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ralem et astronomicam scientiam, et tamen vel ex sanctitate crediti sunt ista operari, vel ex necromantia, cum tamen neque sancti neque necromancii sint."-P. Pomponiatius de naturalium admirandorum causis, sive de incantationibus, opus obstrusioris philosophiæ plenum Basil. 1550, p. 45.) They do not remember that at Rome it is not so easy to procure the canonization of a saint. It is well known that the following points are strictly investigated; and it is only after their perfect substantiation that the head of the church declares its sanctity, and the casus inedia to be a miracle :

1. The fact that such fasting took place, and continued without interruption, at the time stated, must be strictly investigated and established.

2. The fasting must have been by free will. It must not have proceeded from sickness or disease, as in that case the Church could not regard it as miraculous, cases being known where disease in the organs of the stomach has produced inertia of many years' duration.

3. The object must be a religious one.

4. The person fasting must during the whole time have been in good health.

5. He must not neglect the good works which it is his duty to perform, as fasting which would hinder good deeds could not be acceptable to God. St. Jerome is particular on this point.

Lastly, the morals and virtues of the person fasting must be strictly examined. (Lillbopp, Die Wunder des Christenthums und deren Verhältniss zum thierischen Magnetismus, Mainz, 1822, p. 181.)

The Church, therefore, did not even canonize the pious Nicolaus de la Flüe, who lived for twenty years on no other food but the consecrated wafer which he partook of monthly. He spoke of his power of fasting rather as a natural power than as a virtue. (Joh. v. Müller, Geschichte der schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 5th vol. 2d chap.) In his biography, written by the Jesuit Pater Hugo, and published in Freiburg 1636, we find-" From his youth he fasted four times a week, and by that means withdrew himself from the disturbing influence of worldly things, gaining at the same time a great power of endurance."

One of the principal branches of magic in ancient times was the power of secretly influencing other men, to which was also reckoned the power of healing the sick. It was only later, when experience had revealed many natural powers by chance or research, that they were made use of for other purposes, and often to the injury of others: it was therefore called the black art. Among the Prophets, the Cabbalists already distinguished between the seer and the wonder-workers, as we have already seen: Nabi rach signified he who looks into the light; and nabi poel he who is gifted with magic powers.

In the infancy of the world, and during a time when these laws of nature were but partially known and understood by man, it was most natural that these inexplicable powers should be directly ascribed to a divine influence. Healing of the sick was supposed to proceed alone from God, or through the priests and saints his servants. Faith was therefore necessary to the cure, and the magical powers were therefore transferred by words, prayer, and ceremonies, and the science was transmitted among the mysteries. Healing by touch, by laying on of the hands, and by the breath, belonged to this secret influence; also the use of talismans and amulets, which were composed of organic as well as inorganic substances, minerals, stones, or plants; the wearing of rings, of images of saints, and other symbolical objects; lastly, healing the sick by words and

prayers.

As regards the resemblance which this science bears to magnetism, it is certain that not only were the ancients acquainted with an artificial method of treating disease, but also with somnambulism itself, as we shall see subsequently in the Oracles and among the Alexandrians. Among others, Agrippa von Nettesheim speaks of this plainly when he says, in his "Occulta philosophia," p. 451-"There is a science, known but to very few, of illuminating and instructing the mind, so that at one step it is raised from the darkness of ignorance to the light of wisdom. This is produced principally by a species of artificial sleep, in which man forgets the present, and, as it were, perceives the future through the divine inspiration. Unbelieving and wicked persons can also be deprived of this power by secret means."

(Po

test enim animus humanus, præsertim simplex et purus, sacrorum quorundum avocamento ac delineamento soporari et externi et præsentium oblivionem, ita ut remota corporis memoria, redigatur in naturam suam divinam, atque sic divino lumine lustratus, ac furore divino afflatus, futura rerum præsagire, tum etiam mirabilium quorundum effectum cum hoc suscipere virtutem).

