Heal the sick and say to tliem, The kingdom of God is

come nigh to you. Luke x. 9.
Lord, even the demons are subject to us in thy name. Luke

X. 17.

This remarkable juxtaposition brings into prominence
a point often referred to, namely, the existence of a
faith and works alleged to be in excess of the terms of

^ Schtirer, The Jeivish People, ii. i. p. 157 (f.
•-SoB, D, M, R, Vulg., etc.

F. — Greek Demonology 259

the original commission. These statements have been
made to work in two directions —

{n) To the credit of the Missioners as men of rare
faith.

(h) To the discredit of the Apostles who failed with
the boy.

But the inference is thoroughly indefensible. There
is here no work of supererogation, nor shadow of
reproach; only a threefold mannerism of the third
Evangelist —

1. Ejection of demons is included in works of healing.
The commission of those two parties is coextensive.
The proof is a comparison of Luke ix. 2, with Luke
X. 9.

2. Luke constantly manifests a tender regard for the
reputation of the Twelve. Disparagement of them is
here impossible. The account of Peter's fall is a monu-
ment of magnificent charity.

3. The main interest of Luke here is not the demonic
element at all, but the astounding success of the
Missioners. The joy of Jesus rests on a far wider basis
than triumphs over evil spirits ; and that feeling He
shares with t,he delegates : Notwithstanding in this
rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but
rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

APPENDIX F

Gkeek Demonology. P. 129.

From the time of the Christian Apologists, the
Church passed deeply under " the wisdom of the
Greeks." Demonology was an integral part of the
same ; so that it is necessary to give at least a brief
outline of this branch of ancient lore. The term demon
(5a/>wv) connects itself with the form hainv — to divide ;

260 Appendices

not with da^vai — to know. The demons then are the
distributors of destiny, not simply the knovnng ones.

Homer (about 1000 B.C.) uses the term " demon,"
sometimes as the equivalent of deity. Thus, Minerva
retires to the palace of tegis-bearing Zeus, to the " other
demons " (//. i. 222). Venus is described as a " demon,"
after her interview with Helen {11. iii. 420). But the
tendency is to apply the term to lesser personages.
Hector threatens Diomede : I will give thee to a demon
{II. viii. 1G6). Athene assures Telemachus that he
will perceive certain things in his own mind, while a
demon will suggest others {Od. iii. 27). The sick man,
pining away, is one on whom a hateful demon has
gazed {Od. v. 396). ^olus reproaches the luckless
Odysseus, after his companions had opened the bladder
containing the winds : How didst thou come ? What
evil demon has pressed on thee {Od. x. 64) ? The word
becomes even an abstract form, as in II. xvii. 98, where
demon stands for " heaven's power." The Homeric
demons, when not abstractions, are already good and
bad.i

Hesiod (about 800 B.C.) divides rational beings into
four classes — gods, demons, heroes (demi-gods), and
men. The immortals first made a "golden race" of
men, when Chronos ruled in heaven. " When doom
overtook this race, by decree of mighty Zeus, demons
are they, kindly, dwellers on earth, guardians of mortal
men, easily observant of deeds of righteousness and
works of daring, clothed in air, dwelling everywhere
on earth, givers of riches" {Works and Days, 121-126).
" Three times ten thousand are they on the bounteous
earth, immortals of Zeus {ihid. 252, 253)." To his own
brother, Perses — " the ne'er-do-well " — the poet holds

^ Lecky, in his History of European Morals, says it is extremely
doubtful whether the existence of evil demons was known either to the
Greeks or Romans, till about the advent of Christ. " The belief was
introduced with the Oriental superstitions which then poured into
Rome " (i. p. 380). Homer, Empedocles, Plato, Xenocrates, Chrysip-
pus, and others disprove this statement. It is also opposed to tlie
teachings of anthropology.

F. — Greek Demonology 261

out the hope of being one day " like a demon " {ibid. 314).
The demons of this poet are therefore all good.

Thales (about 630-548 B.C.) held that the world was
animated (^i'M-^uj^ov), and full of demons (Diog. Laert.
viii. 6). God was the intelligence of the world ;
demons were spiritual beings ; and heroes the souls of
the departed. The demons were both good and evil
(Athenag., Ajjol. xxiii. Of. Plutarch, Plac. i. viii. 2).

Pythagoras (about 540-510 B.C.) held that demons
were stronger than men ; but had not the divine part
unmixed. They shared the nature of the soul and the
sensation of the body ; being susceptible of pain and
connate passions (Plutarch, Isis, 25). The whole air is
filled with demons or heroes, which send dreams to
men and the signs of sickness or health. They also
send these to sheep and other creatures, that purifica-
tions, expiations, divinations, omens, and the like, may
be referred to them (Diog. Laert. viii. 19).

Empedocles {floruit 444 B.C.) embodied his views in
his poem " On Nature," which is extant only as a
fragment. Though he is often quoted by later writers
of first rank, it is not easy to ascertain the details of
his philosophy. According to Plutarch, he taught
that demons are of a mixed and inconstant nature, and
are subjected to a purgatorial process which may end
in their promotion to their former abodes —

The force of air tliem to the sea pursues,

The sea again upon the land them spues,

From land to Sol's unwearied beams they're hurled,

Thence far into the realms of ether whirled,

Eeceived by each in turn, by all abhorred.

Thus chastened and purified, they again attain to
that region and order suited to their nature (Plut. Isis,
26). Empedocles attributed to demons all the calam-
ities, vexations, and plagues, incident to man ; the gods
themselves being superior to corruption, suffering, and
error (Plut. Def. Orac. xvi.).

Socrates (about 470-399 B.C.) claimed to have a

262 Appendices,

demon within him which indicated what he was to do
(Xen. Mem. I. ii. 4).^ It was only an inward voice
which did not at all oppose his going to death {Apol.
xix. xxxi.). He scouted the idea that the demon was
an apparition (Pint. Demon of Soc. xi.).

Plato (428-347 B.C.) was a poet-philosopher, whose
meaning is often elusive on this subject. He does not
exclude the demons from heaven ; remarking that on
certain occasions Zeus, the greatest sovereign of heaven,
rides forth in his winged chariot, followed by a host of
gods and demons {Fhcedrus, Ivi.). He divided all
superior beings into the uncreated God, and those pro-
duced by Him for the adornment of the heavens — the
planets and the fixed stars ; and demons (Athenag.
Ap. xxiii.). The demons are inferior to stars, but act
as tutelary officials to men ; being themselves susceptible
to pleasure and pain and hating wickedness {Epinomis).
Plato says in another passage that a demon is inter-
mediate between the divine and the mortal. Such a
demon is Love, whose function is to interpret and to
transmit to the gods petitions and sacrifices, thence
bringing back commands and gifts. God does not
mingle with men, but through the demons there is all
intercourse and conversation {Symp)os. 202 D, 203 A).
Plato repeatedly refers to the Hesiodic demons. In the
Cratylus (398 B.C.), "golden" means "noble and
good " ; and a good man would still be called golden,
because " knowing or wise " {har,iJ.o)v). When a good
man dies, he has honour and a mighty portion among
the dead, and becomes a demon ; and every wise man
who is also a good man is more than human (da.ifj.6vio:),
both in life and in death. Again, in the EejmUic,
he quotes Hesiod ; saying that tliose who behave nobly
in war belong to "the golden age"; and at death become
demons. Their sepulchres are to be afterwards revered
as the shrines of such demons. In the same class and
destined to the same honours, are good men who die in
tlie course of age or otherwise. Good rulers are also

' At his trial he spoke vaguely of demons as gods or sons of gods.

