V \\

THE N O VE L S
AND MI S C E L LAN E OU S W O RK S

OF DANIE L DE FOE .

D E V IL .
 is

THE N OV E L S
AN D
K

WO R K S
)

M I S C E L LAN EO
U S

D AN I E L D E F O E .

W I TH A BI OGRA PH IC A L ME MO I R OF T H E A U T HOR, L I TE RA RY
P RE F A C E S TO TH E V A R I OU S PI E C E S, I LL U S TRAT I V E N OT E S , E TC .

I N C LU D I N G A LL C ON TA I N E D I N T H E E D I T I ON A TT RI BU TE D T O

T H E L AT E SI R W A LT E R S CO TT,

W I TH C ON SI D E RA BLE A D D I T I ON S .

V OL . ! .

T H E PO L IT IC AL H I ST O R Y O F T H E D E V IL .

O ! F O RD

PR IN TED BY D A. . T AL B O Y S ,

r on T H OMA S T E G G 7 3 C HE AP SI DE, LO ND ON
, ,
'

1 840 .
 THE PO L IT IC A L

HIS T O RY O F T HE D E V IL .

IN O N E V O L U ME .
 a

T HE
V
;

PO L I T I C A L H I S T O R Y
OF T HE

D E V I L
AS WE L L

AN C IEN T AS MO DERN
IN T WO PART S .

PA R T I .

Containing a State of the Devil s C i rcumstances and ,

the var i ous Turns of h i s A ffairs from h is E xpulsion

,

o u t of H eaven to the Creation of Man ; with R emarks

,

on the several M i stakes concerning the R eason and

M anner of his F all .

Also his Proceedings with Mankind ever s i nce Adam ,

to the rst plant i ng of the Christian R eligion i n the

world .

PA R T II .

Cont a ining his more p rivate C onduct down to the pre ,

sent t i mes : Hi s Government his Appearan ces h i s, ,

M anner of Working and the Tools he works with

,
.

B a d a s h e is, th e D ev i l m a y b e a b u s d,

B e f a lsely ch a rg d, a n d c a u seless ly a ccu s d,

Wh en M en u n w illing to be b la m d a lone,

S h if t of th ose C r im es o n H i m w h ich a re th eir O w n .

L ON D ON

P r i nted for T W A R N ER, at the B la ck B oy i n

.

Pa ter noster R ow , 1 7 2 6
-
.
 AS C O N C E RN I N G A

D E D I C A T I O N .

IT is not the easiest thing in the cas e befo r e me to de

termine who has the most right to a dedication of thi s
work .

Ancient usage woul d have directed a solemn author

to address these sheets to the great Maj esty of H eaven ,

in congr atulation of his glorious victory over the Devil

and his angels ; but I decline that method as profane .

The same reason forbids m e addressing to H im who

conquered him on earth and who when the Devil w a s
,

so insolent as to assaul t him made him y like a van

,

u ish ed rebel w ith but the word G t th e b eh i n d m e

q , e e , .

I had then some thoughts of inscribing it to Sata n

himself but I did n g t really kno w how to relish hold
,

ing a parley with the Devil and talking to him in the

,

rst person ; nay and as it were making all my r eaders

, ,

do so too ; and besides as I knew there was so very l ittle

,

in the who l e work that Satan wo ul d be pleased with ,

I w as loath to compliment him while I was exposing ,

him ; which would be to imitate the very hypocrisy by

which he is disting u ished and you might say I played
, ,

the devil with the Devil .

M

These difculties presenting I think the giving my

,

reasons for the makin g no dedication is dedication ,

 T HE C O N T E N T S .

PA RT I .

CHA P . I . Be ing an i ntroducti on to the whole work

CH A P II O f
. . the word devil as i t i s a proper nam e to
,

the D evil and a ny or a ll hi s host angels & c

, , , . 17

C HA P II I
. the original of the D evi l w h o he is wh at
. Of , ,

he w a s before hi s e xp ul s i on out of heave n a n d ,

i n what state he wa s fro m that ti m e to the

creati on of m an
CH A P . I V O f the name of th e D evi l h i s ori ginal a n d
.
, ,

the nature of hi s ci rcumstances s ince he has

been called by that name
CHA P . V O f the stat i on S atan had i n heaven before h e
.

fell ; the nature a n d ori gi nal of hi s cri me , and

so me of Mr M ilton s mi stakes about i t

.

CH A P . V I What became of the D ev il and hi s host of

.

fallen spi rits after the i r be ing expelled fro m

he aven and hi s wandering condi ti on till th e
,

creati on wi th som e more of M r M ilton s ab .

surdi ti es on that subject

V II O f the number of S atan s host
. they
; h ow
came rst to kno w of the new created worlds
n ow i n be i ng a n d the i r measures wi th ma n
,

kind u pon th e di scovery

xii C O N TE N TS .

C HAP . V III O f the p ower . the D ev i l at the ti me of

Of

the creati on of thi s world whether i t has n ot

been further strai tened a nd l i mi ted s i nce that
ti m e a n d what shi fts a n d strat age ms h e i s
,

obl iged to mak e u se of to co mpass hi s de

s igns up on manki nd
C IIA P I!
. . the progress O f S atan i n carryi ng on hi s
Of
con quest over m anki nd fro m the fall of Ev e to ,

the D eluge
C HA P X O f th e D evi l
s second kingdo m and how he

.
,
.

g ot foot i n
g i n the renewed world by h i s v i ctory

over N oah a n d hi s race

CHAP . X I O f G od s calli ng a church out of the mi dst of
.

a degenerate world a n d of S atan s new mea ,

sures u p on that i nc i dent : h ow he attacked the m

i mmedi ately a n d hi s success i n those att a cks
, 1 45

P A R T II .

C H AR . I Introducti on
.

C HA P II . . O f H ell ,
as i t i s represented to u s a nd h ow ,

the D evi l i s to b e understood as be ing p erson

ally in H ell when at the s a me ti me w e nd
, , ,

h im at l iberty rangi ng Over the world

,

C H A R III the ma nner O f S at an s acting and carry

Of

. .

i ng o n h i s affai rs i n th i s world and p arti cularly ,

o f h i s ord i nary worki ng s i n the dark by p os ,

sess i on and agitati on

C HA P IV O f S a tan
s ents or m i ss i onari es a nd the ir

. . ag ,

actings u p on a nd i n the m i n ds of men I n h i s

na me
 CONTE N T S . !( lll

C HA R V
. . i n the P aga n
O f the D ev i l s manage ment

hi erarchy by o mens entrails augurs oracles , , , ,

and s u ch like p a geantry Of hell a n d h ow they

-

went off the stage at last by th e i ntroducti on , ,

of tru e reli gi o n
CH A R . V I O f the e xtraordinary app earances Of the
.

