The history of the devils of Loudun ; the alleged possession of the Ursuline nuns, and the trial and execution of Urbain Grandier, told by an eye-witness. Translated from the original French, and edited by Edmund Goldsmid.
- Des Niau.
- Date:
- 1887-88
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The history of the devils of Loudun ; the alleged possession of the Ursuline nuns, and the trial and execution of Urbain Grandier, told by an eye-witness. Translated from the original French, and edited by Edmund Goldsmid. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
18/148 page 14
![in the blessing of the holy oil or chrism^ and of holy water. \Nat. Encyc. v., p. 389]. Is not my word like as a fire ? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? (Jer. xxiii. 29). Healing by words, that is by the direct expression of the mental power, says Van Hel- mont, was common in the early ages, particu- larly in the church, and not only used against the devil and magic arts, but also against all diseases. As it commenced in Christ, so will it continue for ever. (Operatio sanandi a primordio fuit in ecclesia per verba, ritus, exorcismos, aquam, panem, salem, herbas, idque nedum contra diabo- los et efTectus magicos, sed et morbos omnes. Opera omnia, de virtute magna verborum et renwi, p. 753). Not only did the early Christians heal by words, but the old magicians performed their wonders by magic formulas. '' Many cures, says the Zendavesta, are performed by herbs and trees, others by water, and again others by words; for it is by means of the divine word that the sick are the most surely healed. The Egyptians also believed in the magic power of words. Plotin cured Porphyrius, who lay dangerously ill in Sicily, by wonder-working words ; and the latter healed the sick by words, and cast out the devil by exorcism. The Greeks were also well acquainted with the power of words, and give](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21070325_0018.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
