Le Serpent de la Genèse — Stanislas de Guaita (Essais de sciences maudites II, 1891)
« Il sera bien à propos d’adiouster icy ce qui est aduenu en l’an 1588, en vn village distant enuiron deux lieues d’Apchon ès hautes montagnes d’Auuergne : Vn gentil-homme, estant sur le vespre ès fenestres de son chasteau, voit passer vn chasseur de sa cognoissance, il le prie de luy apporter à son retour de sa chasse. Le chasseur poursuiuant son chemin le long d’vne plaine, fut attaqué par vn groz loup, contre
^ Bodin, rapportant le même fait, est plus explicite encore : « ... Il y eut trois Sorcières près Strasbourg, qui assaillirent vn laboureur en guyse de trois grands chats, et en se défendant, il blessa et chassa les chats, qui se trouuerent au lict malades en forme de femmes fort blessées à l'instant mesme... » {Demonomanie, page 108, B.)
2 Valderama, Histoire générale du monde^ Paris, 1619, in-8. Tome II, page 262.
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lequel il delascha vn coup d’arquebuze sans le bles¬ ser, ce qui l’occasiona de ioindre le loup, qu’il saisit par les oreilles: mais enfin, estant las, il se depestra du loup, et se reculant mit la main à vn grand coute¬ las de chasseur, qu’il portoit, duquel il frappa le loup, et luy abattit Tvne des pattes, qu’il reserra dans sa pouchette, apres que le loup eut prins la fuitte : et puis se vint rendre au chasteau du gentil-homme, à la veuë duquel il auoit côbatu le loup. Le gentil-homme le prie de luy faire part de sa chasse, ce que le chas¬ seur voulant faire, et pensant tirer la patte de sa pou¬ chette, il tire vne main, qui portoit à l’vn des doigts vne bague d’or, que le gentil-hommme recogneut cstre à sa femme ; ce qui le fit aucunement mal soup¬ çonner d’elle et estant entré en la cuisine, il trouue sa femme qui se chauffoit, ayant son bras sous son deuanteau, lequel il tira, et recogneut quelle auoit la main couppée. Sur quoy le gentil-homme la prent par rigueur, mais aussi tost, et mesme apres que sa main luy eust esté confrontée, elle confessa que ce n’estoit autre qu’elle, qui auoit eu forme de loup attaqué le chasseur, et fut depuis bruslée à Ryon *. »
Cette histoire mirifique porte tous les caractères de l’apocryphe : que la châtelaine ait ete blessee par répercussion à la main, c’est un phénomène qui n’a rien d’impossible, comme nous verrons aü’ livre 11 ; mais la métamorphose de la patte en main, dans la pouchette du chasseur, constitue, dans l’hypothèse
< Boguet, Discours des Sorciers, pp. 341-342.
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même d’un pareil phénomène, une addition notoire¬ ment mensongère. Ce détail est, de la part du juge de Saint-Claude, une arabesque de style. D’ailleurs, il ne cite point Farrêt de Riom et ne rapporte Faventure que par ouï-dire. — Telle quelle, celle-ci nous a paru digne d’être transcrite.
Le loup-garou passait communément pour dévo¬ rer les victimes de son agression et de préférence les enfants en bas âge. A cette heure encore, ne menacet-on point du loup-garou les bambins terrifiés, quand leur sagesse, ou leur obéissance, vient à fléchir?