D ev il , a nd p arti cularly Of the cloven foot

CHAR . V II Whether i s most hu rtful to the world th e
. ,

D evi l walking about witho ut hi s cloven foot ,

or the cloven foot walking about without the

D ev i l ?

C H AR. V III .the cloven foot walki ng about the

Of
without the Devil iz of wi tches m aking bar ,
v .

g a i ns for th e D ev i l and p a rt i cularly of sell i ng

,

the sou l to the D evi l

C H AR . I X O f th e tools the D e v i l works w i th v iz
.
, .

wi tches wi z ards or warlocks conjurers magi

, , ,

ei a u s di viners astrologers i nte rpreters of

, , ,

drea ms tellers Of fortunes ; and above a ll th e

, ,

rest hi s p arti cular modern pri vy councillors

,
-
,

called wi ts an d fools
C H AR . X . the vari ous methods the
Of D ev i l takes to
converse wi th manki nd
C H AR. XI . di vinati on sorcery the black art p awaw
Of , , ,

i ng a n d such l ike pretenders to dev il i s m a n d

,
-
,

h o w far the D evi l i s or i s not concern ed i n

the m
TH E C O N C LU S I O N . Of the D ev i l s
last scene of liberty
,

a n d wh a t m a b e supp osed to b e h i s en d w i th
y ,

what w e are to understand of hi s be ing tor

mented for ever a n d ever
 T HE PO L I T I C AL HIST O RY

O F T HE D E V I L .

C HAP I . .

B eing an I n trodu ction to th e w h ole w ork .

I DOU B T n ot but the title of this book will amuse some

Of my reading friends a little at rst ; they will m ake

a pause perhaps as they do at a witch s prayer and be
, , ,

some time a reso l ving whether they had best look into
it or no l est they sho u ld really raise the Devi l by
,

r e ading his sto ry .

Children and Old women have told themse l ves so

many frightful things of the Devil and have formed ,

ideas Of him in their minds in so man y horrible and

,

monstrous shapes that reall y it were enough to fright

,

the Devi l himself to meet himsel f in the dark dressed ,

u
p in the several gures which imagination h a s formed

f or him in the minds Of men ; and as for themselves , ,

I cannot think by any means that the Devil would

terrify them h alf so much if they were to converse
face to face with him .

It must ce rtainly therefore be a most usefu l un der

taking to give the true history Of this tyrant Of the air ,

this god of the world this terr o r and av ersion of

,

H D
. . B
2 T HE P OL ITICA L
mank ind which w e ca ll Devi l ; to S how what he is
, ,

an d w h at he is n ot ; where he is and where he is n ot ;

, ,

when he is in us an d when he is not ; for I cannot

,

doubt but that the Devil is really and bona de in a

great many of ou r honest weak headed frien ds when -
,

they themselves know n othing Of the matter .

N or is the work so di ffic u lt as some may imagin e .

The Devi l s history is n ot so hard to come at as it
seems to be his original and the rst rise of his family
i s upon record ; an d as f or his conduct he h as acted ,

indeed in the dark as to method in many things but

, , ,

i n general as cunning as he is he has been fool

, ,

enough to expose himself in some Of the most con

sidera b le transactions of his life and has not shown ,

himself a politician at all O u r Old friend Machiave l

.
, ,

outdid him in many things and I may in the process ,

of this work give an account Of several of the sons of

Adam an d some societies Of them too who have ou t

, ,

witted the Devil nay w h o have ou t sinned the Devil

,
-
,

a n d that I think may be call ed ou t shooting him in his -

ow n b ow .

It may perhaps be expected of m e in this history ,

that since I seem incl i n ed to S peak favourably of

Satan to do h im j u stice and to write his story im
, ,

partially I S hould take some pains to tell you what

,

religion he is of ; an d even this part may n ot be so

much a j est as at rst sight you may take it to be for
,

Satan has something of religion in him I assure you ; ,

n or is b e such an unprotable Devil that wa y as so m e ,

may suppose h i m to b e ; for though in reverence to ,

my brethren I wil l not reckon him among the clergy ;

,

y et I cannot deny but that he Often preaches and i f it ,

be not protably to his hearers it is as much their ,

fault a s i t is ou t of his des i gn

, .

It has indeed bee n suggested that he has tak en

orders and that a certain pope famous for being an
, ,

extraordinary favourite of h is gave him both in stitu ,

tion an d induction ; but as th i s is not u pon record ,

4 T HE P OL ITIC AL
bel ieves and trembles or ou r modern gent ry of
,

who believe n e i ther G od n or Devil .

H aving thus brought the Devil within th e pal e I ,

shall leave him among you for the present ; n ot but

that I may examine in its order who h a s the best clai m
to his brotherhood the papists or the protestants and
, ,

among the latter the L utherans or the Calvinists an d ,

so descending to all the several denomination s Of

churches see who has less of the Devil in them and
, ,

who m ore ; and whether less or more the Devil has , ,

n ot a seat in every synagogu e a pew i n every church , ,

a place n every pulpit and a vote in e very synod ;

I ,

even from the sanhedrim o f the Jews to ou r friends at ,

the Bull and M outh &c from the greatest t o the least
,
.
, .

It will I confess come very much within th e com

,

pass Of this part of my discourse to give an account , ,

o r at least make an essay towards it Of the share the ,

Devil has had in th e spreading religion in the world ,

a n d especially of dividing and subdividing opinion s i n

r eligion perhaps to eke it ou t and make it reach the
,

further and also to S how h ow far he is or has made

himself a missionary of the famous clan de p r op a ga n da
de it is true we
, nd him heartily employed in a l
most every corner Of the world a d p mp a g a ndu m
er ro r em but that may require a history by itsel f .

As to his propagating religion it is a little hard in ,

deed at rst sight to charge the Devil w ith propaga

, ,

ting religion that is to say if we tak e it literal ly and in

, , ,

the gross ; but if you take it as the Scots insisted to

take the oath Of delity v iz with an explanation it is
,
.
,

plain Satan h a s very Often had a share in the metho d ,

if not in the design of propagating Christian faith : for

,

example
I think I do n o inj ury at a ll to the Devil to say that ,

h e had a great b a n d in the Old ho ly war as it w a s ,

i gnorantly and enthusiastically ca lled ; and in stirring

up the Christian princes and powers Of E urope to r un
a madding after th e Turks and Sar ac e ns and make ,
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE DEV IL 5 .

w ar with those i nnocent people above a thousand miles

O ff only because they entered into God s heritage whe n
,

h e had fo r saken it graze d upon his ground when he

,

had fairly turned it into a common and laid it ope n

for the next comer ; spending the nation s treasure and ,

embarking their kings and p eople I say in a war , ,

above a thousand miles Off lling their heads with that

,

religious madness called in those days holy zeal to
, , ,

r eco v er the ter m sa n cta the se p ulchres of Christ an d

,

the saints and as they called it falsely the holy city
, , ,

though tru e religion says it was the accursed city and ,

not worth spending on e drop Of blood for .

