urteenth centuries were the processions of the
flagellants, trooping through various parts of Europe, scourging their
naked bodies, shrieking the penitential psalms, and often running from
wild excesses of devotion to the maddest orgies.

Sometimes, too, plagues were attributed to the wrath of lesser heavenly
powers. Just as, in former times, the fury of "far-darting Apollo" was
felt when his name was not respectfully treated by mortals, so, in 1680,
the Church authorities at Rome discovered that the plague then raging
resulted from the anger of St. Sebastian because no monument had been
erected to him. Such a monument was therefore placed in the Church of
St. Peter ad Vincula, and the plague ceased.

So much for the endeavour to avert the wrath of the heavenly powers.
On the other hand, theological reasoning no less subtle was used in
thwarting the malice of Satan. This idea, too, came from far. In the
sacred books of India and Persia, as well as in our own, we find the
same theory of disease, leading to similar means of cure. Perhaps
the most astounding among Christian survivals of this theory and its
resultant practices was seen during the plague at Rome in 1522. In that
year, at that centre of divine illumination, certain people, having
reasoned upon the matter, came to the conclusion that this great scourge
was the result of Satanic malice; and, in view of St. Paul's declaration
that the ancient gods were devils, and of the theory that the ancient
gods of Rome were the devils who had the most reason to punish that city
for their dethronement, and that the great amphitheatre was the chosen
haunt of these demon gods, an ox decorated with garlands, after the
ancient heathen manner, was taken in procession to the Colosseum and
solemnly sacrificed. Even this proved vain, and the Church authorities
then ordered expiatory processions and ceremonies to propitiate the
Almighty, the Virgin, and the saints, who had been offended by this
temporary effort to bribe their enemies.

But this sort of theological reasoning developed an idea far more
disastrous, and this was that Satan, in causing pestilences, used as his
emissaries especially Jews and witches. The proof of this belief in
the case of the Jews was seen in the fact that they escaped with a
less percentage of disease than did the Christians in the great plague
periods. This was doubtless due in some measure to their remarkable
sanitary system, which had probably origi