2. Malleus Maleficarum

Cover of the seventh Cologne edition of the Malleus Maleficarum, 1520 (from the University of Sydney Library). It reads "MALLEUS MALEFICARUM, Maleficas, & earum h?resim, ut phramea potentissima conterens" which means literally "The Hammer of Witches, smashing the Witches and their heresies with a mighty spear."

The most authoritative and influential sourcebook for inquisitors, judges, and magistrates in the great witchcraft persecutions from the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries. It was written by Heinrich Kramer, leading inquisitors of the Dominican Order; Jacob Sprenger merely attached his name to the sourcebook.

The book brought folklore and speculation about witchcraft and magic together with the new view identifying witchcraft with devil-worship. That identification turned witchcraft into heresy (rather than a pagan faith) and thus the proper concern of the Inquisition. That change of perspective led to the fierce and relentless persecution that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of individuals accused of practicing the religion of witchcraft, as opposed to merely practicing malevolent magic (i.e., sorcery), which had long been illegal.

This work is in three parts. Part I fulminates against the evil of witchcraft, which is characterized as renunciation of the Catholic faith, homage to the Devil, and carnal intercourse with demons. Even disbelief in the existence of witches and witchcraft was declared a grave heresy. Part II details the specific practices of witches. Part III sets forth rules for legal action and conviction of witches.

The antiquary Thomas Wright, in his book Narratives of Sorcery and Magic (2 vols., 1851), stated: "In this celebrated work, the doctrine of witchcraft was first reduced to a regular system, and it was the model and groundwork of all that was written on the subject long after the date which saw its first appearance. Its writers enter largely into the much-disputed question of the nature of demons; set forth the causes which lead them to seduce men in this manner; and show why women are most prone to listen to their proposals, by reasons which prove that the inquisitors had but a mean estimate of the softer sex.

The work went into some 30 editions between 1486 and 1669 and was accepted as authoritative by both Protestant and Catholic witch-hunters. Its narrow-minded superstition and dogmatic legalism undoubtedly resulted in hundreds of cases of cruel tortures and judicial murders.

(answers.com)

考考你

用今日所學將下面的句子譯成英語。

1. 你以為他是我男朋友？沒有的事。

2. 最近的停車場在半英里外，更糟的是，大雨傾盆一般開始下起來了。

3. 她從來都沒想過去利用別人的好心。

The Da Vinci Code《達?芬奇密碼》（精講之四）

1. 你還有問題？那好，問吧！

You've got more questions? Well, fire away.

2. 他拋開這個問題，就像丟掉一塊燙手的山芋一樣。

He dropped the topic like a hot potato.

3. 一旦你退了休，培養一項你一直想嘗試的興趣愛好是非常重要的。

Once you retire, it's important to get into some hobby you've always wanted to try.

 

影片對白  She was no such thing. Smeared by the Church in 591 anno Domini, poor dear. Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife.

文化面面觀   Mary Magdalene & Malleus Maleficarum：“女巫”從這里開始？