F. — Greek Dcmonology 263

admitted to this status after death (vii. 17). In regu-
latino; the lives of animals in the first a^es, Plato
assumes the co-operation of divine demons with the
deity {Polit. 271 D E; 274 B.C.). In the Platonic
Apocalypse, the demon assigned to each person in life
conducts him to judgment, sometimes not without a
struggle {Phcedo, 130, 131). There is also a vision of
" fierce and fiery men," who discharge the function of
angels of punishment {Rep. x. 14). The majority of
the Platonic demons are good.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was the son of a physician
and possessed no small amount of medical knowledge.
His practical nature rendered him averse to speculating,
like Plato, on things beyond the mundane sphere. He
curtailed the realm of the spiritual. In his Meta-
physics, he mentions four modes of being ; the last being
demonic (iv. viii.). He recognised the intimate relation
existing between body and soul, suggesting that a
change in the quality of the one might induce a corre-
sponding change in the other. He remarks that insanity
appears to attach itself to the sonl ; yet physicians, by
appropriate remedies and dieting, free the soul from
insanity. He was aware of the power of fever to cause
delirium {Dreams, ii.). Mental derangements were re-
ferred to natural causes by this philosopher. Much
passed under his name which was not his. Such are
the references to demons inspiring the possessed (Eud.
Ethics, I. i. 3) ; also the cure of the demonised by the use
of a stone found in the Nile {Mirah. Auscult.)}

The Stoics held a somewhat variant doctrine of
demons among themselves ; but agreed in giving an
esoteric and exoteric aspect to the same. Thus, reason
is the governing power of the soul, and is part of an
emanation from God. As reason is protective against
evil and is conducive to good, it is the guardian spirit
or demon of man. A holy spirit, therefore, dwells in
us, observant of our good and evil deeds, and our
guardian (Seneca, Epist. xli. 2). This tutelary spirit is
1 Cr. Plutarcli, De Fluviis.

264 Appendices

of Jove's appointment, charged to keep ward, without
sleeping and without deceit (Epict. Dissert, i. xiv. 12).
This protector and guide is the nous and logos of each
one (M. Aurel. v. 27). Seneca could also speak, in the
popular sense, of each one possessing two tutelary
spirits {Ejnst. ex. 1). Others of this School required
demons for complethig their scheme of the universe.
Thus, if living things exist on the earth and in the sea,
there must also be intelligent beings in the air which
is so much purer. These beiugs are demons. In the
scheme of providence, a part is assigned them by
Chrysippus, who accounted for evil in the world by
negligent and restless demons (Plut. Bcpiigr. xxxvii. 2).
Some demons went about the world as public avengers
of evil (Plut. Qucest. Bom. 51) ; but this was not
supposed to interfere with the laws of the universe.^
The Neo-Platonists systematised the existing ethnic
beliefs and purified the same to some extent. The
virtual founder of this School is Plutarch (about
50-120 A.D.). The gods are immortal, virtuous, free
from passion, and immune from sin ; but demons are of
a neutral or inferior nature, subject to mortal passion
and necessary change, long-lived, but not immortal
(Def. Orac. xi. xii. xvi.). He relates the death of Pan
and gives the report of Demetrius who visited some of
the outlying islands of Britain, called the Isles of the
Demons and the Demi-gods. On the arrival of this
visitor to our shores, there was a severe storm with
wind and thunder ; believed to denote the death of some
demon {Bef. Orac. xviii.). Plutarch held that the
deity is not specially concerned with sacrifices, services,
and ceremonies. These are entrusted to demons who
are the spies and scouts of the gods ; others avenging
and punishing the wicked. Yet not all demons are
good. They differ in virtue ; some retaining but a slight
trace of the sensuous and irrational soul ; others possess-
ing that in high degree {Bef. Orac. xiii.). Certain

^ The Epicureans rejected both the popxilar tlieology and demonology
(Plutarch, Bef. Orac. xix, ; Flac. i. S3).

G. — Goxck Medicine 265

gloomy festivals, when raw flesh is eaten and the skin
is torn by the nails, or others when there is fasting and
beating of the breasts, with uncomely speech, head-
tossings, and tumults, are for appeasing evil spirits.
This is the end also of human sacrifices ; certain
tyrannical demons requiring for their enjoyment, some
soul still incarnate, and being unable to satisfy their
evil desire, incite war and sedition, till they get what
they lust for. Eapes, wanderings, banishments, volun-
tary servitudes of the gods, are due to demons. They
are concerned with oracles, which cease on their
departure ; but emit musical sounds on their return
{Def. Orac. xiv. xv.). Plutarch thus ekes out his
doctrine of providence, and fills up the interval between
gods and men. The good demons are " hermeneutic "
in the Platonic sense, carrying vows and prayers to
heaven ; bringing thence prophecies and gifts to men
{Isis, xxvi.). Demons may personate the gods ; assum-
ing their name. The position of the demon is not a
fixture. One might attain to divinity, while another
might be entangled in a mortal body.

Plutarch does not refer his demonology to the Magi
through Zoroaster, nor to Thrace, Egypt, or Phrygia.^
Most of it bears the ethnic stamp ; but somewhat
clarified. Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, Porphyry, lam-
blichus, and Proclus largely elaborated the foregoing
doctrines. The influence of the Neo-Platonic School
on the writers of the early Church is well marked.

APPENDIX G

Greek Medicine. Pp. 129, 137.

To Greece belongs the honour of being the first to
discard the barbarous practices of ignorant peoples,
which connected mental disease with demonic agency.

1 Keim is in error when he asserts tliat Plutarch was dependent on
the Mat'i for his doctrine of demons.

266 Appendices

This change of view belongs to that brilliant period of
history which witnessed the finest artistic productions
of the manifold genius of Greece. Hippocrates was the
first physician to give it concise expression in his
treatise on " Epilepsy," or " The Sacred Disease." He
argues his case with singular felicity and shrewdness,
refusing to believe that " The Sacred Disease " is more
divine or sacred than any other. He attributes the
common opinion to ignorance and the alleged simplicity
of the cure. Men ought to know that from nothing
else than the brain come joy, despondency, and lamen-
tations, while from the same organ come also madness,
delirium, the assaults of fear and terror, dreams,
wanderings, anxieties, and other evils. His friend,
Democritus, is made to say in a (forged) letter that he
was writing on insanity, and was making dissections of
animals, not in hatred of the works of the gods, but for
the discovery of the nature of the gall and the bilious
humour. This study of nature at first hand underlay
the practice of Hippocrates. The change of medical
opinion reflects itself in literature ; not purely in poetry
which loves to retain the archaic and the pictorial.
The verb baiixo\ia\i, originally applied to the state of one
possessed, now comes to denote the condition of one
non compos mentis. In the Cocpliorm of iEschylus, it
is said that the house " is distraught {haiixova) with ills."
In the Ajax of Sophocles, the hero is seized with mad-
ness {/juavia), jerking out words which a demon and not
man has taught him. In the Plutus of Aristophanes,
to be " ill with black bile " is to be " troubled with
an evil demon." In the Phcenissce of Euripides, the
possessed (dai/Movuirs;) are those who are " out of their
senses." Herodotus relates that the Spartans thought
that the madness of their king was not due to any
divine influence, but to hard drinking. Plato held that
there were two kinds of madness, one due to disease,
the other to an inspired deviation from custom.^

^ The classical Sai/xovdv becomes the Hellenistic SaifioviseaOaL. It is
interesting to note that even Joseplms applies tlie former to the

G. — Greek Medicine 267

The Grreek physicians used rational methods of
treatment. Melampus cured the lycanthropy of the
daughters of Proetus by the use of hellebore, with
music and dancing. Hippocrates and Democritus
judiciously exhibited the same drug. The Hippocratic
traditions were ably continued in the School of Cos,
and were carried westwards.

Asclepiades prescribed fasting in the earlier part of
the day, simple liquid diet and massage in the evening.
He was averse to bleeding, fomentations, mandrake,
poppy, or hyoscyamus. Censorinus relates his employ-
ment of music as a remedial agent. The bad features
in his treatment were the use of bonds and the allow-
ance of gross indulgences after abstinence.

Celsus Aurelius Cornelius, a Eoman physician, wdio
flourished under Augustus and Tiberius, was rather
rough in his methods. He advised hunger, chains, and
stripes in the case of the more violent patients ; also
sudden frights. His medical treatment was drastic ; but
the admirable side of it was the appointment of music,
recitations, sports, the excitement of cheerful hopes,
massage, and regular exercise after food.

