the expelling of devils from persons possessed, by means of conjurations and prayers. The Jews made great pretences to this power; and Josephus tells several wonderful tales of the success of several performers in this line. According to him, a pretender named Eleazer cured many demoniacs by means of a root set in a ring. This root, with the ring, was held under the patient's nose, and the devil forthwith evacuated the tenement of which he had taken possession. The most part of the conjurors of this class were impostors, each pretending to a secret nostrum or charm, which was an overmatch for the devil.

Exorcism forms no inconsiderable part of the religious system of the church of Rome, the rituals of which forbid the exorcising of any person without the bishop's leave. The ceremony is performed at the lower end of the church, towards the door. The exorcist first signs the possessed person with the figure of the cross, makes him kneel, and sprinkles him with holy water; then follow the litanies, psalms, and prayer; after which the exorcist asks the devil his name, and adjures him by the holy mysteries of the Christian religion not to afflict the person possessed any more. Then, laying his right hand on the daemoniac's head, he repeats the form of exorcism as follows: "I exorcise thee, unclean spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ; tremble, O Satan, thou enemy of the faith, thou foe of mankind, who hast brought death into the world, who hast deprived men of life, and hast rebelled against justice; thou seducer of mankind, thou root of evil, thou source of avarice, discord, and envy." Houses and other places supposed to be haunted by unclean spirits are likewise exorcised; and the ceremony is much the same as that for persons possessed.