, II, p. 306.

CHAPTER V

HEALERS

"This is an art
Which doth mend nature--but
The art itself is nature."--_Winter's Tale._

"Some are molested by Phantasie; so some, again, by
Fancy alone and a good conceit, are as easily
recovered.... All the world knows there is no virtue in
charms, &c., but a strong conceit and opinion alone, as
Pomponatius holds, which forceth a motion of the
humours, spirits, and blood, which takes away the cause
of the malady from the parts affected. The like we may
say of the magical effects, superstitious cures, and
such as are done by montebanks and wizards. As by wicked
incredulity many are hurt (so saith Wierus), we find, in
our experience, by the same means, many are relieved."

In discussing the subject of healers one must keep in mind the fact
that the healers of the first millennium of our era were almost wholly
exorcists, on account of the prevailing theory, and even after that
time exorcism, on the one hand, and the faith in relics and shrines on
the other, formed the principal means of cure. It is therefore
difficult to differentiate the other healers from the exorcists, and
to decide whether certain cures were performed by healers or by
relics.

Another difficulty confronts us. Many authentic cures have probably
been wrought by saints, but unfortunately most of those performed by
them have little contemporary evidence to support them, but rest on
the very shaky testimony of tradition. White,[57] in a keen analysis,
shows how the legends of miraculous cures have grown around great
benefactors of humanity, taking Francis Xavier as a pertinent example.

We must also remember, however, that what are called miracles formed
part of the evidence which led to the canonization of a saint, and a
large number of healing miracles was usually included in the list. The
procedure of the court connected with the canonization was conducted
with the greatest rigor. Sitting as examiners were learned and upright
men from all nations, and the witness must be irreproachable as far as
character was concerned. The two witnesses required for each miracle
must testify concerning the nature of the disease and the cure, and
sign the deposition after it had been read to them. Following that,
the examiners sifted the evidence in a hypercritical way and
emphasized the weak places. Benedict XIV justly said: "The degree of
proof required is the same as that requ