Saturday, January 14, 2023
Frightening Away Demons
Christopher A. Faraone, The Transformation of Greek Amulets in Roman Imperial Times (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), p. 92:
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Thus, just as bronze bells might be called "sonic amulets" because they frighten demons away with their sound, we might label amber, jet, asphalt, and sulfur as "fumigant amulets," because they do the same with acrid odors.Perhaps we can see a combination of these two ways of driving away demons in Martin Luther, Table Talk, number 469 (Spring, 1533; tr. Theodore G. Tappert):
Almost every night when I wake up the devil is there and wants to dispute with me. I have come to this conclusion: When the argument that the Christian is without the law and above the law doesn't help, I instantly chase him away with a fart.
Singulis noctibus fere, wenn ich erwach, so ist der Teuffel da und will an mich mit dem disputirn; da habe ich das erfarn: Wenn das argumentum nit hilfft, quod christianus est sine lege et supra legem, so weyse man yhn flugs mit eim furtz ab.
