e senses, which cannot see what is passing
before their sight, like that with which the men of Sodom were
struck[611] when they could not discover the door of Lot's house,
though it was before their eyes; or that of the disciples at Emmaus,
of whom it is said that "their eyes were holden, so that they might
not recognize Jesus Christ, who was talking with them on the way, and
whom they knew not again until the breaking of the bread revealed him
to them;"[612]--or else it consists in an object being represented to
the senses in a different form from that it wears in reality, as that
of the Moabites,[613] who believed they saw the waters tinged with the
blood of the Israelites, although nothing was there but the simple
waters, on which the rays of the sun being reflected, gave them a
reddish hue; or that of the Syrian soldiers sent to take Elisha,[614]
who were led by this prophet into Samaria, without their recognising
either the prophet or the city.

This fascination, in what way soever it may be conceived, is certainly
above the usual power known unto man, consequently man cannot
naturally produce it; but is it above the natural powers of an angel
or a demon? That is what is unknown to us, and obliges us to suspend
our judgment on this question.

There is another kind of fascination, which consists in this, that the
sight of a person or a thing, the praise bestowed upon them, the envy
felt towards them, produce in the object certain bad effects, against
which the ancients took great care to guard themselves and their
children, by making them wear round their necks preservatives, or
amulets, or charms.

A great number of passages on this subject might be cited from the
Greek and Latin authors; and I find that at this day, in various parts
of Christendom, people are persuaded of the efficacy of these
fascinations. But we must own three things; first, that the effect of
these pretended fascinations (or spells) is very doubtful; the second,
that if it were certain, it is very difficult, not to say impossible,
to explain it; and lastly, that it cannot be rationally applied to the
matter of apparitions or of vampires.

If the vampires or ghosts are not really resuscitated nor their bodies
spiritualized and subtilized, as we believe we have proved, and if our
senses are not deceived by fascination, as we have just seen it, I
doubt if there be any other way to act on this question than to
absolutely deny the return of the