Aretseus, the Cappadocian, is sometimes cited as a
believer in demonic possession. This is a mistake.
Speaking of acute mania, where self-mutilations occur,
he remarks that such persons cut themselves as in a
holy phantasy, as if propitiating peculiar divinities. This
he regarded as a madness of the apprehension and of
divine origin, the victim on recovery being bright and
cheerful as if introduced to the gods. He used the
lancet cautiously, and followed up depletory measures
with others for sustaining the strength. He made use
of bathing, external applications, and cupping, also of
gestation in a hammock.

Cailius Aurelianus is the most excellent of the
ancient alienists. He kept his patients in a room

state of those frantic with excitement : Certain men persuaded the
multitudes to act like madmen {Baiixovav, B. J. ii. xiii. 4). Of.
John X. 20.

268 Ap2Jcnd'icc8

properly lit and warmed. The attendant had to
exclude excitement and avoid the confirmation of
delusions. The latter were to be corrected by con-
descension or insinuation, without needless opposition.
He applied warm sponges over the eyelids to relax
them and act simultaneously on the coverings of the
brain. Eestlessness and sleeplessness were combated
by gestation in a hammock. A sufficient diet was com-
mended ; excessive indulgences forbidden ; also bonds
and venesection. During convalescence, theatrical
entertainments of the graver sort, riding, walking, the
exercise of the voice, and the pursuit of former
occupations, were advocated.

It would be a pleasing task to illustrate further the
practice of other noted physicians, such as Galen and
Alexander of Tralles. Enough has been shown to
indicate how far the Greek physicians were in advance
of the Jews in the treatment of mental disease. The
general esteem in which scientific medicine was held
by the Jews seems to be conveyed in the aphorism :
The best physicians are destined for hell {Sophcrim.
C. 15. 10) !

APPENDIX H

Testimonies to the Success of Jesus. Pp. 144, 187.

It is evident that great potentialities for good must
have inhered in Him Who is the Moral Miracle of the
ages. Works of power must have been natural to Him.
That is the testimony of the Gospels. It receives
corroboration in the most unexpected quarters. The
Talmud itself acknowledges so much, when it represents
Jesus as a successful magician, who had learned the
art in Egypt, the home of magic {Shah. 75«), which
had received nine of the ten measures of magic
allotted to the world {Kidd. 49&). He is said to have
eluded the Egyptian officers stationed on the frontier

I. — Fallacies 269

to prevent the export of the rules and formulse of
magic ; having hidden these subciitaneously {Shah.
104i). This perversion of history is, however, weighty
testimony to the reality of the miraculous in the
Ministry of Christ.

The Healing Ministry was a great fact. At the end
of the day, the bitterest foes of Jesus confessed : He
SAVED OTHERS ! That emphatic testimony cannot be
gainsaid. At a later date Quadratus of Athens
challenged the Eoman world to examine the same
point. In his Apology to the Emperor Hadrian (76-138
A.D.), he says : The deeds of our Saviour were always
before you ; for His miracles were real. Persons were
healed and were raised from the dead, who were not
only seen after they were healed or raised up; but were
constantly in evidence. They remained alive a long
time, not only when our Lord was on earth ; but like-
wise after He had left it, so that some of them have
survived even to our own time (Euseb. Hist. Eccles.
iv. 3). The cure of the demoniacs was a prominent part
of the Healing Ministry. Jesus dealt with the most
formidable types of insanity and idiocy. His enemies
again bear witness to His astounding success. They
produced their theory of a conspiracy with Beelzebid to
account for it. The sons of Sceva experimented with
His Name, at Ephesus. A later generation continued
the invocation of the same {Shab. l^icl). Here is a
singular persistency of belief and practice, which is
undoubted confirmation of Christ's success in the cure
of the demonised. With Herbert Spencer, we accept
persistency as the test of reality.

APPENDIX I

Fallacies. P. 155.

Any general estimate of the spiritual prospects of
the insane is exceedingly hazardous. If the proposition

270 Appendices

be seriously entertained that " insanity is much nearer
the kingdom of God than worldly-mindedness," then an
answer must be found to these queries. Does mental
derangement really effect any approximation to the
kingdom of heaven ? Is the door of the asylum the
remote equivalent of " the strait gate " ? Do institu-
tions for the insane discharge quasi-ecclesiastical
functions ? Was it " quite to be expected " that those
diseased in their minds, specially those whose thoughts
moved in the religious sphere, should be among the
first to recognise the Messiah ? If so, were the sane,
whose thoughts moved in the same sphere, placed at
a disadvantage ? Did possession, therefore, constitute
part of the p)rceparatio evangclica ? Did restoration
to mental health carry with it spiritual convalescence ?
To state these questions is to answer them. They
disclose a fallacy, namely, insanity and worldly minded-
ness are not two conditions which admit of comparison
with each other. The attempt to do so involves a
fundamental confusion between the physical and the
ethical.

It is also a serious fallacy to place the most accom-
plished, the most discerning, and the most suceptible, of
the friends of Jesus on a lower intellectual level than
the possessed. The capacity and candour of the former
are in keenest contrast to the obtusity and caprice of
the latter. To bracket the young with the demonised
is an intolerable fallacy. Intelligence is proceeding-
normally in the case of the former ; it has been arrested
or eclipsed in the case of the latter. Children were
attracted to Jesus as the most genial of friends, without
being able to think of Him as the official Messiah.
The possessed were in a strait betwixt two ; hailing
Him now as a tormentor, now as the Holy One of God.
The tender mood of the docile child is the antithesis of
the pugnacious demeanour of the raving demoniac.

J. — The Use of 'po'pular Language hy Jesus 271

APPENDIX J

The Use of popular Language by Jesus. P. 159.

The foregoing conclusions may seem to be at variance
with the records of the Evangelists —

Jesus rebuked (tlie lad) ' and the demon went out of liim.

Matt. xvii. 18.
Jesus said, I charge thee, dumb and deaf sj^irit, come out of

him. Mark ix. 25.
Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the bov. Luke

ix. 42.

Harmonists may attempt to reconcile these discrep-
ancies by a process of amalgamation ; while critics may
prefer to seek the archaic and germinal matter of the
real original in the first Gospel. But in neither case is
the result at all momentous. The variations halt
between the rebuke of the lad and the rebuke of the
demon. The precise words used by our Lord on this
occasion are evidently no longer recoverable. At most,
it can only be said that a formula was employed which
was capable of being construed into the menacing
of an unclean spirit. But Jesus rebuked the fever
without believing in a fever - demon. He likewise
rebuked the storm without believing in a storm-demon.
These things being so, the doubt as to the reality of
demonic agency in this case can only be resolved by
the application of the criterion of genuine possession
and the examination of the symptoms manifested.
The conclusion is that already expressed. This is not
the only occasion on which Christ used language which
was open to distortion by a crude literalism. The
descriptions of the forty days' temptation, the second
advent, and the doom of the wicked, have been much

^ So rendered by the A''ulgate, Theophylact, de Wette, WiDsr, Bleek,
etc. That is the natural construction and otherwise justifiable. The
"rebuke" is not merely a word of reproof; it is also the divine
formula for the suppression of the processes of disorder. Cf. Ps. cvi. 9.
Nail. i. 4. Mai. iii. 11.

272 Ajypendices

misunderstood, on this wise. It may be argued, in
academic fashion, that for the avoidance of all possible
misconception, loose linguistic forms ought to have
been eschewed in the records of revelation. But the
introduction of a scientific nomenclature was plainly
beyond the province of Christ as a religious teacher ;
even had it been feasible otherwise. Christ did all that
was possible for the removal of vulgar error by showing
that He had no fellowship with the unfruitful supersti-
tions of the age. The proofs of His illumination have
been already set forth. Having made His own position
clear, He left the rest to the growth of intelligence ;
bequeathing an invaluable method : Ask, and it shall
be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you.

APPENDIX K

The Demonising of the Heathen Gods. P. 161.

