On the other hand, when talking about the birth of science, there is no way to avoid this vile word – "inquisition". And since we are talking about the Inquisition (and secular people always talk about it, it is only necessary to mention the Church), then let us dwell on this sad page of church history longer.

A Good Word About the Inquisition

I must say right away that it is reading modern occult literature that makes you treat the Inquisition and the "witch hunt" in a different way. As long as people do not believe in witches, witchcraft and corruption, witch hunting seems to be an incredible savagery, purely shameful for Christians. But if this is serious? If such a black effect is really possible on a person for whom neither distance nor walls are an obstacle? And if there really are people who are ready to make the most terrible sacrifices for the sake of receiving "black grace"?

People of the Middle Ages are constantly accused of superstition. But they did not read these "superstitions" in the Bible or in patristic works. Rumor spread secrets that crept out of witchcraft's kitchens. The witches themselves assured that nothing would take them, that they did not burn in fire and did not drown in water, and that for a certain fee they could bring damage to anyone... The witches convinced the people, and then the hierarchs, of their reality and of their power, and there was a response, a reaction of public self-defense...

Before you accuse those impressionable Christians (or me) of intolerance and misanthropy, try to predict your own reaction. Imagine if you believed Blavatsky's report that "In ancient times, Thessalian witches mixed the blood of a newborn baby with the blood of a black lamb and thereby summoned the shadows of the dead"[7]? And what if your neighbor declared her determination to resume the ancient witchcraft rites[8], and said that the spirits with whom she is trained consider her a sorceress[9]?

So, witches themselves boast of their art, and often do not even mask their anti-Christian fervor. And if ordinary people believe them, then how should they react?

Not only is the Russian revolt "senseless and merciless," but any revolt. People were sincerely afraid of evil spirits and believed in the reality of harm from communicating with them. The "lynch trial" in such cases flared up by itself. The inquisitors, on the other hand, snatched the accused from the hands of the crowd and offered at least some formal procedure of investigation, in which it was possible to justify himself. And they justified themselves (as, for example, the mother of the astronomer Kepler was acquitted of the accusation of witchcraft).

It is interesting to read on the same page of a modern newspaper – "In the Middle Ages, when the fires of the Inquisition were blazing in Europe..."[10] and the report that "The younger generation of one of the Kenyan villages decided to follow the example of medieval Europe and organized a witch roundup"[11]. What does the "example of Europe" have to do with it? In addition to the fact that there was no "witch hunt" in medieval Europe, it is worth knowing that the belief in corruption is universal, and supporters of black magic were persecuted everywhere.

The "Laws of Hammurabi" of ancient Babylon said: "If a person has thrown an accusation of witchcraft at a person and has not proved it, then the one on whom the accusation of witchcraft has been thrown must go to the Deity of the River and immerse himself in the River; if the River captures him, his accuser can take his house. If the River cleanses this man and he remains unharmed, then the one who accused him of witchcraft must be killed, and the one who plunged into the River can take the house of his accuser." We are talking about "ordeal" - a judicial test through immersion in water. The water exposed the guilty by drowning; if the accused swam out, then this was considered proof of his innocence. The Ordeal was probably resorted to only in cases of crimes threatening the death penalty, and especially in accusations of illicit sorcery and adultery, if this accusation was not actually proved by the accuser and witnesses: according to the Babylonian views, water as a pure element would certainly expose the sorcerer and adulteress[13]. "At the same time," writes A. A. Nemirovsky, "it should be taken into account that the Laws of Hammurabi do not represent an exhaustive set of legal norms; For example, they do not contain articles relating to the simplest crimes - ordinary theft, murder, witchcraft, although there are norms related to accusations of these crimes. Obviously, the norms relating to such crimes were considered to be well-known"[14].

In Egypt, in the event of a pestilence, "in the city of Eileithyia," writes Manetho, "they burned alive people who were called Typhon, and, winnowing their ashes, scattered and destroyed them" (Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris, 73).

The Indian "Laws of Manu" (II century BC) prescribed: "For all kinds of spells, for incantations on roots, for sorcery of any kind — in case of failure — a fine of two hundred [pan]" (Laws of Manu, 9, 290). The punishment was comparable to the fine for robbery - about 2 kilograms of gold (Arthashastra, 3.17). However, if the result of witchcraft is death, then the death penalty for the sorcerer[15]. In addition to state punishment, Brahmins impose religious "penances" for such equal sins as "sorcery and sorcery by means of roots... not lighting sacred fires, stealing, not paying debts, studying erroneous books and practicing the craft of a dancer and singer" (Laws of Manu 11, 64 and 66).

Japanese laws stated: "If someone out of hatred makes a witchcraft image or a written spell or verbally curses someone and thus intends to destroy another person, then the guilty person is to be tried as for conspiracy to murder with a reduction of punishment by two degrees (in cases involving relatives, the punishment is not reduced). If a person dies as a result of witchcraft, then in any case to be judged as for real murder... If the sovereign's personal belongings are used for witchcraft, then the guilty person must be hanged"[16]. Another Japanese law contained the "Index of Forbidden Books": "It is forbidden to keep in private homes: astronomical instruments, works on astronomy, Chinese maps; divination cards; Chinese military writings; a book of predictions; for violation of this prohibition - 1 year of hard labor"[17].

The "Laws of the Twelve Tables" of ancient Rome, compiled in the 5th century BC, suggested that those guilty of the evil eye could be sentenced to death. The texts of this Law have come down to us in an incomplete form. In the Eighth Table there is an article (VIII, 8a) that begins with the formulation of the crime: "Whoever bewitches the crops..." [19], but there is no further break in the text and the wording of the punishment. However, this lacuna is filled by quoting this law by Pliny: "According to the Twelve Tables, the death penalty was prescribed for the secret destruction of crops... more grievous than for the murder of a man" (Natural History, 18, 3, 12, 8-9).

Plato dreamed of a society in which "the law of poisoning and divination would be expressed as follows: . . . If it turns out that a person has become like someone who harms another because of magic knots, spells or spells, let him die if he is a diviner or fortune-teller. If, however, he is a stranger to the art of divination, and is nevertheless caught in divination, let him suffer the same fate as the poisoner among the common people; let the court decide what punishment he should be subjected to" (Laws 933d). Demosthenes "brought the priestess Theoris to trial and obtained this execution" (Plutarch, Demosthenes, 14); Theorida was accused of sorcery and was executed with her entire family.