The verse is similar to a phrase that appears in several places in the
New Testament. Firstly, in the
Gospel of Mark, 8:33, spoken by
Jesus to
Peter is the admonition: "", ('
Get behind me, Satan!') This story is repeated in Matthew 16:23. A similar phrase is used in the
Gospel of Matthew's account of
Christ's Temptation. The exact origin of the passage as a whole is not clear. It is found in an early thirteenth century legend of the
Devil's Bridge at
Sens, wherein an architect sold his soul to the devil and then subsequently repented. M. le Curé of Sens, wearing his stole, exorcised the devil, driving him away with holy water and these words, which he made the penitent repeat.
Leo Dupont The passage came to general attention in 1647, when women who were prosecuted for
witchcraft declared that they had been unable to do harm where there was a cross, and the
St. Michael's Benedictine Abbey in Metten was particularly exempt from their influence. A search of the monastery turned up crosses painted on the walls with the formula's initials. The meaning of those letters remained a mystery for some time, until the complete verses were found in a manuscript dating to 1415 in the abbey's library, next to an image of St. Benedict. The same formula was later found in an
Austrian manuscript from . The manuscript depicts Satan offering a drinking cup to the Saint, who keeps him at bay with a long cross-topped staff carrying a red banner. Below the staff is a single line of text, and below it are six lines of verse, starting with "". The formula received the approval of
Pope Benedict XIV, becoming part of the
Roman Ritual (the liturgical books detailing the offices a priest or deacon may perform) of the
Catholic Church in 1742. The formula's popularity grew considerably in the 19th century, mainly due to the efforts of
Leo Dupont. According to publisher and historian
H. C. Lea (1896): "As a rule... it suffices to wear one [a Saint Benedict medal] devoutly, but, if some
special favor is desired, it is advisable on a Tuesday to say five
Glorias, three
Aves and then three more Glorias to secure the protection of
St. Benedict." The is still included in the
Roman Ritual. Following the 20th-century revision of the liturgical books, the latest version concerning exorcisms was promulgated in 1999 as the volume . The phrase is also used as a witty or scholarly prose device, dissociated from its religious implications, to express strong rejection of an unacceptable (but possibly tempting) proposal, or dread of some looming menace. Namely, in the sense of "do not tempt me!", "I will have nothing to do with that", "will someone deliver us from that", and so on. ==See also==