" Did the Apostle Paul regard the gods of the heathen
as demons? " Beyschlag, followed by Dods, has
answered in the negative ; but the argument is very
unconvincing.^ It has been shown that the degrada-
tion of the pagan divinities to demonic rank was one of
the results of the monotheistic movement in Israel.
It was projected into the Septuagint and extra-canonical
literature. In two notable passages, Paul distinctly
signifies his adhesion to the old prophetic standpoint —

1. An idol is nothing in the world (1 Cor. viii. 4).
The Hebrew " nothing " is the sarcastic designation of
a heathen god, variously interpreted in the Septuagint —

Lev. xix. 4 Nothings, D''">''^i< Idols, etSwXa.

1 Chron. xvi. 26 Notliings, D''^''^X Idols, ei'SwXa.
Ps. xcvi. (xcv.) 5 Notliings, D''Wn Demons, Baifiopia.

^ Expositor, March 1895.

K. — The Demonising of the Heathen Gods 273

2. The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they
sacrifice to demons and not to God (1 Cor. x. 20).
This is a quotation from the Septuagint —

Deut. xxxii. 17 Shedim, DHC Demons, 8mfi6via.

Dent, xxxii. 17 No god, ni'X"^? Not God, ov 6(6s.

Here then is a series of synonyms for the heathen
gods, demons, idols, nothings. The series is a vanishing
one ; but even when called " nothings," these divinities
do not shrivel up into non-existence. Over the true
Israel of God they have no powder at all ; they are
" nothings." But over their own worshippers they still
exercise their baleful influence ; they are " demons."
The argument of Paul, " touching things offered to
idols," may be thus simply construed —

In the Lord's Supper, men are the guests of Christ
and hold a real spiritual fellowship with Him. In the
feasts of the gods, men are the guests of the gods and
hold occult fellowship with them. Behind the elements
in the Lord's Supper is the presence of Christ. Behind
the elements in the feasts of the gods is the presence
of demons. To take part in the latter with delibera-
tion is an act involving the Christian among the powers
of darkness. "All the gods of the heathen are
demons " (Ps. xcvi. 5).

The opinion of Baudissin and Everling that Paul was
indebted to Alexandrian Judaism for the belief that
the offerings to the heathen gods were really offerings
to demons, reveals an anachronism on the part of these
authorities. Paul goes behind Alexandrian Judaism to
the original conception of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Another proof of Paul's adhesion to the pure religion
of the Old Economy is to be found in the much disputed
passage : For this cause ought the woman to have
authority upon her head because of the angels (1 Cor.
xi. 10). The advice was given to the " new women " of
Corinth, whose zeal for a spurious emancipation had
carried them beyond the bounds of propriety. The

274 Aiipendiccs

" angels " can hardly be sjjies, or matrimonial agents, or
presiding ministers. Far less can they be the lawless
Bene-Elohim of popular story.^ It was uniformly
understood that their invasion of the world belonged
to a far-off age, and entailed penalties which prevented
its repetition. Whether the " authority upon the head "
(s^ouGia l~t rric -MipaV.ric) be veil or chalebi, remains un-
certain ; but Paul does not think here of women being
a temptation to fallen angels nor of demons lurking in
the tresses of the fair. He is at the standpoint of the
Psalmist when he says, Before the Elohim {ayysXoi,
LXX.) will I sing praise unto Thee (Ps. cxxxviii. 1),
The angels are fellow-worshippers with the saints in
the services of the sanctuary.^ It is not possible to
accept here the views of Everling regarding those
" angels."

APPENDIX L

Jesus out of His Senses ? Pp. 178, 184.

Eegard for the mother and brethren of our Lord
has led to attempted evasion of the plain meaning of
i^'iGTV] — in Mark iii. 21. A mistaken ingenuity has
suggested " exhaustion," " fainting," " ecstasy," " excite-
ment bordering on insanity," as equivalents for a
term whose significance is determined by Hippocrates
(188 D), Euripides {Bacchm, 850), Xenophon {Memor.
I. iii. 12), etc. It can only mean here that the friends
of Jesus considered Him insane. Hence their going
forth to arrest Him {xpa-r,oai alrov, Mark iii. 21).
Their alarm was real. Possession by a common demon
or conspiracy with Beelzebul, they might partly under-

^ See Book of Enoch (\'i.) ; Book of the Secrets of Enoch (xviii.) ;
Apocalypse of Baruch (hi.) ; Book of Baruch (iii. 26) ; Ecchis. (xvi. 7) ;
AVisdom (xiv. 6) ; 3 Mace. (ii. 4) ; Testament of Reuben (5, 6) ;
Yalkut Shim. Ber. 44, etc.

' Cf. Tobit xii. 12.

M. — Was Jesus nieknarncd Beelzebul ? 275

stand. But possession by the 2'>vince of demons ! Wliat
was that ? No wonder that they rushed off to lay hold
of Him as one who was more than desperately insane.
This hasty acceptance of the slander of the enemy
was more than a mere error of judgment. It drew
forth the rebuke : Who is my mother ? And who are
my brethren ? Whosoever shall do the will of God,
the same is my brother, and my sister, and my mother !

APPENDIX M

Was Jesus nicknamed Beelzebul ? P. 183.

The suggestion appears on the first sending forth of
the Twelve ; but the passage (Matt. x. 25) does not
permit an immediate settlement of the difficulty on
account of a variant reading. According to the Textus
Rcccptus, we read : If they have called the master of
the house {olKohc-ornv) Beelzebul, how much more them
of his household (o/'/c/axo-jc) ! That asserts the use of
a nickname. According to another version (D), we
read : If they have cast up Beelzebul to the master of
the house {oizohc-orri), how much more to them of his
household (oIziazoTg) I This hints at a compact with
the prince of demons. Happily, we do not require to
embark on the turbulent sea of variant readings ; for
the after-history puts the matter in clear light. The
opponents of Jesus, by the very terms of their office,
were experts in magic. The name of Beelzebul was
held in private veneration among them. They put
forth their theory, not in a jocular, but in a serious
state of mind. But " possession " never meant the
identification of the subject, with the agent, of posses-
sion. The personality might be swamped for a time,
but not permanently effaced. To have called Jesus
Beelzebul would have been such an identification ; for,
on the principles of the lower culture, the name is the

276 Appendices

equivalent of the personality. It was so in ancient
Egypt and Babylonia. Even Greek philosophy did
not entirely escape the confusion. Jesus then could
not have been nicknamed Beelzebul. The latter was
only " cast up " to the Master of the house.

APPENDIX N

Scene of the Healing of the Blind-and-Dumb
Demoniac. P. 184.

There is a considerable hiatus in the second Gospel
between the choosing of the Twelve and the simple
remark, He cometh home (Mark iii. 19). That " home "
is in Capernaum (cf. Mark ii. 1). Meyer notes that
Mark iii. 22 " still lacks the historical information
furnished by Matt. xii. 22 f." Yet the same antecedents
are contemplated by the second Evangelist. On the
arrival of Jesus there is a huge commotion in the
town. " The multitude cometh together again so that
they could not so much as eat bread." Scribes also
have come down from Jerusalem, — evidently a Vigil-
ance Committee. The bitter feud against Jesus is
coming to a climax. Already voices are heard on high :
" He has Beelzebul, and in the prince of demons
casteth he out demons." The cure of the blind-and-
dumb demoniac is, doubtless, the cause of all this stir.
The friends of Jesus (o/ Tap' a\j-oZ, Mark iii. 21) arrive
while Jesus is addressing the scribes. They " stand
without " ; for the dense crowd permits of no nearer
approach. Whence had they come ? From ISTazareth,
say Meyer and others. But that is more than doubt-
ful. Nazareth was some tliirty miles from Capernaum.
The time to be allowed for the outgoing of the news
and the incoming of the friends could not be less than
two days ; but the whole episode occupies but a frag-
ment of that interval. The friends, if domiciled at

0. — Did Jesus practise Accommodation? 277

Nazareth, must have been in the immediate neighbour-
hood of Capernaum, when the rumour spread abroad :
He has Beelzebub

APPENDIX 0

Did Jesus practise Accommodation ? P. 189.