The healing of the sick by the touch and the laying on of hands is to be found among the earliest nations, among the Indians, the Egyptians, and especially among the Jews. In Egypt, sculptures have been found where one hand is represented on the stomach and the other on the back. Even the Chinese, according to the accounts of the early missionaries (Athan. Kircher, China illustrata), healed sickness by the laying on of hands. In the Old Testament we find numerous examples, of which we shall extract a few.

When Moses found his end approaching, he prayed for a worthy successor; and we find the following passage (Numbers, xxvii. 18, 20):-" And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him" "And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient."

Another instance is to be found in the healing the seemingly dead child by Elisha, who stretched himself three times upon the child, and called upon the Lord. The manner in

which Elisha raised the dead son of the Shunammite woman is still more remarkable. He caused Gehazi to proceed before him to lay his staff upon the face of the child. As this was of no avail, Elisha went up into the room, and laid himself upon the child, etc., and his hands upon the child's hands, so that the child's body became warm again. After that the child opened its eyes. Elisha's powers even survived his death. "And Elisha died, and they buried him; and the bands of the Moabites invaded the land in the coming of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood upon his feet" (2 Kings, xiii. 20, 21). Naaman the leper, when he stood before Elisha's house with his horses

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and chariots, and had been told to wash seven times in the Jordan, said, Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper" (2 Kings, v. 4).

The New Testament is particularly rich in examples of the efficacy of laying on of the hands. "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (1 Timothy, iv. 14), is a principal maxim of the Apostles, for the practical use of their powers for the good of their brethren in Christ. In St. Mark we find (xvi. 18)--" They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." St. Paul was remarkable for his powers: "And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux; to whom Paul entered in, and prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him" (Acts, xxviii. 8). "And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me that thou mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight" (Acts, ix. 17, 18). In St. Mark we find— "And they brought young children to him, that he might touch them; and his disciples rebuked those who brought them." But Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." "And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they besought him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit and touched his tongue; and, looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said unto him, Ephphatha,—that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain" (Mark, vii. 33).

Other passages may be met with in Matth. ix. 18; Mark, v. 23-vi. 5-viii. 22- —x. 13—xvi. 18; Luke, v. 13-xviii. 15; John, ix. 17; Acts, ix. 17, &c. &c. In the histories of

the saints innumerable examples are recorded: and the command, "In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover," applies to all true followers of Christ. Those, however, who are wanting in the power of the spirit and in faith cannot perform these acts like the saints, on whom they cast doubt because they cannot imitate them.

The saints did everything through faith in Christ, and therefore were able to perform such miracles. I shall make mention of a few of the most remarkable accounts. St. Patrick, the Irish apostle, healed the blind by laying on his hands. St. Bernard is said to have restored eleven blind persons to sight, and eighteen lame persons to the use of their limbs, in one day at Constance. At Cologne he healed twelve lame, caused three dumb persons to speak, ten who were deaf to hear; and, when he himself was ill, St. Lawrence and St. Benedict appeared to him, and cured him by touching the affected part. Even his plates and dishes are said to have cured sickness after his death! The miracles of SS. Margaret, Katherine, Elizabeth, Hildegarde, and especially the miraculous cures of the two holy martyrs Cosmas and Damianus, belong to this class. Among others, they freed the Emperor Justinian from an incurable sickness. St. Odilia embraced a leper, who was shunned by all men, in her arms, warmed him, and restored him to health.

Remarkable above all others are those cases where persons who were at the point of death have recovered by holy baptism or extreme unction. The Emperor Constantine is one of the most singular examples. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, had the power of assuaging colic and affections of the spleen by laying the patients on their backs and passing his great toe over them. (Plutarch. Vita Pyrrhi: "Digitum maximum pedis divinitatem habuisse adeo quod igne non potuit comburi.") The Emperor Vespasian cured nervous affections, lameness, and blindness, solely by the laying on of his hands (Suelin, Vita Vespas.) According to Cœlius Spartianus, Hadrian cured those afflicted with dropsy by touching them with the points of his fingers, and recovered himself from a violent fever by similar treatment. King Olaf healed Egill