# An Examen of Witches/Chapter 52

Layout 2
Chapter LII.
Of Pierre Vuillermoz and of Christofle of the Village of Aranthon, and how they were Treated Leniently on Account of their Youth and for Certain Other Reasons.
I come now to Pierre Vuillermoz, son of le Baillu, and Christofle of the village of Aranthon, whom I can only name so, because she never knew the name of her father and mother, except that her mother was called Jeanne. These two were both put into prison: Christofle on the accusation of Groz-Jacques, and because she had spread the report that she had been taken by Groz-Jacques and Françoise Secretain to the Sabbat near the village of Coirieres; and Pierre Vuillermoz on the accusation of Christofle, and because he also affirmed on all sides that he had been twice taken by his father to the Sabbat near the village of Coirieres. Pierre was twelve years old when he was put in prison, and Christofle fourteen; but it was two years since either of them had been to the Sabbat.
Further, Pierre Vuillermoz had never been dedicated to the Devil, and it did not appear that he had committed any act of witchcraft; and although he confessed that, the last time his father had taken him to the Sabbat, he had urged him to give himself to Satan, he said that he had never consented to do so; and he added that he had been so frightened at seeing the Evil One and at ​hearing him speak, that for that reason he had never consented to go to the Sabbat again.
As for Christofle, she admitted that she had been given to the Devil, and that she had killed a cow at Coirieres at the instigation of Groz-Jacques and Grosse Françoise, who had given her a certain ointment with which she had rubbed the cow on the behind.
Christofle made a full confession; but Pierre Vuillermoz was three days in prison without any statement being drawn from him. Yet he was in the end released, the procurator being ordered to approach his nearest of kin with a view to having him catechised and instructed in our Catholic Apostolic Roman faith, and on condition that they undertook to prove that they were carrying out their duty within the next three months. This boy was treated thus leniently because he seemed to be innocent. For although he had been to the Sabbat, he was not therefore guilty, since he did not know where he was going when he was being taken there; also he was taken by his father, whom he dared not disobey. But his innocence was even more clearly shown by the fact that, when his father urged him to give himself to Satan, he would not do so, and would not again go to the Sabbat.
Christofle of Aranthon was banished from the land of Saint Oyan; and she was further commanded to be present at the execution of Groz-Jacques, Clauda Jamguillaume, Clauda Gaillard and Thievenne Paget, so that she might be afraid to continue in the service of Satan, and that the gravity of the punishment which she saw them suffer might be the occasion of her changing her life. They gave her three weeks in which to ​leave the country, and ordered the procurator in the meantime to have her catechised and instructed.
I have no doubt that a stricter Judge would have condemned her to death. For besides her confession that she had been to the Sabbat and had given herself to the Devil, it also appeared that she had killed a cow by witchcraft, so that she was to be reckoned as a witch, and was therefore deserving of death. Another very pregnant reason is that, once a person has been entangled in Satan’s coils, he can never escape from them; Barth. de Spin. q. de Strigib. c. 10. Remy, Daemonol. II. 2. Cf. Art. 63.for this is proved by the fact that no witch has ever been known to change her life, so that it is but waste time to show any mercy to witches, and by doing so they are even given the chance to commit ten thousand atrocities which would not have happened if justice had been done to them. And although Christofle was of tender age, yet that is no excuse; for in cases of serious and atrocious crime little count is taken of the criminal’s age, unless it be to mitigate the sentence in some degree. Bodin, Demonom. IV. 5. L. excipiuntur ad Syllania. L. si arrogati de Tutel. D.And consequently it has been known for children of not more than fifteen years to be punished with death in accordance with the law, which is strict in this matter.
Yet for several reasons it was judged better to confine this girl’s punishment to banishment. Chiefly because she, as it were, anticipated justice in that, Cf. Bodin, ibid.when Groz-Jacques and Grosse Françoise were put in prison, she immediately spread the report that she had been taken by them to the Sabbat; and because she freely confessed as soon as she was in the hands of Justice, and accused her accomplices, and asked to be instructed in our Holy Faith. And under such circumstances a ​witch’s punishment should be mitigated, especially when she is of tender age, as was Christofle, who had not yet reached the age of puberty when she was at the Sabbat. C. illud 15 q. 1. & ibi glos. L. illud relatum de jurejur. D.For the law itself excuses those who are not at the age of puberty, provided that they are incapable of fraud. This is in agreement with the words of Lucan: Lib. 9.But we forgive him for his tender age. And the prompt confession of this girl, and the simplicity of her answers, clearly showed that there was no malice in her.
She might well have been sentenced to the lash. But it was considered that this would irritate her rather than induce her to mend her ways. For since witches never leave the service of Satan for any punishment that is given them, except that of death, it is certain that, when they are released, that mortal Enemy of the human race urges them to avenge themselves and to do worse than before. Bodin, Demonom. Preface.Of this we have many examples, but I take only that of Jeanne Harvillier. This woman, while still very young, was given the lash at Verbery for witchcraft; but she did not desist for that, but always continued in her wickedness until, thirty years later, she was burned alive at Ribemond. But it need be no matter of surprise that witches are not corrected by being scourged, or by any such punishment; for the Devil torments them far more than this, and even beats them to death, without their being able to abandon him, as we read in Sprenger, who tells that he condemned several witches who were cruelly beaten by the Devil if they did not do his commandments, and that they had no rest until they did so. Also Antide Colas confessed that ​the Devil urged her, while she was in prison, to throw herself from a window, or to hang herself from it; and because she would not, he beat her cruelly on the body.
And this is why it seems that one should not compromise when dealing with a witch, but should either treat them leniently, or else condemn them to death. Lib. 9.This agrees with the advice which, as Livy says, an old Samnite captain gave his soldiers as to how they should treat the Romans.
For my part I shall always maintain that, on the least pretext, they should be put to death; even if there were no other reason for this than the one which I have often mentioned, namely, that they never change their manner of living. Nevertheless it is possible that there may be such grounds for excusing them that it would be wrong to proceed to a sentence of death against them. But that must be left to the discretion of the Judge.