Accommodation as a therapeutic method is legiti-
mate within certain limits, but was not practised by
our Lord, even in the case of the Geraseue demoniac.
Accommodation, as an ethical procedure, is altogether a
different matter. Spinoza, in his Tractatas Thcologico-
politicus} held that while Jesus perceived things, im-
mediately, adequately, and truly, He yet "accommo-
dated himself to the vulgar." So then, while He knew
the truth, He did not choose to communicate it to " the
vulgar." That is a charge which must go to proof.

1. It has been shown that Christ had no sympathy
with the current doctrine of demons ; as far as that
had reference to their origin, numbers, forms, haunts,
times of activity, powers, restrictions, management and
redeeming features. He announced those principles
which led to the rejection of these superstitions. He
perceived things, immediately, adequately, and truly ;
and did not withhold His knowledge from " the
vulgar." The mere suggestion of accommodation is
here manifestly out of place.

2. It has likewise been shown that Christ had
neither part nor lot in the current practices of exorcism.
He never employed the common fumigations or magic
formulae. He offered no spectacular demonstration of
His success in the treatment of the possessed. He
held aloof from these absurdities ; because He perceived
things, immediately, adequately, and truly. He frankly
imparted His secret to others : If I cast out demons in

1 See " Divine Law."

278 Appendices

the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come
upon you. Again therefore the suggestion of accom-
modation is untenable.

3. Jesus had no interest whatever in the practice of
accommodation. He had no faihires to hide from men.
His success was as invariable as it w^as indisputable.
He had no desire to magnify the miraculous element
in His ministry, and fled repeatedly from an embarrass-
ing popularity. The notoriety of the thaumaturge was
clearly abhorrent to Him. This sinister charge of
accommodation fails utterly to substantiate itself.

APPENDIX P

Ejection of Demons by Fasting. P. 193.

The textual authority for the retention of " fasting,"
in Mark ix. 29 (Matt. xvii. 21), is not great. It has
served the turn of some persons to discredit the
Apostles as guilty of some sort of prior indulgence.
But the insinuation is quite unwarranted. Christ was
no ascetic. He was defamed as a " glutton and a wine-
bibber." He also defended His disciples against the
charge of being lax in the observance of conventional
fasts. Abstinence was never regarded by Him as
possessed of any occult or dynamic virtue. So the
attack on the reputation of the Twelve fails. But the
" fasting " has an interest of its own.

1. Was the fasting to be done by the exorcist him-
self ? Among primitive races in America, Africa, and
India, fasting holds a recognised place in the curri-
culum of the sorcerer and the magician, as a means
of acquiring superhuman powers through ghostly
intercourse. Porphyry, as a Neo-Platonist, lauded the
practice. He notes that the theologians ordered those
whom they permitted to sacritice, to abstain from the

p. — Ejection of Demons hy Fasting 279

victims and to purify themselves by fasting and
abstinence from animals. Purity thus secured its
possessor against the attacks and allurements of
demons. It also secured the aid of friendly spirits,
who indicated, through dreams and symbols and
omens, what might come to pass and what might be
avoided.^ Among the various modes of ejecting
demons, in the early Church, fasting on the part of
the exorcist is not mentioned.

2. Was the fasting to be done by the possessed ?
In the Testament of Simeon, fasting with the fear of
the Lord is prescribed for the conquest of the demon
of envy. In the Clementine Homilies, abstinence and
fasting and the suffering of affliction are advised as
most useful for putting demons to flight. For if the
demons enter the bodies of men with a view to
sharing pleasures, it is clear that they are put to flight
by suffering.^ This would make the fasting a relic of
superstition.

3. But the fasting may refer to the treatment of
epileptic patients. That requires us to glance briefly
at the treatment of epilepsy in the Greek schools of
medicine. After an attack, Hippocrates ordered a
restricted diet ; and this practice was generally fol-
lowed. Celsus prescribed abstinence from food for
three days after a seizure ; then a limited and inter-
mittent diet. Areta?us reduced the allowances of
epileptics, and required total abstinence from certain
kinds of animal food, during convalescence. Cffilius
Aurelianus also enjoined fasting and the restriction of
the dietary. Alexander Trallianus was also severe in
this respect. If then this interpolation contemplated
those methods of treating epileptic convulsions ; in
this combination of prayer and fasting, we have the
union of means, religious and scientific.

1 De Ahdinentia, ii. 44, 53. - ix. x.

280 Appendices

APPENDIX Q

The popular Treatment of Epilepsy. P. 193.

The Jews employed fumigations and adjurations ;
also probate amulets, and bats (siiyn y^^).^ The demon
had to be disgusted or terrorised. Pliny has preserved
(H. N. passim) some popular Eoman recipes which are
samples of others elsewhere. Among these are several
which, for sheer repulsiveness, will not bear transcrip-
tion. He mentions goat's flesh grilled on a funeral
pyre ; goat's suet and bull's gall, boiled in equal pro-
portions ; the heart of a black ass with bread, on the
first or second day of the moon ; the flesh or blood of
an ass, with vinegar, for forty days ; the brain of an ass
smoked with burning leaves, in hydromel ; the hoofs of
an ass, reduced to ashes, for a month ; the flesh of a
sucking puppy ; the ashes or slough of a spotted lizard,
or the animal itself ; the flesh of a green lizard ; the
brain of a weasel. Aretseus mentions the vulgar use
of the brain of a vulture ; the raw heart of the cormor-
ant or of the domestic weasel (cat ?) ; the blood of a
gladiator; the human liver.

APPENDIX E

Witchcraft. P. 234.

The devil of the Middle Ages, while possessing a
residuum of horror and repulsiveness, w^as mostly an
object of laughter and contempt. He did not appear
in witchcraft till the eight and ninth centuries. At a
later date, persons were tried on this charge ; but few
suffered at the stake. In the tenth century, the devil
began to be taken more seriously. The Seer of Patmos
had spoken of the fulfilment of " the thousand years,"

^ So Gesenius. Cf. Sliab. 61.

R. — Witchcraft 281

to be followed by the loosing of Satan " for a little
season " (Eev. xx. 3). The pulpits of Europe now
began to resound with the announcement that the
time was at hand. There were many things which
apparently warranted such an expectation. Wide-
spread calamities had engendered a deep depression
among the people. Dark superstitions had invaded
the Church. Gross proliigacy prevailed in the highest
religious circles. The infamous Theodora and her two
notorious daughters constituted " the pornocracy " so
called. To disasters, physical, political, moral, and
religious, were added the portents of eclipses and
comets. A reign of terror was inaugurated, wherein
Satanic and demonic superstitions paralysed the ener-
gies of nations. The once silly devil had become the
formidable enemy of mankind. The very figure of
Christ, as the Good Shepherd, retreats before this king
of terrors. According to Didron,^ " Christ appears more
and more melancholy, and often truly terrible. It is
indeed the rex trenundm majcstatis of the dies ircc."
The dread thus reflected in the realm of art, affected
also the sphere of law. Satan was said to have smitten
Job with boils, to have been the prince of the power of
the air, and to be capable of transforming himself into
an angel of light. What more probable than that his
confederates, the witches, should smite with pestilence,
transport themselves through the air, and work Satanic
miracles ? The witches were therefore the enemies of
the human race, the victims of popular fury, and the
objects of new legislation. Devil-possession was thus
of more consequence than demon-possession.

The thousand years had concluded and the world
still stood. But the expectation of the end of the age
revived in the earlier part of the fourteenth century.
The terror of the period increased from various causes.
Constantinople fell before the Turks in 1453. The
bull of Innocent viii. (Summis desiderantes, 1484)
intensified the superstition of witchcraft. Three years

' Lecky, Jliie and Influence of Rationalism, p. 56.

