The Fathers of the Church, of that age, believed that the demons, or devils, were innumerable; that their chief, Lucifer, had entrusted a demon to accompany each man through life, to tempt him to sin; that Lucifer had as many bad angels, or demons, under his command, as God had good angels; that all those demons were corporeal, and that those male committed fornication and adultery with the daughters of men; and those female with the sons of men; that they had generated the giants; and that they had incited the oppressors of the Christians to persecute them. Thus thought Justin, Tatian, Minutius-Felix, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Julius-Firmicus, Origen, Synesius, Arnobe, St. Gregory of Nazianze, Lactance, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, etc., as seen in their works in either edition of the Benedictines, or of the canon Caillot, of Migne, a priest, now editor in Paris. Even in our days the most of the superstitious practices of the Pagans, in regard to evil spirits, are preserved in the Papal Church,--conjurations, exorcisms, Agnus Dei, holy water, etc., and others which they have added, such as the sign of the cross, the expulsion of the devil from houses, barns, wells, wagons, beasts, fields, etc. These ceremonies are oftentimes performed, as a matter of course, for money. The same took place in the Church of Rome in reference to the heathen dogma of good angels being under the command of the good spirit, or God; this dogma was generally believed even by the Jews, at least since the captivity of Babylon. We say _generally_, because the Sadduceans did not believe it; and perhaps, also, the Samaritans and the Caraïtes, for we have but two testimonies that prove they partook of the opinion of the Samaritans on this point, namely, the testimony of Abusaïd, author of an Arabic version of the Pentateuch, and that of Aaron, in his commentaries of the same. The Papal Church holds still that the angels form three hierarchies, or choirs. The first is that of the Seraphims, Cherubims, and thrones; the second comprises the dominations, the virtues, and the powers; and the third is composed of the principalities, of the archangels, and of the angels. One of these angels, called guardian, is obliged to stand by each one of us all the days of our life. Temples, altars, prayers and sacrifices are offered to them. Tertullian, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, etc., thought that the bodies of the good angels were formed of a very thin, subtle matter. Other Fathers, Basile, Athanase, Cyrille, Gregory of Nysse, John-Chrysostomus, etc., considered them as spiritual beings; however, they believed that they may take a body when they please. The Church of Rome holds, as an article of faith, that the good angels ought to be adored.