Product Description

1927. Sinistrari is careful to explain his terms at the outset, which is helpful because his treatment of the Incubi and Succubi are not conceived in the ordinary acceptance of the words. The thesis which Sinistrari sets forth may be partially explained thus: there are in existence on earth rational creatures besides man, endowed like him with a body and a soul and are capable of being saved or being lost. These creatures are affected with the same emotions as man, and they are able to withdraw from the sight of man at will.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2197926 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 172 pages

Customer Reviews

Not Quite What I Expected, But Still Fascinating
Montague Summers' lengthy introduction is tedious and peppered with untranslated Latin and Greek quotations which leave the average 21st-century reader in the dark. However, the actual "Demoniality" is easy reading. It's fairly short and a motivated reader could finish it in the space of an afternoon. Sinistrari covers his topic clearly and concisely, using logic and precedents of Catholic Doctrine to make his case. At the very beginning he clarifies the meaning of the title: as opposed to "bestiality" which is sexual intercourse with animals, "demoniality" refers to sexual intercourse with demons. This topic would have been an important one for Sinistrari, as a Consultator to the Supreme Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition, to elucidate. In many cases, fornication with demons was part of the witches' sabbats and alleged dealings with the Devil, and this was a heinous crime - consisting as it did not only of sexual aberration, but also of "offence against religion." However, in many instances men and women were visited noctournally (and sometimes even harrassed in broad daylight) by Incubi and Succubi who were just interested in sex and did not demand any oath of allegiance or abandonment of the Church. These cases would still carry the stigma of a sexual offence, but not the taint of heresy. Sinistrari then goes on to postulate the existence of demons (in the sense of the original Greek word "daimon," meaning "wise one") which are not diabolical or intrinsically evil, but are instead a race of mortal, semi-corporeal, intelligent beings who exist alongside man but are generally invisible to us. Sinistrari proves this theory is not contrary to established Church doctrine and clarifies how crimes of fornication with these demons, or "lutins," should be defined.
A few complaints: apparently Kessinger Publishing only prints in one size. This is a facsimile edition, meaning they photographed (or probably scanned) the 1927 Summers edition and printed it as-is without resetting the type. It looks like it may have been enlarged to fill the 8.25 x 11 inch page, but those dimensions do not match the shape of the original page, which leaves the block of text floating awkwardly in a page that's too big for it. I have another one of Kessinger's reprints; it's the same size and it was laid-out the same way. From a design standpoint, this just looks cheap and I feel it detracts from the reading experience. Too bad Kessinger books are not as cheap as they look! The price was a bit high, considering how thin this book is, and how poorly designed. I'd have to say Dover Publishing does a better job with this kind of thing.
I'm also not entirely convinced that this book was actually written by Ludovico Maria Sinistrari. Aside from doing an in-depth textual analysis, there's no way to prove the authorship. Sinistrari died in 1701. According to Montague Summers' introduction, "Demoniality" was not published until 1875, in a French translation by Isidore Liseux, from the original Latin manuscript which Liseux found in a London bookshop in 1872. Something about this story sounds fishy. I'm skeptical, even though this book's theology holds together pretty well, it would take a better scholar than myself to determine whether Sinistrari himself could have actually written it.

An Admirable Effort towards Delineating the Spirit World!
Sinistrari was a devout Catholic who strongly believed in the existence of spirits and demons in the late 17th century. This book goes into extraordinary detail outlining entities known as incubi and succubi and all manners of other demonic spirits that plagued mankind and led him into temptation. Summers translation from Latin is a good one. It is an interesting and captivating exploration into evil and the hierarchy of the spirit world.