282 Appendices

later, Jakob Sprenger published his Malleus Malc-
ficarum ; settling the form of procedure against
witches. Society was increasingly impressed by the
ubiquity of the powers of evil. In the interval between
the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries, the epidemic
insanities of the Flagellants and the Dancers had
broken out. The mental balance of Europe was almost
overthrown. The death-roll of the witches waxed
amazingly. For them no tortures were too severe, no
sympathy too scant. The Eeformation made little
difference in those practices which claimed the sanction
of Scripture. Luther believed in the devil possess-
ing the blind, the dumb, the deformed. " The devil
has firebrands, bullets, torches, spears, and swords, with
which he shoots, darts, and pierces, when God permits.
Therefore, let no man doubt when a fire breaks out
which consumes a village or a house, that a little devil
is sitting there, blowing the fire to make it greater."
Calvin was far from accepting such a view of the
matter ; but, when remodelling the constitution of
Geneva, he left the laws relating to witchcraft un-
touched. James vi. and i., our British Solomon, deemed
himself a personcc ingratissima to the devil ; and wrote
his Demonologie, in three volumes. Returning from
Norway with his bride in 1590, he encountered a storm
which he believed the Scotch and Scandinavian witches
had brewed for him. The atrocious tortures applied to
Dr. Fian, as arch-conspirator, are frightfully significant
of the age.

Apart from those who were the victims of malice
and injustice, those who suffered for witchcraft were
mostly insane. The majority were women. Many of
them suffered from melancholy with its hallucinations,
self-accusations, and religious fancies. Not a few
suffered also from lycanthropy, and infested the country
as dangerous lunatics. In the nocturnal revels of these
insane creatures, the primitive cult of the devil-
worshipper and the lycanthrope is evident ; recalling
the classical Bacchanalia and the Lupercalia. Their

E. — Witchcraft 283

stews of infants' flesh, toads, frogs, etc., arc snrvivals
of ancient "hell-broths." The crimes alleged against
these unfortunates were not new to history ; but were
punished under a novel guise. The last execution of
witches in England took place in 1712; the last in
Scotland, in 1722 ; the last in Switzerland, in 1782. It
has lieen reckoned that in the interval elapsing between
the bull of Innocent viii. and the cessation of those
prosecutions. Nine Millions pekished.

These horrors determined a reaction against the
theory of witchcraft, which is essentially pagan. John
Wier, a Protestant physician, uttered the first clear
note of dissent in his De Prccstirjiis Bccmomim, in 1563.
He asserted that all witches were under the delusion of
the devil ; but had made no godless compact with him.
Thomas Hobbes attacked the current superstition in
his Leviathan, in 1651. Eeginald Scot learnedly
refuted the prevalent delusion, in his Discovery of
Witchcraft, in 1657. Balthasar Bekker denied the
reality of sorcery, magic, and devil-possession ; even
the existence of the devil, in his Die hetorerde Weereld,
in 1691. Christian Thomasius announced that the
doctrine of the devil was not essential to Christianity,
in 1707. Dr. Mead, one of the royal physicians, ex-
pressed the opinion that the demoniacs of the ISTew
Testament were lunatics, in his Meclica Sacra, in 1749.
A similar view was held by Lardner, On the case of the
Demoniacs, in 1758 ; also by Semler, in his Commentatio
de Demoniacis, in 1760 ; and by Farmer, in his Essay
on the Demons of the New Testament, in 1775. On the
other side, were writers not less learned, but more
conservative ; such as Jean Bodin, who answered Wier,
in his Demonomanie des Borders, in 1581 ; and Joseph
Glanvil, who combated the rising scepticism, in his
Sadducismus Trmmphatus, in 1681. By this time the
witch-burning mania had well-nigh spent itself.

These writers neither destroyed nor established the
authority of the Scriptures. They busied themselves
with erroneous interpretations of the same. Witch-

284 Appendices

craft was not the legitimate outcome of the teachings
of the Bible ; hut an excrescence upon it, claiming its
sanction. The whole movement was at bottom an acute
paganising of Christianity, undei' ausjnces nominally
Christian. The doctrines and practices of witchcraft,
even part of the legislation against it, ivere pix- Christian.
These facts dispose of the adverse comments of HiLxley,
in this regard.'^

^ "Agnosticism," i\^i;jetee?ii/i Cenhiry, Feb. 1889.

i:^DEX

Abraham as a magician, 57.
Accommodation, 204 f., 277 f.
Ahriman. Sec Angro-Mainyu.
Akom-mano, 25.
Angro-Mainyu, 24 f., 41.
Apollonius as exorcist, 144.
Ashmedai. Sec Asmodreiis.
Asmodwus, 24 f., 37 ff., 92, 126.
Azi-Dahaka, 25.

Baalzebub, a fly-god, 179 f.
Baaras, the mandrake, 127.
Bacchanalia, 282.
Barnabas, Epistle of, 219.
Banich, Book of, 22.
Beelzebul controversy, the, 11,

174 ff. ; its sequel, 190 ff'.
Bel-Ea, 182 f.
Bel-Mul-lil, 182 f.
Bene-Elohim, the, 22, 42, 274.
Bidding Prayer, the, 231 f.

Capernaum as focus of the Dia-

spor.% 104.
Christ and common demonology,

50 tr.

Christ and common magic, 57 ff.

Christ's freedom from supersti-
tion, cause of, 69 f.

Christ's treatment of the pos-
sessed, 137.

Cingalese, the, 19.

Clairvoyance, 151 f.

Classification of the possessed,
157 ff. ; results of, 163 ff.

Cockcrow and the demons, 46,
55.

Confession of Jesus as Messiah,
significance of the, 151 H".

Convulsionnaires, the, 23G f.

Criterion of genuine pessession,
150.

Cro-Magnon race, the, 42.

Cross, sign of the, 229, 234.

Cutha, legend of, 14.

Dancing manias, the, 235 f., 282.

David's feigned dementia, 1U8.

Decapolis, 103 f., 120.

Degraded gods as demons, 17 f.

Demetrian, Epistle to, 229.

Demoniac of Capernaum, the,
64 ff., 122.

Demoniac of Gerasa, the, 69ff., 123;
scene of the healing of, 194 ff.

Demoniac, the blind and dumb,
89 f., 162,'174f.,253ff.; scene of
the healing of, 276 f.

Demoniac, tlie dumb, 88 f., 162,
174 f., 253 ff.

Demoniacs of China, the, 243 ft'.

Demoniacs, strength of, 75, 161 f.

Demoniac state, significance of the,
86.

Demonic inspiration, 156.

Demonising of heathen gods, 17 ff. ,
272 ff

Demonolaters of India, 237 f.

Demonology of tlie Old Testament,
13 ft'. ; of the Septuagint, 21 f. ;
of the Apocryphal and Apoca-
lyptic Bonks. 22 tr. ; Rabbinic,
25 ft'. ; Ethnic, 40 ft'. ; Greek,
259 ft'.

286

Index

Demonomaiiia of South-Easteni
Europe, the, 234 f.

Demons, Rahbinic, their origin,
numbers, forms, haunts, times
of activity, powers, restric-
tions, management, redeeming
ieatures, 25 tf. ; ethnic parallels,
40 ff. ; attitude of Christ to,
51 if.

Dervishes of Algiers, the, 240 ff.

Devil, use of the term, in the New
Testament, 251.

Diagnosis, data of a, 61 f. ; uses
of a, 62.

Didache, the, 216 f.

Dilemma, the, possession real or
unreal, 8.

Diognetus, Epistle to, 220 f.

Donatus, Epistle to, 135.

Double consciousness, 74 f.

Druj Xasu, the, 44, 48.

Ea, 132, 182 f.

Earring, 128.

Eleazar, the magician, 126, 128,

144.
Enoch, Book of, 23, 42.
Enoch, Book of the Secrets of, 42.
Environment peculiar in the time

of Christ, 248 f.
Ephesian demoniac, the, 99 ff.,

161 f.
Ephesian Letters, the, 133.
Ephesian narrative, fact-basis of

the, 255 f.
Epilepsy not possession, 62 f. ;

popular treatment of, 280.
Epileptic idiot, the, 81 If., 123,

158 f.
Evil and unclean, significance of

the terms, 121 tf.

