Beatrice DeLaurenti, historian. “The evil eye is a deadly force aimed at the destruction of another”

“He’s got gun eyes, he’s got a killer look,” sang Mark Lavoine in the 1980s hit. , in the vision book (1). It was in the Middle Ages that the doctrine of the power of the soul outside the body was established, which was developed in the 11th century by the Persian physician and philosopher Avicenna, and then by other scientists. The soul is then believed to be closely related to the body and can act upon it. However, the author suggests, these ideas of medieval culture remain very modern. The evil eye is in us.

Madame Figaro. – The belief suggests that the eye has evil and destructive power. How do you define the main features of this evil eye whose story you follow in your book?
Beatrice DeLaurenti. – The evil eye for a person or an animal is the fact that it can harm, injure or kill another person or animal with a simple glance. This belief is confirmed in various places on the planet, from antiquity to the modern world, by a number of recurring features; the evil eye is a deadly or drying force aimed at the destruction of others or their vital resources, and it is associated with a particular emotion, envy; This phenomenon is often described as a flood of negative emotions that can reach others to harm them. Belief in the evil eye unites a whole network of attitudes, emotions, practices and also scientific discourses.

How does the Middle Ages shape this moment in history capable of bringing this faith to life?
Traces of the practice of warding off the evil eye have been found in many diverse societies over a very long period of time. But the medieval period is characterized by a very dense debate about the causes of the evil eye. a debate that spans three centuries and occupies (at least) some fifty authors. This is an impressive figure for the time. It is this aspect that made me work on the subject. I study the history of philosophy, medicine and the theory of magic. However, the power of sight was of interest to all scholars in the Middle Ages; the authors discussing it are university professors. They wonder how a gaze can affect another body; not if it is possible, but how. What are the reasons for this phenomenon? Their aim is to give a natural explanation of the evil eye according to the standards of science of their time.

What explanation?
For example, these scientists reject the idea that we can act at a distance by looking. In this they follow Aristotle, who says that all natural action results from the interaction of an agent and a patient. Therefore, the evil eye cannot be directly, mysteriously exerted by the psychic power that someone would put on their gaze. If there was an effect, it was that in one way or another the charmer touched the charmed. For medieval authors, enchantment is a phenomenon that involves bodies—the bodies of the charmer and his victim. It is comparable to a disease spreading from one person to another. Contrary to what one might imagine, the evil eye in the Middle Ages was not a matter of superstition, it was a matter of science.

How has the definition of glamor evolved since then?
Enchantment, Latin fascination in the Middle Ages it has two meanings. In its precise meaning, it means the act of harming someone by giving them the evil eye. But it also has a broad sense of vague influence that doesn’t particularly apply to the gaze; in this sense it can be translated as “magic”. We find these two meanings in the term “evil eye” today. this word clearly indicates the power of the look, but it is also sometimes used somewhat vaguely to mean bad luck, a generalized “bad luck” without a related look; The two medieval meanings attraction correspond to the two current meanings of “evil eye”. As for the current word “charm”, its meaning has evolved away from the idea of ​​the evil eye, but it retains the idea of ​​the power of the gaze. The word has received a particularly passive meaning: we are fascinated by images, things, people, the sight of which affects us, not being able to resist it.

The evil eye cannot be directly exerted by a psychic force that someone would put into their gaze

Beatrice DeLaurenti

You mention the importance of the doctrine of the “power of the soul outside the body,” developed in the 11th century by the Persian physician and philosopher Avicenna. What does his theory say?
Avicenna believes that the soul is closely related to the body and can act directly on it. He gives the example of dizziness. a man can walk without difficulty on a log placed on the ground, but if it is placed above a precipice, he cannot do so, because his imagination blocks his movement. In some people, Avicenna continues, this power of the soul is stronger; it applies not only to one’s own body, but also to external bodies. This is the case with two types of people. On the one hand, there is the prophet, whose soul is pure, noble and elevated above material contingencies. due to the power of his soul, the prophet can bring rain, calm storms, heal the sick, etc. On the other hand, there is the seducer whose soul is evil and full of envy; he is capable of killing a person with a simple glance. These two figures, one positive and the other negative, embody for Avicenna the possibility of exerting psychic power from a distance. But this teaching of the power of the soul outside the body is not acceptable to Western scientists. When Avicenna’s text was translated into Latin at the end of the 12th century, it caused a stir. This is troubling for many reasons. because it gives humans disproportionate power, and because it implies that we can act at a distance, without contact. Avicenna’s position initiates the discussion of the causes of the evil eye.

In your opinion, this story of the evil eye creates a real “laboratory of modernity”. In what?
Because the issues that caused the evil eye in the Middle Ages are still important today. What are the effects of the psyche on the body? What is contagious and why? Can we act on someone remotely and how? Contagion and remote operations are current issues for us. And medieval philosophers and doctors put forward equally important ideas in their way of answering these questions. They insist on the central role of the body in human interaction; it is through the body that we act because it is like an interface between the inner self and the outer world. These ideas typical of medieval culture are very modern for us.

(1) Evil eye. medieval history, by Béatrice Delaurenti, Éditions du Cerf, 216 p., €21.50.