Saint Hippolytus the Skeptic

About sixty years ago, L. Sprague de Camp discovered a list of ancient magic tricks and stagecraft.

Most of the tricks employed by the witch Saphanbaal to awe her clients (in my novel) are described by Bishop Hippolytus in his Refutation of All Heresies. In the early third century, the bishop constituted himself a one-man Society for Psychical Research. He exposed the deceptions of magicians, such as putting lumps of alum in the fire and gluing fish scales to the ceiling. Of course, this was six hundred years after the time of my story. But, since some of the methods Hippolytus describes have been used by mediums right down to modern times, we may assume for the purposes of fiction that these sleights were already old when he revealed them.

“Author’s note,” L. Sprague de Camp, The Arrrows of Hercules (1965)

Bishop Hippolytus’ treatise only survives in part, but chapters 28-42 of book 4 are available in translation on the Catholic website New Advent. I give one example.

And that a fiery Hecate seems to career through air, he contrives in the mode following. Concealing a certain accomplice in a place which he wishes, (and) taking aside his dupes, he persuades them (to believe himself), alleging that he will exhibit a flaming demon riding through the air. Now he exhorts them immediately to keep their eyes fixed until they see the flame in the air, and that (then), veiling themselves, they should fall on their face until he himself should call them; and after having given them these instructions, he, on a moonless night, in verses speaks thus:—

Infernal, and earthy, and supernal Bombo, come!
Saint of streets, and brilliant one, that strays by night;
Foe of radiance, but friend and mate of gloom;
In howl of dogs rejoicing, and in crimson gore,
Wading 'mid corpses through tombs of lifeless dust,
Panting for blood; with fear convulsing men.
Gorgo, and Mormo, and Luna, and of many shapes,
Come, propitious, to our sacrificial rites!

And while speaking these words, fire is seen borne through the air; but the (spectators) being horrified at the strange apparition, (and) covering their eyes, fling themselves speechless to earth. But the success of the artifice is enhanced by the following contrivance. The accomplice whom I have spoken of as being concealed, when he hears the incantation ceasing, holding a kite or hawk enveloped with tow, sets fire to it and releases it. The bird, however, frightened by the flame, is borne aloft, and makes a (proportionably) quicker flight, which these deluded persons beholding, conceal themselves, as if they had seen something divine. The winged creature, however, being whirled round by the fire, is borne wherever chance may have it, and burns now the houses, and now the courtyards. Such is the divination of the sorcerers.

Stories about tying fire to small animals or birds and setting them free to ignite homes and dwellings appear in the book of Judges and in king’s sagas, histories, and military literature after the year 1000. In those stories, the burning was deliberate, whereas the good bishop points out that the sorcerer’s apprentice may accidentally start a fire with this trick (I have an article on those stories in Medieval Warfare IV.5 – Karwansaray or JSTOR). I don’t know if anyone ever showed this to the late James Randi but he would have enjoyed it. He was interested in the history of magic and wrote essays about Alexander of Abonoteichus.

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(scheduled 10 July 2024)