This rel i gious bubble was certainly Of Satan who as he , ,

c r aftily dre w them in so like a tr u e Devil he le ft the m

,

i n the l u rch when they came there faced about to th e ,

Saracens animated the immortal Saladin against them

, ,

and managed so dexterously that he left the bones of

about thirteen or fourteen hundred thousand Christian s
there as a tro p hy of his i nfernal politics ; and after the
Christian world had run a la sa n ta ter r a or in E nglish , ,

a sauntering about a hundred years he dropped it to p la y ,

another game less foolish but ten times wickeder than

,

that which went before it namely turning th e c ru sa, ,

does of the Christians on e aga i nst another ; and as ,

H udibras said in anothe r case ,

M ade the m ght l ike m a d or drunk,

For da me Reli gi on as for p unk .

Of
this you have a complete account in the history

Of the po p es decrees again st the co u nt de Toulouse ,

and the Waldenses and Alb i genses with the crusadoes ,

and massacres which followed upon them wherein to , ,

do the Devil s politics some j ustice h e met with all the ,

success he could desire and the zealots Of that day

,

executed his infernal orders most punctually and ,

planted rel i g i on in those countr i es in a glorious and

triumphant manner u pon the destruction Of an innit e
,
6 T HE P OL ITICA L
n umbe r Of innocent people whose b l ood h as fattened ,

the soil for the growth of the Catholic fa i th in a manner ,

.

very particular and to Satan s full satisfaction
, .

I m ight to complete this part of his history give

, ,

o u the detail Of his progress i n these rst steps o f his

y
all iances with R ome and add a long list Of m a ssacres
, ,

wars and expeditions in behalf of religion which he

, ,

has had the honour to have a visible hand in ; such as

the P a r isian massacre the F lemish war under the duke ,

d Alva the S m ith eld res in the Mar i an days in
,

E ngland and the massacres in Ireland ; all which

,

would most e ffectually convince u s that the Devil has

n ot been idl e in his business ; but I may m eet with

these aga i n in my way it is eno u gh whi l e I am upon , ,

the generals only to mention them thus in a summary

,

w a y ; I say it is en ough to prove that the Devil has

,

really been as much concerned as anybody in the ,

m ethods taken by some people for propagating the

Christian religion in the world .

Some have rashly an d I had almost said maliciously

, ,

charged the Devil with the great triumphs Of his frien ds

the Spaniards in America and would place the ,

conquest of Mexico an d P eru to the credit Of his a c

count .

But I cannot j oin with them in this at al l I must ,

sa
y I believe
, the Devil was innocent Of that matter ;
m y reason i s because Satan was n ever such a fool as
, ,

to spend his time or his politics or embark his allies ,

to conquer n ation s who were already his own ; that

would be Satan again st Beelzebub a making war upo n ,

himself and at least doing nothing to the p urpose

,
.

If they sho u ld charge him indeed with deluding , ,

P hilip II Of Spain into that preposterous attempt called

.

the Armada ( An glic e the Spanish Invasion ) I should

, , ,

indeed more rea d ily j oin with them ; b u t whether he

did it weakly in h Ope which was indeed n ot likely
, , ,

that it should succeed ; or wickedl y to destroy th e ,

great fle e t Of the Spania r ds an d draw them in within

 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 7
the r each of his ow n dominions the elements ; this ,

being a question which authors di ff e r exceedingly

about I shall leave it to decide itsel f
,
.

But the greatest piece of management which we n d

the Devil has concern ed himself in Of late i n the matter ,

Of religion seems to be that Of the mission into China ;

,

and here indeed Satan has acted his masterpiece It .

w a s no doubt much for his service that the Chinese

, , ,

should have n o insight into matters of religio n I mean ,

that w e call Christian ; and therefore though popery ,

an d the Devil are n ot at so much variance as some may

imagine yet he did not think it safe to let the genera l
,

system of Christianity be heard Of among them in China .

H ence when the name of the Christian religion had

,

but been received with some seeming a pprob a tion i n

the country Of Japan Satan immediately as if alarmed , ,

at the thing and dread i ng what the consequence of it

,

might be armed the Japanese a gainst it with such

,

fury that they expelled it at once

, .

It was much safer to his designs when if the story , ,

be not a ction he pu t that Dutch witt i cism into the,

mouths of the States commanders when they came to ,

Japan ; w h o having more wit than to ow n themselves

,

Christians in such a place as that when the question ,

was put to them answered n egatively that they were , ,

not but that they were Of another religion called H ol

, ,

l anders .

H owever it seems the diligent Jesuits outwitte d

,

the Devil in China and as I sa i d above overshot h im , , ,

in his ow n bow ; for the mission being in danger by the ,

Devil and the Chinese emperor s j oining together Of ,

being wholly expelled there too a s they had been i n ,

Japan they cunningly fell in with the ecclesiastics of

,

the country and joining the priestcraft of both religion s

,

together they brought Jesus Christ and Confuciu s to

,

be so reconc ilable that the Chinese and the R oman ,

idolatry appea r ed capable of a confederacy of going on ,



8 T HE PO L I T I C A L

hand in ha n d togethe r, a nd consequent ly Of bei ng ve r y

good friends .

This was a maste rpiece indeed and as they say , , ,

al most frightened Satan o u t of hi s wits ; but he being a

r eady manage r and particularly famous for serving

,

himself of the rogueries Of the priests faced about im ,

mediatel y to the mission an d making a v irtue Of ,

n ecessity c l apped in with a ll possible alacrity with the

, , ,

proposal ; so the Jesuits and he formed a hotch p otc h

"

of religion made up o f pope ry a n d paganism an d ca l

, ,

c u lated to leav e the latter rather worse than they

foun d it b l ending the faith of Christ and the philosoph y
,

or morals Of Confu cius together and formally ch risten ,

v

ing them by the name of religion ; by which mean s th e

p olitic interest Of the mission was preserved and yet ,

Satan l ost not on e inch of gr ound with the Chinese n o , ,

n ot by the planting the gospel itself such as it was , ,

am ong them .

Nor has it been much disadvantage to him that this

plan or sche m e Of a n ew modeled religion would n ot -

go down at R ome an d that the In quisition damn ed it

,

with bell book an d candle ; distance of place served

, ,

his n ew allies the missionaries in the stead Of a pro

, ,

tection from the Inquisition ; and n ow and then a r ich

present wel l placed found them friends in the congrega
tion itself ; and where any nuncio with his impudent zeal
p r etended t o take such a long voyage to Oppose them ,

Satan took care to get him sent back r e i nf ec ta or in ,

spired the mission to move him off the premises by ,

methods of their own that is to say being interpret ed , , ,

to murde r him .