Failure of the Nine, 191 ff.

Fairy hosts, the, 14.

Fallacies, 269 f.

Fasting and ejection of demons,

278 f.
Flagellants, the, 282.
Fly-gods of the ancient?, 179 f.
Folic a deux, 197 f.
Freudenschmerz, 79.

GEyuiXE demonic" possession,
147 tf. ; criterion of, 150 ; ante-
cedents of, 165 ff. ; limits of,
171 ft'. ; local and tenijjorary,
247.

Gerasene affair, the, 11 ; difii-
culties of, 194 ft'. ; scene of,
194 ff. ; number of the demon-
ised, 197 f. ; alleged transmi-
gration of the demons, 199 f. ;
data for a reconstruction, 200 ff. ;
stampede of the herd, 207 ft'. ;
loss of the swine-owners, 213 f. ;
worth of some criticisms, 214 f.

Heilpkin on the natatorial
powers of swine, 214.

Hell, the sign from, 189 ; routes
to, 201.

TIell-broths, 130, 283.

Hermas, Shepherd of, 217 f.

Hezekiah as a magician, 57.

Historicity of the Gospel narrat-
ives, 148 ft'.

Huxley - Gladstone controversy,
the, 11, 196 f.

Hypnotism, 173, 242 f.

Idiot boy, the. See Ejiileptic

idiot.
Ignatius, Epistles of, 219 f.
Incarnation, the, and possession,

249.
Infirm woman, the, 92 ft".

Jesi's nicknamed Bcelzebul, 275 f.

Jesus out of His senses, 274 f.

Jews compared, with Greeks and
Romans, 115 ff. ; Avith the
peoples of the British Isles,
117 ft'.

Jinn, the, 15 f., 19, 43, 49.

Jubilees, Book of, 23.

Judith, Book of, 217.

Jumpers, the, 236.

Khonsu, the demon-driver, 134.

Leoiox, 76.

Lilin, the, 25 f., 44.

Lilith, 15, 16 1'., 26 f., 44, 55.

Index

287

Lord, of dung, 181 ; of the dwell-

incr, 181 ff.
Luke's mannerisms, 201, 254 f. , 259.
Lupercalia, the, 282.
Lycanthropes, 110 f., 115, 282.
Lycanthropy, 110 f., 115, 282.

Magic, black and white, 58.
Mandrake, the, 126 f.
Mary Magdalene, 90 If., 162.
Mazziqiu, the, 25.
Medicine, Greek, 129, 265 ff.
Mental health of the Hebrews,

108 ff.
Mental temperament of the

Hebrews, 106 ff.
Messianic hope, the, 154 ff.
Milesian Letters, the, 133.
Moor-cock, the, 39.
Moral therapeutics, 142 ff.

Naggar-Tuka. See Moor-cock.

Naturalness of the ethnic theory
of possession, 120 ff'. ; of the
terms "evil" and "unclean,"
121 tf.

Nebuchadnezzar's ' lycanthropy,
110 f.

Nomenclature of the New Testa-
ment, 251 ff.

Nose-ring, the, 128.

Number of the possessed, 103 ff.,
119.

Opium-eaters of Bombay, 79.
Oracles, 46, 96 f., 248.

Parable of the last state, the,
189 f.

Passing of Pan, the, 47.

Patriarchs, Testament of the
Twelve, 23, 279.

Polycarp, Epistle of, 220.

Popular language, use of, by Jesus,
271 f.

Population of Palestine, 105 f.

Possession, in sub-apostolic times,
216 ff. ; in ante - Nicene and
post-Nicene times, 221 ff. ; in
mediaeval and modern times,
233 ff.; manifold, 203 f.; medical

aspects of, 61 ff. ; of animals,

202, 225, 227.
Potocr on the head, 274.
Proofs of expulsions of demons,

144 ff.
Prophetic art, the, 96 ff.
Psychological explanations of

Strauss, Kenan, Keim, and

Matthew Arnold, 138 ft'.
Pythoness of Delphi, the, 97, 115 ;

of Philippi, 96 ff., 159.

Rabbinic literature, 250 f.
Rabbis, the, as miracle-workers,

58 f.
Rameses xii. and Konsu, 134.
Raphael and Asmodreus, 25.
Recipes for seeing demons, 26, 41.
Resjwnsibility of the possessed,

124 f.
Ruchin and Ruchoth, 25.

Sarah and Asmodreus, 24, 126.
Satan casting out Satan, 132, 177,

185 f.
Satan-possession, 178, 251.
Satan-Sammael, 25.
Scarab-beetle, the, 179.
Sea-fight of Tarich pea, the, 213.
Seirim, the, 15, 16, 25.
Sennacherib, 105.
Septuagint, the, 21.
Seventy, the mission of the, 11 3 f.,

256 ff".
Seventy, the, versus the Twelve,

258 f.
Shadow-figures, 13 ff.
Shakers, the, 236.
Shamir, 37 ff.
Shedim, the, IS, 25.
Shidu, 18.

Sibylline Oracles, 22.
Solomon as a magician, 37 ff"., 57,

126.
Sorcery, 58 f.

Southern Semites, the, 15.
Success of Jesus, the, testimonies

to, 268 f.
Suicide, 107 f., 117.
Syro-Phccnician girl, the, 86 ff.,

162.

288

Index

Tarantism, 235.

Terapliim, 14, 51.

Theurgy, 58.

Thot, 131, 179.

Tigretier, 236.

Tobit, Book of, 24, 52, 126, 220.

Trade, Oriental, of the Roman
Emiiire, 104.

Transmigration of demons, alleged,
199 f., 202.

Treatment of the insane by Greek
physicians, 266 fi\

Treatment of the possessed among
the Hebrews, coaxing, disgust-
ing, and terrorising, 125 ff. ;

ethnic parallels to, 129 ff., 136 f. ;
in ante-Nicene and }iost-Nicene
times, 221.
Treatment of the possessed by
Christ, 137 fi".

Ur (Mugheir), 14.

Vampire, the, 17.
Ventriloquists, 161.
Vespasian, 126, 144.

Wkre-avolf, the, 42, 111.
Witchcraft, 280 ff. ; death-roll of,
283 ; reaction against, 283.

INDEX OF :^AMES

^LIAN, 15.

jEschylus, 266.

Alexander Trallianus, 63, 268,

279.
Animonius Saccas, 226, 265.
Apollonius, 144.
Apuleiiis, 130.
Aietseus, 63, 267, 279, 280.
Aristophanes, 161, 266.
Aristotle, 115, 252, 263.
Arnold, M., 141 ff.
Asclepiades, 267.
Athenagoras, 228.
Augustine, 197.
Augustus, 105.

Barnabas, 219.

Baudissin, 14, 180.

Baur, 113.

Bekker, 283.

Berosus, 14.

Beyschlag, 272.

Bleek, 141, 181, 198, 207, 271.

Bodiu, 283.

Brauu, 8.

Brecher, 130.

Browning, 110.

Bruce, 4, 62, 154, 269 f.

C^LIUS AURELIANUS, 204, 267.

Caldwell, 237.

Calvin, 197, 282.

Celsus, C. A., 83, 116, 267, 279.

Celsus, 91.

Censorinus, 267.

Cheyne, 51.

Chrysippus, 260, 264.

19

Chrysostom, 197, 230, 231.

Cicero, 248.

Clement of Alexandria, 99, 133,

180.
Clement of Rome, 217.
Coke, 85.

Conybeare, 8, 219.
Cornelius. 233.
Cyprian, 135, 228, 229.
Cyril, 229, 233.

D'Alviella, 202.
Darmesteter, 24.
Delitzseh, 8, 169.
Democritus, 266, 267.
Didron, 281.
Dieringer, 168.
Dods, 272.

Ebraed, 198.
Edersheim, 8, 202.
Empedoeles, 260, 261.
Epictetus, 264.
Epicureans, 264.
Esquirol, 122, 246.
Euripides, 98, 115, 266, 274.
Eusebius, 233, 269.
Eustathius, 133.
Everling, 273, 274.
Ewald, 8, 80, 207.

