Note 572 — Chapter VII · WITCHCRAFT.

There was some debate whether the evidence of a witch as to those whom she had seen in the Sabbat was to be received, but it was settled in favor of the faith by the unanswerable argument that otherwise the principal means of detecting witches would be lost. If the accused alleged that the devil had caused an apparition resembling him to be present, he was to be required to prove the fact, which was not easy (Jaquerii Flagell. Hæret. Fascinar. c. 26).—Bernardo di Como (de Strigiis, c. 13, 14) says that the mere accusation of being seen in the Sabbat is not sufficient to justify arrest, as the individual may be personated by a demon, but it has to be reinforced by “conjectures and presumptions,” which, of course, were never lacking.