Th u s the mission has in itsel f been t r uly devilish , , ,

and the Devil has interested himself in the planti ng the

Christian religion in China .

a
B H e never refused setting hi s hand to any Opini on
N . .

whi ch he thought i t for hi s i nterest to acknowledge .

 H I STORY O F T HE D EV IL 9 .

The in fluence the Devil has in the po l itics of man

kind is another especial part of his history and would
, ,

require if it were possible a very exact description ;

, ,

but here we shall n ecessarily be obliged to inquire so

n icely into the arcan a of circumstances and u nlock ,

the cabinets of state in so many courts canvass th e ,

councils of ministers and the conduct Of princes so

fully an d expose them so much that it may perhaps
, , , ,

make a combustion among the great polit i cian s abroad ;

and in doing that we may com e so n ear home too that ,

tho ugh personal safety and prudentials forbid o u r med

dlin g with ou r own country we may be taken in a ,

double entendre and fall unpitied for bei n g only su s

,

ected of touching truths that are so ten der whether

p ,

w e are guilty or n o ; on these accounts I must meddle

the less w i th that part at least for the present
, .

Be it that the Devil has had a share in some Of the

late councils of E urope inuenci n g them this way or
,

that w ay to his ow n advantage what is it to u s ? F or

, ,

example what if he has had a n y concern in the late

,

f f ?
a fair o Thorn what need we p ut it upon him seeing ,

his confederates the Jesuits with the Assessorial tri

bunal Of P oland take it upon themselves ? I shall leave
that part to the issue of time I wish it were as easy .

to persuade the world that h e had n o hand in br i nging

the inj ured protestants to commit the ab itration of that
a ff air to the very party and leave the j ustice due to
,

the cries Of protestant blood to the arbitrement of a

popish power wh o dare say that the Devil must be i n
,

it if j ustice should be Ob ta ih ed that w ay : I should

,

rather say the Devil is in it or else it wou l d n eve r be

, ,

expected .

It occurs next to inquire from the premises whether ,

the Devil h a s more inuence or less in the a ff airs Of

the world n ow than he had in former ages ; and th i s
,

will depend upon comparing as we go along his m e, ,

th ods and w a Of working in past times and the

y ,

modern polit i cs by which he acts in ou r days ; with the

10 T H E PO L IT I C A L
\

di ff ering reception whic h he has met with among the

men of such distant ages .

Bu t there is so m uch to inquire of about the Devil ,

before we can bring his story down to ou r modern

times that we must for the present let that drop and
, ,

look a little back to the remoter part of his history ,

and dra w his picture that people may know him when
they meet him an d see who and what he is and what
, ,

he has been doing ever since he got leave to act i n th e

high st a tion he n ow ap p ears in .

In the m ean time if I might obtain leave to pre

,

sent a n humble petition to Satan it should be that he , ,

would according t o modern u sa ge oblige us all with

, ,

writing the history of his own times ; it would as well ,

as on e that is gone before it be a devilish good on e ; ,

f or as to the sincerity of the per f orman c e the a u th o

, ,

rity of the particulars the j u stice of the characters &c

, , .
,

if they were n o better vouched no more consistent ,

with themselves with charity with truth and with th e

, , ,

honour of an historian than the last of that kin d which

,

came abroad among us it must be a reproach to th e ,

Devi l himself to be author of it .

Were Satan to be brought under the l east obligatio n

to write truth and that the matters of fact which he
, ,

sho uld write might be depended upo n he is ce rtainly

, ,

qualied by his knowledge of things to be a complete h is

torian ; n or could the bishop himself wh o by the way has , , ,

given us a lready the devil of a history come up to ,

him Milton s P an demonium though an excellent dra
.
,

matic performance would appear a mere triing sing

,

song business ben eath the dignity of Chevy Chase

,

the Devil could give u s a true account of all the civil .

wars in heaven ; how an d by whom and in what man ,

n er he lost the day there and was obliged to qui t the ,

eld The ction of his refusing to acknowl edge and

.

submit to the Messiah upon his being declared gene ,

rali ssi m o of the heavenly forces which Satan expect e d ,

himself as the eldest o fficer ; and his n ot being abl e to

,
12 T HE P OL ITICAL
the creatures came volunteer to him to go into the ark ,

or whethe r he went a hunting for several years before

-
,

in order to bring them together .

H e could give us a true relation h ow he wheedled

the people of the next world into the absurd ridic u ,

l ous undertaking of building a Bab el ; how fa r that stu

pe ndons staircase which was in imagination to reach
,

up to heaven was carried be fore it was interrupted

, ,

and the builders confounded ; h ow their speech was

a l tered how many tongues it was divided into or
, ,

whether they were divided at al l and how many su b

divisions or dialects have been made since that by ,

which means very few of God s creatures except the ,

brutes understand on e another or care one farthing

, ,

whether they do or n o .

In al l these things Satan who n o doubt would , , ,

make a very good chronologist could settle every ,

epoch correct every calendar and bring al l o u r a c

, ,

counts of time to a general agreement as well th e ,

G r ecian O lympiads the Turkish H egira the Chinese

, ,

ctitious accounts of the world s duration as ou r blind ,

Jul ian and Gregorian accounts wh i ch put the world , ,

t o this day in such con f usion that we neither agree in

, ,

o u r holy days or wor k ing days fasts or feasts n or , ,

keep the same sabbath in any part of the same globe .

T h is great antiquary could bring us to a certainty

in all the di fculties of ancient story an d tell us whe ,

ther the tale of the Siege of Troy and the R ape of ,

H elen was a fable of H omer or a history ; whether the

, ,

ctions of the poets are formed from thei r ow n brain ,

or founded in facts and whether letters were invented

,

by Cadmus the P h oenician or dictated immediately ,

fro m heaven at mount Sinai .

Nay he could tell us h ow and in what manner he

,

wheedled E ve deluded A dam put Cain into a passion

, , ,

till he made h im murder his ow n brother ; and made

Noah w h o was above ve hundred years a preacher of
,

r ighteousn ess tur n sot in his old age dishonou r all his
, ,
 H I S TORY O F T HE D EV IL 13 .

ministry debauch himself with win e and by getting

, ,

drunk and exposing himself became the j est and laugh ,

ing stock of his ch i ldren and of all his posterity to this

-
,

daf
An d would Satan accor ding to the modern practice
,

of the late right reverend historian enter into the cha ,

ra cters of the great men of his age h ow should we be di ,

verted with the j ust history of Adam in Paradise and ou t ,

of it his character and how he beha v ed at and a fter

, ,

his expulsion ; h ow Ca i n wandered in the l a nd of N od ,

what the mark w a s which God set upon him whose ,

daughter his wife w a s and how big the city was he ,

built there according to a certain poet of noble extrac

,

tion ,

How C ai n in land of Nod

th e
When t he rascal w a s a ll alone
L i k e an ow l in a n i vy tod
B ui lt a c ity as b ig as R oan .

