Loyer, Pierre Le

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)

Sieur de la Brosse, royal councillor and demonographer, was born at Huillé in Anjou in 1550. He was the author of a work entitled Discours et histoires des spectres, visions et apparitions des esprits, anges, demons et âmes se montrant aux hommes. The work is divided into eight books dealing with the marvellous visions and prodigies of all the centuries, and the most celebrated authors sacred as well as profane, who have dealt with occult subjects, the cause of apparitions, the nature of good and evil spirits, of demons, of ecstasy, of the essence, nature and origin of souls, of magicians and sorcerers, of the manner of their communication, of evil spirits, and of impostors It was published at Paris in 1605 in one quarto volume. The first book deals with spectres, apparitions and spirits; the second with the physics of Loyer's time, the illusions to which the senses are prone, wonders, the elixirs and metamorphases of sorceries and of philtres; the third book establishes the degrees, grades and honours of spirits, gives a resumé of the history of Philinnion and of Polycrites, and recounts diverse adventures with spectres and demons; the fourth book gives many examples of spectral appearances, of the speech of persons possessed of demons, of the countries and dwelling-places of these spectres and demons, of marvellous portents, and so forth; the fifth treats of the science of the soul, of its origin, nature, its state after death, and of haunting ghosts; the sixth division is entirely taken up with the apparition of souls, and shows how the happy do not return to earth, but only those whose souls are burning in purgatory; in the seventh book the case of the Witch of Endor, and the evocation of the soul of Samuel, are dealt with, as is evocation in general and the methods practised by wizards and sorcerers in this science; the last book gives some account of exorcism, fumigations, prayers, and other methods of casting out devils, and the usual means employed by exorcists to destroy these. The work as a whole is exceedingly curious if disputatious and a little dull in parts, and throws considerable light upon the occult science of the times.