Possibly what your colleague had in mind are the stories wherein a
saint (or, alternatively, someone practicing magic) captures a devil
using appropriate Christian rituals, and then forces the demon to speak
the truth. Examples abound, but I can't pull them out right now. Life
of Margaret, I think. A bunch in The Golden Legend. Numerous "magical"
treatises. Perhaps someone with more time that I have this morning
(last day of class, students stressing over the final exam) can think of
some specific ones.
Another possibility is that your colleague was thinking of whether
the Devil is able to actually "do" anything to or with someone or
whether everything he does is illusionary, tricking someone into
believing a false reality and acting on it. This of course involves the
Devil lying quite a bit. And the saint, of course, sees through these
deceptions and forces the demon to speak or reveal the truth.
Karen
--
Dr. Karen Jolly
Associate Professor, History
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
[log in to unmask]
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly
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