RO C H .

H e could certainly have drawn E ve s picture told

us every feature in her face and every inch in her ,

shape whether sh e w a s a perfect beauty or n o an d

, ,

whether with the fal l she d i d grow crooked u gly ill , ,

natured and a scold ; as the learned V aldemar suggests

to be the e ffect of the curse .

Descendi n g to the characters of the patriarchs in

that age he might no doubt give us in particular the
, , ,

Characters of Belus worshipped under the name of ,

Baal Saturn and Ju p iter h is successors who they

, , ,

were here and h ow they behaved ; with all the Pha

,

ra oh s of E gypt the Ab i milech s of Canaan an d th e

, ,

monarchs of Assyria and Babylon .

H ence also he is able to write the lives of al l th e

heroes of the world , from Alexander of Macedon to
L ewis ! IV and from A ugustus to th e great king
.
,

George ; n or could the bishop himsel f go beyond h im

31 4 T HE POL ITICAL
f or attery any more than the Devi l himsel f could go
,

beyond the bishop for falsehood .

I could enlarge with a particular s atis fac tion upo n

the many ne things which Satan rummaging that i n ,

exhaustable storehouse of slander could set down to ,

blacken the characters of good men and load the bes t ,

princes of the world with infamy and reproach

But we shall n ever prevail with him I doubt to do , ,

mankind so much service as resolving all those dii

c u lties would be ; for he has an indelible grudge again st

us ; as he believes and perhaps is assured that men

, ,

were at rst created by his sovereign to the intent ,

that after a certain state of probation in life s uch of

, ,

the m as shall be approved are appointed to ll up ,

those vacancies in the heavenly host which were made ,

by the abdication and expulsion of him the Dev i l and

his angels ; so that man is appointed to come in Satan s
stead to make good the breach and enj oy all those
, ,

ine ffa ble j oys an d beatitudes which Satan enj oyed b e

fore his fall N O wonder then that the Devil swell s
.
, ,

with envy and rage at m a nk in d i n general and at the ~

best of them in particular ; n ay the granting this point ,

is giving an unanswerable reason why the Devil pra c

tises with suc h u nwearied and indefatigable applica
tion upon the best men if possible to disappoint , ,

God Almighty s decree that he sho u ld n ot n d enough
,

among the whole race to be proper subj ects of his

clemency and qualied to s ucceed the Dev i l an d his
,

host or ll u p the places vacant by the fall ! It is true

, ,

indeed the Devil w h o we have reason to say is no

, ,

fool ought to know better than to suppose that if he

,

could seduce the whol e race of m ankind and make

the m a s bad as himself he could by the success of his
, ,

wickedness thwart or disap point the determined pur

,

poses of heaven ; but that those which a re appointed

to inherit the thron es which he and his followers ah
dica ted and were deposed from shall certainly be pre ,
~

s erv e d in spite of all his devices for that inheritance ,

 H ISTO RY OP T HE D EV I L . 15

and shal l have the possession secured to them not ,

withstanding all that the D c vil and all the host of H ell
can do to prevent it .

But however he knows the certainty of this and

, , ,

that when he endeavours the seducing the chosen ser

vants of the Most H igh he ghts aga i nst God himself , ,

struggles with irresistible grace an d makes war with ,

innite power undermining the Church of God an d

,

that faith in him which are fortied with eternal pro

mises of Jesu s Christ that the gates of H ell that i s to , ,

sa
y
,
the Devil and all his power shall n ot preva i l aga i nst

them ; I say however he knows how impossible it is

, ,

that he should obtain his ends yet so bl i n d is his rage , ,

so infatuate is his wisdom that he cannot refrain break ,

in g himself to p ieces against this mountain and S plit ,

ting against th i s rock gu i Jup iter v u lt p erdere h os ,

dem en ta t .

But to leave this serious part which is a little too ,

solemn for the account of this rebel ; seeing we are

,

n ot to expect he will write his ow n history for our i n

formation and diversion I shall see if I cannot write ,

it for him : in or der to this I sh all extract the su b ,

stance of his whole story from the beginn i ng to ou r ,

own times which I shall collect ou t of what is com e to

,

hand whether by revelation or inspiration that is

, ,

nothin g to him I shall take care so to improve my i n

,

telligen ce as may make my account of h i m authentic

, ,

and in a word such as the Devil himself shall n ot b e

, ,

able to contradict .

In writing th i s uncouth story I shall be freed from

the cen sures of the critics in a more than ordinary ,

manner upon on e account especially ; that my story

,

shall be so j ust and so well grounded and after , ,

all the good things I shall say of Satan w i ll be so l ittle ,

to his satisfaction that the Devil h i mself will n ot b e ,

able to say I dealt wit h the Devil in writ i ng it : I

,

might perhaps give you some account where I had

, ,

my intelli gence and h ow all the arcana of his manage

,
16 T HE P O L ITIC A L
ment have come to my hands ; but pardon m e gentl e ,

men this would be to betray conversation an d to dis

, ,

c over my agents an d you kno w statesm en are very

,

ca r eful to preserve th e correspon den ces they keep in

'

th e enemy s country lest they expose their friends to

the resentment of the powers whos e councils they

betray .

Besides the l earn ed tell us that ministers of state

, ,

make an excellent plea of their n ot betraying their in

telligen c e again st all party inquiries into the great
,

s ums of money pretended to b e paid for secret service ;

an d whether the secret service was to bribe people to

betray things abroad or at home ; whether the money
w a s paid to somebody or to n obody ; employed to es
tab lish correspondences abroad or to establish families ,

a n d amass treasure at home ; in a word whether it ,

was to serve their co u ntry or serve themselves it has ,

bee n the same thing and the same ple a has been their
,

p r otection : likewise in the important a ffair which I

,

a m upon it is hoped you will n ot desire me to betray

,

m y correspondents ; for you know Sat a n is n aturally ,

crue l and malicious and who knows what he might do

,

to show his resentme n t ? at l east it might endanger a

stop o f ou r intelligence for the future .

