The prior of the Carmelites next advanced and made the same declaration, taking the oath in the same manner, holding the pyx over his head; and further calling down on himself and his brethren the curse of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram if they had sinned during this inquiry11. These protestations did not, however, produce the salutary effect intended, some of those present saying aloud that such oaths smacked12 of sacrilege.
Barre hearing the murmurs13, hastened to begin the exorcisms, first advancing to the superior to offer her the holy sacrament: but as soon as she caught sight of him she became terribly convulsed, and attempted to drag the pyx from his hands. Barre, however, by pronouncing the sacred words, overcame the repulsion of the superior, and succeeded in placing the wafer in her mouth; she, however, pushed it out again with her tongue, as if it made her sick; Barge14 caught it in his fingers and gave it to her again, at the same time forbidding the demon15 to make her vomit16, and this time she succeeded in partly swallowing the sacred morsel17, but complained that it stuck in her throat. At last, in order to get it down, Barge three times gave her water to drink; and then, as always during his exorcisms, he began by interrogating18 the demon.
“Per quod pactum ingressus es in corpus hujus puellae?” (By what pact19 didst thou enter the body of this maiden20?)
“Aqua” ( By water), said the superior.
One of those who had accompanied the bailiff was a Scotchman called Stracan, the head of the Reformed College of Loudun. Hearing this answer, he called on the demon to translate aqua into Gaelic, saying if he gave this proof of having those linguistic21 attainments22 which all bad spirits possess, he and those with him would be convinced that the possession was genuine and no deception23. Barre, without being in the least taken aback, replied that he would make the demon say it if God permitted, and ordered the spirit to answer in Gaelic. But though he repeated his command twice, it was not obeyed; on the third repetition the superior said—
“Nimia curiositas” (Too much curiosity), and on being asked again, said—
“Deus non volo.”
This time the poor devil went astray in his conjugation, and confusing the first with the third person, said, “God, I do not wish,” which in the context had no meaning. “God does not wish,” being the appointed answer.
The Scotchman laughed heartily24 at this nonsense, and proposed to Barre to let his devil enter into competition with the boys of his seventh form; but Barre, instead of frankly25 accepting the challenge in the devil’s name, hemmed26 and hawed, and opined that the devil was justified27 in not satisfying idle curiosity.
“But, sir, you must be aware,” said the civil lieutenant28, “and if you are not, the manual you hold in your hand will teach you, that the gift of tongues is one of the unfailing symptoms of true possession, and the power to tell what is happening at a distance another.”
“Sir,” returned Barre, “the devil knows the language very well, but, does not wish to speak it; he also knows all your sins, in proof of which, if you so desire, I shall order him to give the list.”
“I shall be delighted to hear it,” said the civil lieutenant; “be so good as to try the experiment.”
Barre was about to approach the superior, when he was held back by the bailiff, who remonstrated29 with him on the impropriety of his conduct, whereupon Barre assured the magistrate30 that he had never really intended to do as he threatened.
However, in spite of all Barre’s attempts to distract the attention of the bystanders from the subject, they still persisted in desiring to discover the extent of the devil’s knowledge of foreign languages, and at their suggestion the bailiff proposed to Barre to try him in Hebrew instead of Gaelic. Hebrew being, according to Scripture31, the most ancient language of all, ought to be familiar to the demon, unless indeed he had forgotten it. This idea met with such general applause that Barre was forced to command the possessed33 nun9 to say aqua in Hebrew. The poor woman, who found it difficult enough to repeat correctly the few Latin words she had learned by rote4, made an impatient movement, and said—
“I can’t help it; I retract” (Je renie).
These words being heard and repeated by those near her produced such an unfavourable impression that one of the Carmelite monks34 tried to explain them away by declaring that the superior had not said “Je renie,” but “Zaquay,” a Hebrew word corresponding to the two Latin words, “Effudi aquam” (I threw water about). But the words “Je renie” had been heard so distinctly that the monk’s assertion was greeted with jeers35, and the sub-prior reprimanded him publicly as a liar32. Upon this, the superior had a fresh attack of convulsions, and as all present knew that these attacks usually indicated that the performance was about to end, they withdrew, making very merry over a devil who knew neither Hebrew nor Gaelic, and whose smattering of Latin was so incorrect.