Pierre de Lancre a consacré au loup-garou tout un livre de son Tableau de l’Inconstance (pages 235329, soit 95 pages in-4.) Il faut lire son récit du pro¬ cès de 1603, et de Farrêt prononcé en robe rouge au Parlement de Bordeaux, contre un jeune loup-garou de treize ans, coupable d’avoir dévoré un garçon et une fillette. Gomme il parut idiot à la Cour, on usa d’indulgence à son égard : il fut seulement renfermé dans un couvent pour le reste de sa vie. Lancre, qui l’alla voir en cette retraite, dans le but louable de surveiller sa conversion, fut effrayé de la persistance de ses goûts d’anthropophage : « Il me confessa sans aucune ceremonie, qu’il auoit encores inclination à manger de la chair de petits enfans, parmy lesquels les petites filles luy estoyent ou seroyent en délices, le luy demanday s’il enmangeroit s’iln’estoit prohibé, il me dict franchement qu’ouy, et mieux des filles que des enfans, par ce qu’elles sont plus tendres. Et les religieux m’ont dict, qu’au commencement qu’onlemit
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dàs lo couuent, ils luy virent manger à cachettes des tripes ou entrailles du poisson qu on aprestoit^. »
« It will be very fit to adde heere what befell in the yeare 1588, in a village distant about two leagues from Apchon in the high mountaines of Auuergne: A gentleman, being toward euening at the windowes of his castle, sees passe a hunter of his acquaintance, and prayes him to bring him somewhat of his hunting on his returne. The hunter pursuing his way along a plaine was attacked by a great wolfe, against
^ Bodin, reporting the same fact, is more explicit still: « ... There were three Sorceresses neere Strasbourg, who assailed a labourer in the guyse of three great cats, and defending himselfe he wounded and chased the cats, which were found in bed sicke in the forme of women sore wounded at the very same instant... » (Demonomanie, page 108, B.)
2 Valderama, General History of the world, Paris, 1619, in-8. Volume II, page 262.
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which he let flie a shot of his harquebuse without woun¬ ding it, which occasioned him to close with the wolfe, which he seized by the eares: but at length, being weary, he disengaged himselfe from the wolfe, and drawing backe put his hand to a great hunting cut¬ lasse that he carried, wherewith he strooke the wolfe and cut off one of its pawes, which he put vp in his pouch, after the wolfe had taken flight: and then came and presented himselfe at the castle of the gentleman, in whose sight he had fought the wolfe. The gentleman prayes him to giue him part of his hunting, which the hun¬ ter willing to doe, and thinking to draw the paw from his pou¬ ch, he drawes forth a hand, which bore upon one of the fingers a ring of gold, which the gentleman recognised to be his wife's; which made him somewhat ill sus¬ pect her, and being entred into the kitchen he findes his wife warming herselfe, hauing her arme vnder her apron, which he pulled away, and recognised that shee had the hand cut off. Whereupon the gentleman takes her with rigour, but straightway, and euen after her hand had been confronted with her, shee confessed that it was none other than shee who had in the forme of a wolfe attacked the
hunter, and was afterward burned at Ryon *. »
This wondrous history bears every character of the apocryphal: that the lady of the castle should have been wounded by repercussion in the hand is a phenomenon that has nothing impossible about it, as we shall see in book 11; but the metamorphosis of the paw into a hand, in the hunter's pouch, constitutes, in the hypothesis
< Boguet, Discourse of Sorcerers, pp. 341-342.
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232 THE TEMPLE OF SATAN
even of such a phenomenon, a notoriously mendacious addition. This detail is, on the part of the judge of Saint-Claude, an arabesque of style. Moreover he does not cite the decree of Riom and reports the adventure only by hearsay. — Such as it is, it seemed to us worth transcribing.
The were-wolf passed commonly for devouring the victims of his aggression and by preference children of tender age. At this very hour, are not terrified brats threatened with the were-wolf when their good behaviour, or their obedience, comes to falter?
Pierre de Lancre devoted to the were-wolf a whole book of his Table of Inconstancy (pages 235-329, that is 95 pages in-4.) One must read his narrative of the tri¬ al of 1603, and of the decree pronounced in red robe at the Parlement of Bordeaux against a young were-wolf of thirteen years, guilty of having devoured a boy and a little girl. As he appeared an idiot to the Court, indulgence was used towards him: he was only shut up in a convent for the rest of his life. Lancre, who went to see him in that retreat with the laudable aim of overseeing his conversion, was frightened by the persistence of his anthropophagous tastes: « He confessed to me without any ceremonie that he had still an inclination to eat the flesh of little children, among whom the little girles were or would be his delight. I asked him whether he would eat thereof were it not forbidden; he told me frankly yes, and rather of girles than of boyes, because they are more tender. And the religious haue told me that at the first when he was put
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into the couuent, they saw him eate by stealth the tripes or entrailes of the fish that was made ready^. »
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