And yet before I have done I shall make it very

, ,

plain that however my information may be secret an d

, ,

difficul t that yet I came very honestly b y it and shall

, ,

make a very good u se of it ; for it is a great mistake in

those who think that an acquaintance with the a ffairs
of the Devi l may n ot be made very useful to u s a l l

they that kno w no evil can kn ow n o good ; a n d as the ,

learned tel l us that a stone taken ou t of the head of a

,

toad is a good antidote against poison so a competent ,

knowl e dge of the Devil an d all his ways may be ,

the best help to make us defy th e Devil and al l his

works .
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 17

C H A P II . .

Of th e w or d dev il, a s i t is a p r op er n a me to th e D ev il,

a nd a n or a ll h is h ost, a n els,
y g

IT is a question not yet determined by the learned

, ,

whether the word Devil be a singular that is to say , ,

the name of a person stan ding by himself, or a noun of

multitude ; if i t be a singular and so must be used ,

personally only as a proper name it consequently implies ,

on e imperial devil monarch or god of the whole clan of

,

H ell ; j ustly d i stinguished by the term The Devil or a s , ,

the Scots call him The muck le horned Dee l or as ,

-

others in a wilder dialect The Devil of H ell that i s to , ,

sa The Devil of a devil ; or ( better st i ll ) as the Scrip

y,

ture expresses it by way of emphasis the great red

, ,

dragon the Devil and Satan

, , .

But if w e take this word to be as above a noun of , ,

multitude and so to be used ambidexter as occasion

, ,

presents singular or p lural then the Devil signies

, ,

Satan by himself or Satan with all his legions at h i s

,

heels as you please more or less ; and this way of n u

, ,

derstan din g the word as it may be very convenient for ,

my purpose in the account I am n ow to give of the i n

,

f ern al powers so it is not a l together improper in the

,

nature of the thing It is thus expressed in Scripture.

,

where the person possessed ( Matt i v is rst said to . .

be possessed of the Devil singular ; and ou r Saviour asks ,

him as speaking to a single person Wh a t is thy n a me ?

, ,

and is answered in the plural and singular together ,

My n a me is L eg ion f or w e a re m a ny ,
.

Nor w i ll it be any wrong to the Devil supposing ,

him a s i ngle person ; seeing entitling him to the con

duct of all his inferior agents is what he will take ,

H D . . C
18 T HE P OL ITICA L
ra th er _ foran addition to his infe r nal gl ory than a ,

diminution or l essening of him in the extent of his

f ame .

H aving thus articl ed with the D e vi l for libe rty of

speech 1 shall talk of him sometimes in the singular
, ,

as a person and sometimes in the plural as a host of

, ,

devils or of infernal spirits ; j ust as occasion requires

, ,

a n d as th e history of his a ff airs makes n ecessary .

But before I e n ter upon any part of his history the ,

nature of the thing calls me back and my l ord B of ,

in his l ate famous orations in defen ce of liberty ,

summon s m e to prove that there is such a thing or

such a perso n as the Devil ; and in short unless I can , ,

give some evidence of his existence as my l ord ,

said very well I am talking of nobody ,

.

Dm n m e sir says a gr aceless co mrade of his to a

, ,

great man your grace will go to the Devil

,
.

Dm m ye sir says the d , then I shall go n o

,

where ; I wonder where you intend to go ?

Na y to the D ,
1 too I doubt says Grace l ess for , , ,

I am almost as wicked as my lord duk e .

D Thou art a silly empty dog says the d

.
,

and if there is such a place as a hell though I b e ,

l ieve nothing of it it is a place for fools such as thou

, ,

art .

GR I wonde r then what heaven the great wit s go

.
, ,

to such as my lord duke ? I don t care to go there let

,

,

it be where it wil l ; they are a plaguy tiresome kind of

people there s n o bearing them they ll make a h ell
, ,

wherever they come .

D P rithee hol d thy fool s tongue ; I tell thee if
.
, ,

there i s any such place as we call n owhere that s all ,

the heaven or hel l that I know of or believ e anything ,

about .

GR V ery good my lord

. so that heaven is n o
,

where and hell is nowhere an d the Devil is nobody

, , ,

accordi n g to my lord duke !

D Y es sir and what then ?
; , ,
20 T HE P OL I T ICAL
I had th e o r dering of you I d make y ou sensibl e of it ; ,

l

d

l make you think yourself da m n d f or want of a D e vi l .

G R That s l ike on e of your gr ace s paradoxes such

.

a s when ou swore by G od that o u did not believe

y y ,

there was any such thing as a G od or Devil ; so you

swear by n othing an d damn me to n owhere , .

D You are a critical dog ; who taught you to b e

.

lieve these solemn tri es ? who taught you to say there

is a God ?
GR Nay I h a d a bette r schoolmaster than my l o r d
.
,

duke .

D Why w h o was you r sch oolmaster pray ?

.
, ,

G R The Devil an t please your grace
.
, .

D The d evil ! th e devil he did ! What you re

.
,

going to quote Scripture are yo u ? Prithee don t tell ,

me of Scripture I kn ow what you mean th e dev ils , ,

b eliev e a n d tr emble ; why then I have the whip han d -

of the Devil f or I hate trembling and I am delivered

, ,

from it e ffectual l y for I never believed anything of it , ,

and therefore I don t tremble .

GR And there indeed I am a wickeder creature

.
, ,

than the Devil or even than my l ord duke for I b e , ,

liev e and yet don t tremble neither
,
.

D Nay if you are com e to you r penitentials I

.
, ,

hav e done with you .

GR And I think I must have done with my lord

.

duke for the same reason

,
.

D Ay ay pray do I ll go and enj oy myself ; I won t
.
, , ,

throw away the pleasu r e of my life ; I know the con

sequence of it .

GR And I ll go an d reform myse l f; el se I know the

.

conseq u ence too .

This short dialogue happened between two men of

quality and both men of w it too and the e ffect was
, ,

that the L ord bro u ght the reality of the Devil into the
question and th e debate brought the pro igate to be
,

a penitent so in short the Devi l was made a preacher

, ,

of repentance .
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 21

Th e truth is God and the Devil however O p posite

, ,

in their nature and remote from on e another in their

,

place of ab i ding seem to stand pretty much upon a

,

level in our faith : for as to ou r believing the reality of

the i r existence he that denies on e generally denies
, ,

both ; and he that believes on e necessarily believes ,

Very few if any of those w h o belie v e there is a G od

, , ,

and acknowle dge the debt of homage which mankind

owes to the su p reme Governor of the world doubt the ,

e xistence Of the Devil except here an d there one , ,

whom we c alll pra ctical atheists and it is the character !

.
,

of an atheist if there I s such a creature on earth that

, , ,

l ike my lord duke he believes neither God nor Devil

, .

