Augustine’s Devils

Saint Augustine, most revered of Church Doctors, was convinced that devils were fornicating with wanton women:

There is … a very general rumour, which many have verified by their own experience, or which trustworthy persons who have heard the experience of others corroborate, that sylvans and fauns, who are commonly called ‘incubi,’ had often made wicked assaults upon women, and satisfied their lust upon them; and that certain devils, called Duses by the Gauls, are constantly attempting and effecting this impurity is so generally affirmed, that it were impudent to deny it.¹

Displaying surprisingly dubious philosophical skills, Augustine marshals his arguments. His willingness to accept heresay as proof is stunning; note that he begins with “a very general rumour” and concludes it is “impudent to deny it.” He even acknowledges that he’s prepared to rely on stories related through intermediaries, “trustworthy persons who have heard the experience of others”. The technical term for this phenomenon is ‘gossip’.

It’s tempting to treat Augustine’s arguments as just a harmless bit of antiquated Church dogma. However, this passage was later quoted in the Malleus Maleficarum (1485) and used to justify the witch hunts of the Inquisition, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of ‘witches’ over a 250-year period. There’s obviously no need to double-check your source when your source is a saint. It’s certainly one of the few examples of an appeal to popularlity morphing into an argument from authority, even if it took a thousand years.




CITATIONS:

1. Augustine, City of God, Book Fifteen, Chapter 23. [Online here.]

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