However, as the bailiff and civil lieutenant were determined36 to clear up every doubt so far as they still felt any, they went once again to the convent at three o’clock the same afternoon. Barre came out to meet them, and took them for a stroll in the convent grounds. During their walk he said to the civil lieutenant that he felt very much surprised that he, who had on a former occasion, by order of the Bishop37 of Poitiers, laid information against Grandier should be now on his side. The civil lieutenant replied that he would be ready to inform against him again if there were any justification38, but at present his object was to arrive at the truth, and in this he felt sure he should be successful. Such an answer was very unsatisfactory to Barre; so, drawing the bailiff aside, he remarked to him that a man among whose ancestors were many persons of condition, several of whom had held positions of much dignity in the Church, and who himself held such an important judicial39 position, ought to show less incredulity in regard to the possibility of a devil entering into a human body, since if it were proved it would redound40 to the glory of God and the good of the Church and of religion. The bailiff received this remonstrance41 with marked coldness, and replied that he hoped always to take justice for his guide, as his duty commanded. Upon this, Barre pursued the subject no farther, but led the way to the superior’s apartment.
Just as they entered the room, where a large number of people were already gathered, the superior, catching42 sight of the pyx which Barre had brought with him, fell once more into convulsions. Barre went towards her, and having asked the demon as usual by what pact he had entered the maiden’s body, and received the information that it was by water, continued his examination as follows:
“Quis finis pacti” (What is the object of this pact?)
“Impuritas” (Unchastity).
At these words the bailiff interrupted the exorcist and ordered him to make the demon say in Greek the three words, ‘finis, pacti, impuritas’. But the superior, who had once already got out of her difficulties by an evasive answer, had again recourse to the same convenient phrase, “Nimia curiositas,” with which Barre agreed, saying that they were indeed too much given to curiosity. So the bailiff had to desist from his attempt to make the demon speak Greek, as he had before been obliged to give up trying to make him speak Hebrew and Gaelic. Barre then continued his examination.
“Quis attulit pactum?” (Who brought the pact?)
“Magus” (The sorcerer).
“Quale nomen magi?” (What is the sorcerer’s name?)
“Urbanus” (Urban).
“Quis Urbanus? Est-ne Urbanus papa?”
(What Urban? Pope Urban?)
“Grandier.”
“Cujus qualitatis?” (What is his profession?)
“Curcatus.”
The enriching of the Latin language by this new and unknown word produced a great effect on the audience; however, Barre did not pause long enough to allow it to be received with all the consideration it deserved, but went on at once.
“Quis attulit aquam pacti?” (Who brought the water of the pact?)
“Magus” (The magician).
“Qua hora?” (At what o’clock?)
“Septima” (At seven o’clock).
“An matutina?” (In the morning?)
“Sego” (In the evening).
“Quomodo intravit?” (How did he enter?)
“Janua” (By the door).
“Quis vidit?” (Who saw him?)
“Tres” (Three persons).
Here Barre stopped, in order to confirm the testimony43 of the devil, assuring his hearers that the Sunday after the superior’s deliverance from the second possession he along with Mignon and one of the sisters was sitting with her at supper, it being about seven o’clock in the evening, when she showed them drops of water on her arm, and no one could tell where they came from. He had instantly washed her arm in holy water and repeated some prayers, and while he was saying them the breviary of the superior was twice dragged from her hands and thrown at his feet, and when he stooped to pick it up for the second time he got a box on the ear without being able to see the hand that administered it. Then Mignon came up and confirmed what Barre had said in a long discourse44, which he wound up by calling down upon his head the most terrible penalties if every word he said were not the exact truth. He then dismissed the assembly, promising45 to drive out the evil spirit the next day, and exhorting46 those present to prepare themselves, by penitence47 and receiving the holy communion, for the contemplation of the wonders which awaited them.
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1
jurisdictions
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| 司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围 | |
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2
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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3
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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rote
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| n.死记硬背，生搬硬套 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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6
adjured
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| v.（以起誓或诅咒等形式）命令要求( adjure的过去式和过去分词 )；祈求；恳求 | |
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7
instigated
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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12
smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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14
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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15
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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16
vomit
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| v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物 | |
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17
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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18
interrogating
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| n.询问技术v.询问( interrogate的现在分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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19
pact
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| n.合同，条约，公约，协定 | |
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20
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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21
linguistic
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| adj.语言的，语言学的 | |
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22
attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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23
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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24
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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27
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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28
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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29
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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30
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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31
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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32
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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33
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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35
jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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37
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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38
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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39
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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40
redound
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| v.有助于；提；报应 | |
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41
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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42
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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43
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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44
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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45
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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46
exhorting
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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47
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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