AS the belief of both these stands u pon a level an d ,

that God and the Devil seem to have an equal share

in ou r faith ; so the evidence of their existence seems
t o stand upon a level too in many things and as they ,

are known by their works in the same particular cases ,

so they are discovered after the same manner of

d e monstration .

Nay in some respects it is equally criminal to deny

, ,

the reality of them both only with this di fference that , ,

to believe the existence of a God is a debt to nature ,

and to believe the existence of the Devil is a like debt

to reason on e is a demonstration from the reality ofl
visible causes and the othe r a deduction from the like
,

r eality of their e ffects .

O n e demon stration of the existence of G od is from ,

the universal well guided consent of all n ations to

-

wo r shi p and adore a supreme power on e demonstra

tion of the existence of the Devil is from the avowed ,

ill guided consent of some nations who knowing n o

-
,

other god make a god of the Devil fo r want of a

,

better.

It may be tru e that those nations hav e no other

,

ideas of the Devil than as of a super i or po wer if they

thought h i m a supreme power i t would hav e other
22 T HE P OL I T ICAL
e ff ects on them and they woul d submit to an d wo r sh ip
,

h im with a di fferent kin d of fear .

But it is plain th ey have right notion s of him as a

devil or evil spirit because the best reason and in
, , ,

some places the only reason they give for worshipping ,

him is that he m ay do them n o hu rt ; having n o

,

notions at al l of his having any power muc h l ess any ,

inclination to do them any good ; so that indeed they

, , ,

make a mere devil of him at the same time that they ,

b ow to h im as to a god .

All the ages of paganism in the worl d have had this

n otion of the Devil : indeed I n some parts of the ,

world they had also some deities which they hon oured
,

above him a s bei n g supposed to be b en ec en t kind

, , ,

and inc l in e d a s wel l as capable to give them good

, ,

things ; fo r this r eason the more pol ite heathens such ,

as the Grecian s and the R omans had their L ares or , ,

household gods who they paid a particular respect to

, ,

as bein g th e ir protecto r s from hobgoblins ghosts of th e ,

dead evi l spirits frightful appearances evil geniuses

, , , .

an d other noxious creatures from the invisible world

or to put it into the language o f the day we l i v e in
, ,

from the Devil in whatever shape or appearan ce he

,

might come to them an d from whatever might hurt ,

them And wha t was all this but setting up devi l s

.

against devils suppl icating on e devil under the n otio n

, ,

Of a good spirit to drive o ut and protect them fro m

,

another whom they call ed a bad spirit ; the white

,

devil against the black devil ?

This proceeds from the natural notions mankin d

n ecessarily entertain of things to come ; superior or in

ferior God and the Devil ll up al l futurity in ou r
, ,

tho u ghts ; and it is impossible for us to for m any

images in ou r minds of an immortality and an invisible
world but under th e notions of perfect felicity or ex
, ,

treme misery .

N ow as these two respect the eterna l state of man

,

after l ife they are r especti v ely the obj ect of ou r reve
,
 H ISTORY O R T HE D EV I L . 23

r enc e and a ffectio n or of ou r horror a n d aversion ; but

,

n otwithstanding they are placed thus in a d i ametrical

opposition in ou r a ff ections and passions they are on ,

a n evident l evel as to the certainty of their existence ,

and as I said above bear an equal share in ou r faith

, ,
.

It being then as certain that there is a Devil as ,

that there is a God I must from this time forward ,

admit n o more doubt of his existence nor take any mor e ,

pains to convince you of it ; but speaking of him as a

reality in bein g proceed to inquire w h o he i s and
, ,

from whence in order to enter directly into the detai l

,

of his history .

Now not to enter into all the metaphysical trumpery

,

of the schools nor wholly to conn e myself to the lan

,

guage of the pulpit where w e are told that to think , ,

of God and of the Devil we must endeavour rst to ,

f orm ideas of those things which illustrate the descrip

tion of rewards and punishment ; in the on e the
etern al presence of the highest good and as a n eces , ,

sary attendant the most perfect consummate durable

, , ,

bliss and felicity springing from the presence of that

,

being i n whom all possible beatitude is inexpressibly

present a nd that in the highest perfection and on the
,

contrary to conceive of a sublime fallen archangel a t

, ,

tended with an innumerable host of degenerate r ebel ,

seraphs or angels cast ou t of heaven together al l

, ,

guilty of inexpressible rebellion and all su ff ering from ,

that time an d to su ff er for ever the eternal vengeance

, ,

of the Al m ighty in an inconceivable manner ; that his

,

presence though blessed in itself is to them the most

, ,

complete article of terror that they are in themselves

pe rf ectly miserable ; and to be with whom for ever ,

adds an inexpress i ble misery to any state as wel l as

place and lls the minds of those w h o are to be or
, ,

expect to be banished to them with inconceivable h or

, ,

r or and amazement .

But when you have gone over all this and a great
'

deal more of the like though less intelligible language , ,

24 T HE P OL ITIC A L
which the passion s of men collect to amuse on e a n
other with you have said nothing if you omit the
,

main article namely the personality of the Devil ; and

, ,

till you add to all the rest some description of the

company with whom all this is to be su ffered V iz th e , .
'

Dev i l and his angels .

N ow who this Devil and his angels are wha t

, ,

share they have either actively or passively in the eter

nal miseries of a future state how far they are agents ,

i n or partn ers with the su ff erings of the place is a dif ,

c u lty yet n ot fully discovered b y the most l earned ;

nor do I believe it is made less a di fculty by their
meddling with it .

But to come to the person and or i ginal of the

Devil or as I said before of devils ; I allow him to
, , ,

come of an ancient family for he i s from heaven an d , ,

more truly than the R omans coul d say of thei r idolized

Numa he is of the race of the gods
,
.

That Satan is a fallen angel a rebel seraph cast o u t , ,

for his rebellion it is the general opinion and it is n ot

, ,

my business to dispute things universally received ; a s

he was tried condemned and the sentence of expulsion
, ,

executed on him in heaven he is in this world like a ,

transported felon never to return ; his crime whatever

, ,

particul ar a ggravat i on s it might hav e it is certain ,

amounted to high treason against his lord an d gover

-

n o r who was also his maker an d a gainst whom he

, ,

rose in rebellion took u p arms and in a word raised

, , , ,

a horrid an d unnatural war in h is dominions ; but

being overcome in battle and made prisoner he an d a ll ,

his host whose numbers were innite all glorious

, ,

angels like himself lost at once their beauty and glory

,

w it h th eir innocence and commenced devils being

, ,

transformed by crime into monsters and frightful

obj ects ; such as to describe human fan cy is obliged ,

to dra w p i ctures and descriptions in such for ms as ar e

most hateful and frightful to the imagination .

