Commentaria in Tobiam
8. “IF THOU PUT A LITTLE PIECE OF ITS HEART UPON COALS (roasted), THE SMOKE THEREOF DRIVETH AWAY ALL KINDS OF DEVILS.”—You will ask by what force and virtue the heart of this fish, as also the gall (verse 19), puts demons to flight: first, Valesius, Sacred Philosophy chapter 26, says that a supernatural virtue for putting demons to flight was given by God to this fish, as to the fire of hell the same is given to torment them, and to blessed water the power of putting them to flight and washing the soul from faults. This virtue is hinted by the word “driveth away.” Favouring this are William of Paris, book On the Universe, Dionysius the Carthusian, Peter Gregory of Toulouse, Syntagma of Law, book 34, chapter 23, Jerome Menghi in the Scourge of Demons, saying that demons on account of pride are subjected by God to certain bodies and herbs. But this virtue in this fish is unheard of, nor could its single fumigation have the force of perpetually warding off the demon, “so that they come no more to them,” as is said here.
Secondly, our Sanchez thinks that the demon is put to flight by the smoke of the heart of this fish, because this fumigation of so vile a thing is done to the demon’s ignominy and contempt, which he, being most proud, not bearing, goes away and flees. Hence exorcists strike the possessed with blows, hang ridiculous images of most foul things from their necks, and harass the demon with abusive words, which he cannot bear from pride, and therefore often departs, as experience shows: whence also in the book entitled the Scourge of Demons it is asserted that these fumigations are to be applied to the possessed, and ignominious words hurled at the demon. Whence in the fourth exorcism there the demon is thus addressed by the exorcist: “Unclean spirit, most wretched, tempter, deceiver, father of lies, heretic, fool, beastly, raging, enemy of thy Creator, lecherous, senseless, cruel, wicked, plunderer, beast, serpent and lean sow, famished and most unclean, mangy beast, most savage beast, most bestial of all beasts, cast out of paradise, from the grace of God, from the unspeakable place, from the company and society of the Angels, condemned creature, thy pride and wickedness, accursed and excommunicate, wicked and abominable, blasphemer, damned and to be damned.” And of this ancient custom Prudentius also is a witness, Against Symmachus 1:
The priest of the Lord thunders: Flee, cunning serpent, Put off thy members, and loose thy hidden coils; bondsman of Christ, most corrupt thief,
Thirdly, more plainly and fully, Lyranus, Serarius and Blasius of Avila on 1 Kings 16, question 46, and Pererius on Daniel, page 272, think that the smoke of the heart of the callionymus fish expelled the demon incipiently by natural force, as Raphael here hints, but completely by angelic and heavenly force. By natural force, namely by hindering the action of the demon through a contrary disposition, as the music of David hindered Saul’s agitation by the demon. For the demon acts through natural causes and especially melancholic humours: what therefore takes away or lessens these humours breaks the action and vexation of the demon. Hence rue, hypericum, goat’s horns, artemisia, the liver of the chameleon, the sandstone and chrysolite, etc., are said to do the same. Because (if this be true) they dispel melancholy, cheer the soul, and so scatter the sorrow, perturbation, anxiety and despair which the demon suggests. See Serarius and Delrio in Magic book 3, question 27, section 1. But the complete cause, driving away the demon, was the Angel Raphael, who at the fumigation of the liver, on account of the merits and prayer of Tobias, put the demon to flight. But Raphael was silent on this, and pretended the fumigation, lest he should reveal himself, and lest Tobias should know “DRIVETH AWAY” (extricat).—Note: It is proper to the demon to entangle (intricare), but to Raphael and the Angels to disentangle (extricare): for as the fisherman strives to ensnare fishes with a hook, and the hunter beasts with a snare, and birds with lime and net, so as to catch them, so the demon contends to entangle body and soul with various pains, greater cares, anguishes, difficulties, scruples, lawsuits, quarrels, concupiscences, so that one cannot extricate oneself, but becomes his prey and that of hell. See St. Gregory, Morals book 32, chapter 17, on that of Job 40:12: The sinews of his testicles are wrapped together. “The arguments of his (the demon’s) suggestions,” he says, “are bound with entangled devices, so as to make many so sin that if perhaps they seek to flee sin, they cannot escape it without another sin, and they commit fault while they avoid it;” and he shows this by various examples, and at length points the way of extricating oneself from this labyrinth by this rule, as by the thread of Ariadne: “When the mind is hemmed in between lesser and greater sins, if no entrance of escape without sin lies open at all, let the lesser always be chosen; because he too who is shut in all around by a circuit of walls, lest he flee, throws himself into flight where the wall is found to be shorter.”
9. “AND THE GALL IS GOOD FOR ANOINTING THE EYES, IN WHICH THERE IS A WHITE SPECK.”—Question: whether Tobias recovered sight by the gall of this fish by its natural force and virtue. I answer affirmatively, God that he was an Angel, whom he had as a man for companion and guide of the way; as for the same reason he called himself Azarias, and ate and drank with Tobias. That it is so the Greek indicates, which does not ascribe this power to the heart of the fish; but has thus: Make the heart and liver smoke before the man, and he shall no more be disturbed; because, namely, at this sign I, by my agreement and promise, will drive away and put to flight the demon, the author of the disturbance. Whence also chapter 8, verse 2, it is said: “Tobias took out of his bag part of the liver, and laid it upon burning coals; then the angel Raphael took the devil, and bound him in the desert:” it was not therefore the liver of the fish, but Raphael, who seized and put the demon to flight, not only from the house of Raguel but from all Media. In like manner magicians and witches harm by certain herbs and signs of sorcery, and kill beasts and children, though those things in themselves are ineffective for this and have no physical force, but only moral, namely from a pact of the demon. For the demon, the sign given by himself being set, inflicts these harms of himself on beasts and infants.
yet with Raphael cooperating and supplying what was lacking to that natural cause, namely the gall of the fish, if indeed that hot dung of the swallows had not extinguished the crystalline humour and inner visual power of Tobias, but had only drawn a film and skin over his eyes; for this the gall of the fish ate away, as is indicated in chapter 11:13. For thus it is said there: “Then Tobias taking of the gall of the fish, anointed his father’s eyes. And he waited about half an hour, and a white skin began to come out of his eyes, like the skin of an egg. And Tobias took hold of it, and drew it from his eyes, and immediately he recovered his sight.” What is clearer; yet clearer still is the Greek there, which has thus: He sprinkled the gall over his father’s eyes, saying: Be of good heart, father. And when they were eaten away, he rubbed his eyes, and the whitenesses were peeled off from the corners of his eyes. And seeing his son, he fell on his neck, and wept, and said: Blessed art thou, O God. Mystically Bede: “The fish which, desiring to devour Tobias, was slain by the Angel’s teaching, signifies the Devil, who, while he sought flesh in our Redeemer, was taken by divine power.” Another says: “Christ is that fish who came up living from the river to Tobias; by whose liver roasted in the passion the devil was put to flight: and by the bitterness of the gall the blind man was breathed upon, and the world was enlightened.” So Optatus of Milevis, book 3 Against Parmenian, takes the fish of the Tigris to be Christ.