Farmer, 8, 283.
Farrar, 3, 77, 202, 207.
Fritzsche, 24, 181.
Fuller, 24,

Galen, 63, 94, 161, 268.

290

Index of Names

Gaster, 51.

Geikie, 8.

Gesenius, 181, 280.

Gfrbrer, 8, 113.

Glanvil, 283.

Gore, 8.

Gould, 7.

Gregory of Nazianzen, 179.

Gregory the Great, 233.

Hahn, 257.

Hase, 141.

Heilprin, 214.

Hellwald, 243.

Herma.s, 217 ff.

Herodotus, 79, 115, 256, 266.

Hesiod, 49, 260, 262.

Hesychius, 133.

Hilarion, 166.

Hilgenfeld, 181.

Hippocrates, 94, 116, 266, 274.

279.
Hippolytus, 229.
Hitzig, 181.
Hobart, 63, 94.
Holibes, 283.
Holtzmann, 65, 141, 198.
Homer, 133, 260.
Horace, 116.
Hort, 195.
Huxley, 194, 214, 284.

Iamblichus, 265.
Ignatius, 219 f.
lunocent viii., 281.
Irenseus, 228.

Jahn, 181.

James vi., 282.

Jerome, 166, 178, 195, 202, 230.

Josephus, 27, 52. 101, 105 tf., 110,

120, 126 ff., 144, 155, 213, 258,

266.
Justin Martyr, 101, 126, 131, 221,

228.

Keim, 20, 65, 140 f., 195, 199,

253, 265.
Kohut, 25, 51.

Lachmann, 195.

Lactantius, 228 f.

Laertes, 261.

Lagarde, 91.

Lange, 80, 151 f., 207.

Lardner, 8, 283.

Lecky, 260, 281.

Lee, 236.

Lenormant, 51, 58, 134, 180.

Lightfoot, 32, 91, 166, 181.

Lueian, 63, 97, 102, 128, 133.

Luther, 282.

Lutteroth, 208.

Mahaffy, 134.

Marcus Aurelius, 264.

Martin of Tours. 230.

Maspero, 17, 111, 179.

Mead, 8, 283.

Melampus, 267.

Meyer, 2f., 20, 93, 99, 113, 181,

209, 276.
Michaelis, 181.
Minucius Felix, 222 f., 228.
Moll, 243.

Neaxdek, 8, 141.
Neo-Platonists, 47, 226, 264.
Nevius, 145, 243 ff.

Olshausen, 78 f., 80, 125, 167 f.
Origen, 131, 195, 202, 226 if., 229,

232 f.
Orpheus, 179.

Papias, 221.

Paulus, 141, 181, 207.

Philo, 40.

Philostratus, 144, 179.

Plato, 13, 98 f., 115, 222, 260,

262 f., 266.
Plautus, 116, 160.
Pliny, 116 f., 127 f., 130, 180,

258, 280.
Plotinus, 265.
Plummer, 8.
Plutarch, 47, 115, 133, 160, 248,

261, 263 ff.
Polycarp, 220.
Porphyry, 265, 278.
Pressense, 8, 163.
Proclus, 265.

Index of Names

291

Ptolemy Pliiladelphus, 21.
Pythagoras, 214, 261.

quadratus, 269.

Ramsay, 256.
Rasbi, 34, 57.
Kenan, 92, 112, 139 f.
Rosenmiiller, 208.
Row, 8.

Sanday, 8.

Sayce, 17, 51, 92.

Schenkel, 141.

Schleiermacher, 141.

Schorr, 51.

Schiirer, 52, 258.

Schwartzkopff, 8.

Scot, R., 283.

Scott, Sir W., 77.

Semler, 283.

Seneca, 264.

Serenus Samonicus, 130.

Shakespeare, 127, 130.

Smith, G. A., 257.

Smith, W. R., 16.

Socrates, 222, 224, 261.

Sophocles, 115, 266.

Spencer, 40 f., 75, 269.

Spinoza, 277.

Spren£,'er, 282.

Stagirius, 230.

Steinmeyer, 8, 163.

Stoics, 48, 263 f.

Strauss, 113, 138 ff., 199, 214,

253.
Suetonius, 155.
Sulpitius Severus, 230.

Tacitus, 155.
Tertullian, 224 fl".
Thales, 261.
Theocritus, 22.
Theophylact, 271.
Thoraasius, 283.
Thomson, 195.
Thucydides, 248.
Tischendorf, 195.
Tregelles, 195.
Trench, 8, 80, 95,
Tristram, 240.
Tylor, 129.

125, 169 r.

Virgil, 99.
Volkmar, 181, 207.

Wagner, 84.

Weiss, 63, 170 f., 198, 209.

Weizsacker, 141.

Wendt, 6f.

Wesley, 236.

Westcott, 195.

Wetstein, 8, 213.

Wette, De, 113, 141, 181,

271.
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Williams, 236.
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Windischmann, 24.
Winer, 141, 271.
Woolston, 214.

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Xenophon, 274.

Zoroaster, 25, 49, 265.

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THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICAL COMMENTARY.

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THE OLD TESTAMENT.

T. K. Cheyse, D.D., Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy
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Synopsis of the

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The Pastoral Epistles.

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The Johannine

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i6

T. and T. Clark's Publications.

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Edited by OLIPHANT SMEATON.

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Buddha and Buddhism. By Arthur

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SXELL, M.A.

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Bv James Sime, M.A.

By Professor

Francis and Dominic.

J. Herkles.s, D.D.

Savonarola. By G. M 'Hardy, D.D.

Anselm and his Work. By Rev. A.
C. AVelch, B.D.

The Medici and the Italian Renais-
sance. By Oliphaxt Smeatox,
M.A. , Edinburgh.

Origen and Greek Patristic Theology.

By Rev. W. Fairweather, M.A.

Muhammad and his Power. By P. De Lacy Johnstone, M.A.(Oxon.).
The following have also been arranged for : —

Socrates. By Rev. J. T. Forbes,
M.A., Glasgow.

Plato. By Professor D. G. Ritchie,
M.A. , L'niversity of St. Andrews.

Marcus Aurelias and the Later
Stoics. By F. W. Bussell, D.D.,
Vice-Principal of Brasenose College,
Oxford.

Augustine and Latin Patristic Theo-
logy. By Professor B. B. Warfield,
D.D., Princeton.

Scotus Erigena and his Epoch. By

Professor R. Latta, Ph.D., D.Sc,
University of Aberdeen.

Wyclif and the Lollards. By Rev.

J. C. Carrick, B.D.

The Two Bacons and Experimental
Science. By Rev. W. J. Couper,
M.A.

Calvin and the Reformed Theology.

By Principal Salmond, D.D., U.F.C.
College, Aberdeen.
Pascal and the Port Royalists. By
Professor W. Clark, LL.D., D.C.L.,
Trinity College, Toronto.

Descartes, Spinoza, and the New
Philosophy. By Professor J. Iverach,
D.D., U.F.C. c'oUege, Aberdeen.

Lessing and the New Humanism.

By Rev. A. P. Davidson, M.A.
Hume and his Influence on Philo-
sophy and Theology. By Professor

J. Ore. D.D., Glasgow.

Rousseau and Naturalism in Life
and Thought. By Professor W. H.
HrrsoN, M.A. , Leland Stanford
Junior L'niversity, California.

Kant and his Philosophical Revolu-
tion. By Professor R. M. Wenley,
D.Sc, Ph.D.. University of Michigan.

Schleiermacher and the Rejuven-
escence of Theology. By Professor
A. Martin, D.D., Xew College,
Edinburgh.

Hegel and Hegelianism. By ' Pro-
fessor R. Mackintosh, D.D., Lanca-
shire Independent College, Man-
chester.

Newman and his Influence. By
C. Sarolea, Ph.D., Litt. Doc,
L'niversitv of Edinburgh.

Published Price, THREE SHILLINGS per Volume.

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Alexander, William Menzies,
1858-1929.

Demonic possession in the
New Testament