Difference between revisions of "The Infernal Dictionary"

The '''''Dictionnaire infernal''''' (English: "Infernal Dictionary") is a book on demonology, describing [[demon]]s organised in [[hierarchy of Hell|hierarchies]]. It was written by Jacques Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book; perhaps the most famous is the 1863 edition, which included sixty-nine illustrations by Louis Le Breton depicting the appearances of several of the demons. Many but not all of these images were later used in [[S. L. MacGregor Mathers]]'s edition of the ''[[Lesser Key of Solomon]]''.

The skepticism of Collin de Plancy increasingly subsided over time. By the end of 1830 he was an enthusiastic Roman Catholic, to the consternation of his former admirers. In later years, De Plancy rejected and modified his past works, thoroughly revising his ''Dictionnaire Infernal'' to conform with Roman Catholic theology. This influence is most clearly seen in the sixth and final 1863 edition of the book, which is decorated with many engravings and seeks to affirm the existence of the demons. de Plancy collaborated with Jacques Paul Migne, a French priest, to complete a Dictionary of the [[occult]] sciences or theological Encyclopaedia, which is described as an authentic Roman Catholic work.

Many articles written in the ''Dictionnaire Infernal'' illustrate the author's vacillation between rationalism, faith, and willingness to believe without evidence. For example, he admits the possible effectiveness of chiromancy, while rejecting cartomancy: "It is certain that chiromancy, and especially physiognomy, have at least some plausibility: they draw their predictions from signs which relate to features which distinguish and characterize people; of lines which the subjects carry with themselves, which are the work of nature, and that someone can believe significant, since they are unique to each individual. But the cards, merely human artifacts, not knowing either the future, nor the present, nor the past, have nothing of the individuality of the person consulting them. For a thousand different people they will have the same result; and consulted twenty times about the same subject, they will produce twenty contradictory productions."