Thes e notions , I doubt n ot gave bi rth to al l the ,

 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 25

b ea utiou s images and sublime expression s in Milton s
maj estic poem ; where though he has played the poet
,

in a most luxuriant manner he has s i nned against

,

Satan most egreg i ously and don e the Devil a manifest

,

i nj ury in a great many particulars as I shall S how in ,

its place And as I shall be obliged to do Satan j us

.

t i ce when I come to that p a rt of h is history Mr Mil , .

ton s admirers must pardon me if I let them see that

,

though I admire Mr Milton as a poet yet that he was

.
,

greatly ou t i n matters of history a n d especially the ,

history of the Dev i l ; i n sho rt that he has charged ,

Satan falsely in several particulars ; a n d so he has

Adam and E ve too : but that I sh all leave till I come
to the history of the royal family of E den which I re
sol v e to present you with when the De v il and I have
done with on e another .

But not to run down Mr Milton neither whose .

,

poet ry n or his j udgm ent cannot be re p roached with

, ,

ou t inj ury to o u r ow n ; all those bright idea s of h is ,

which m ake his poem so j ustly valued whether they ,

are ca p able of proof as to the fact are notwithstanding , , ,

conrmations of my hypothesis ; and are taken from a

supposition of the personal i ty of the Dev i l placing him ,

at the head of the infernal host as a sovereign elevated

,

spirit and monarch of H ell ; and as such i t is that I

undertake to write his history .

By the word H ell I do n ot suppose or at least n ot

, ,

determine that his residence or that of the wh ole army

, ,

o f devils is yet in the same local hel l to which the di

,

vines tell u s he shall be at last chained down ; or at ,

l east th at he is yet conned to it ; for we shall nd he

,

i s at present a prisoner at large : of both which circum

s tances Of Satan I shall take occasion to speak in its
course .

But when I call the Devi l the monarch of H ell I am ,

to be understood as s u its to the present purpose ; that

h e is the sovere i gn of all the race of hell that is to ,

sa ,y of all the de v ils or spirits of th e infe rnal cl an ;

26 T HE P OL ITICAL
let their n umbe r s quality and powe r s b e what they
, , ,

wi l l.

Upo n this supposed personal ity and superiority of

Satan or as I call it the so v ereignty and government
, , ,

of on e Devil above al l the rest ; I say upon this notio n ,

are formed all the systems of the dark side of futurity ,

that we can for m in ou r minds : and so general is the

Opinion of it that it will hardly bear to be opposed by
,

any other argument at least that will bear to b e

,

rea soned upon : all the notion s of a parity of devils or ,

making a commonwealth among the black divan see m ,

to be enth u siatic and visionary but with n o consistency ,

o r certainty and is so generally exp l oded that we

,

must n ot venture so much as to debate the point .

Taking it then as the generality of mankind do that

, , ,

t h ere is a gran d Devil a superior of the whole black,

race ; that they al l fell together with their general ,

Satan at th e head of them ; that though he Sata n , ,

could not maintain his high station in heaven yet that ,

h e did continue his dign i ty among the rest w h o are ,

called his servants in Scripture his angels ; that he has

,

a kind of dominion or authority over the rest and that ,

they were all how many millions soe v er in number at

, ,

his command ; employed by him in all his hellish de

signs and in al l his wicked contrivances for the d e
,

struction of man and for the setting up his own king

,

dom in the worl d .

Supposing then that there is such a superior maste r

,

Devil over the rest it remains that w e inquire into his

,

character and something of his history ; in which

, ,

though we cannot perhaps produce such authentic

documents as in the story of other great monarchs ,

tyr ants and furies of the world ; yet I shall endeavou r

,

to speak some things which the experience of mankin d

may be apt to conrm and which the Devil himse l f wil l
,

hardly be able to contradict .

It being then granted that there is such a thing or

person cal l h im which we will as a maste r Devil ;
, ,
-
28 T HE P OL ITIC AL
any of his wicked po wers and nd room to do mischief
,

to mankind .

Nay they go further and suggest bold things against

, ,

the wisdom of heaven in exposing mankind weak i n ,

comparison of the immen se extent of the Devil s power ,

to so manifest an overthrow to so un equal a ght in

, ,

which he is sure if alon e in the conict to be worsted

, , ,

to l eave him such a dreadful en emy to engage with ,

and so ill furnished with weapon s to resist him .

These obj ection s I sha ll give as good an a n swer to

as the case will admit in their course but must adj our n,

them for the present .

That the Devil i s n ot yet a close prisoner we have ,

evidence enough to conrm ; I will not suggest that , ,

like our Ne wgate thieves ( to bring little devils and

,

great devils together ) he is let out by connivan ce and

, ,

has some little latitudes and advantages for mischief ,

by that m eans ; returning at certain seasons to h is

connement again This might hold were it not that
.
, ,

the compariso n must suggest that the power which has

,

cast him down could be deluded and the under keepers ,

-

or j ailers under whose charge he was in custody could

, ,

wink at his excursions and the lord of the place kn ow

,

n othing of the matte r But this wants fu r ther e xp l an a

.

tion .
 H IST O RY OF T HE D EV IL . 29

C HA P III . .

Of th e orig in a l of th e D ev il, w h o h e is, a nd w h a t h e w a s

brf or e his exp u lsion ou t of h ea v en , a nd i n w h a t sta te
h e w a s f r om th a t tim e to th e crea tion of m a n .

TO come to a regula r inquiry into Satan s a ffairs it is ,

n eedful we should go back to his original as far as ,

history and the opin i on of the learned world give us

leave .

It is agreed by al l writers as well sacred as pro

,

fane that this creature we now cal l a Devil was

, ,

originally an angel of light a glorious seraph ; perhaps

,

the choicest of all the glorious seraphs See h ow .

Milton describes his original glory

S atan , so call h im n ow , h i s former na me

Is heard n o m ore i n H eaven ; he of the rst ,

If n ot th e rst archang el , great in p ower,

In favour a n d pree mi nence .

P ar L ost l ib v
.
, . .

And again the same author and upon the same subj ect
,

B ri ghter ones a mi dst the host

Of angels than that star the stars a mong
, .

Ih lib
. . v i i.

The glorious gure which Satan is supposed to

make among the thrones and dominions in heaven is
such as we m i ght suppose the highest angel in that
,

exalted train could make ; and some think as above , ,

t hat he was the chief of the archangels .

H ence that notion and n ot ill founde d namel y that

, , ,

the rst cause of his disgrace and on wh i ch ensued his

,

rebell i on w a s occasioned upon God s proclaiming h i s
,
30 T HE P O L ITICAL
S on ggn eralissim o a n d with himself supr e m e r ul e r in
,

heav e n giving the dominion of al l his works of crea

,

tion as well already nished as not then begun to

, ,

him ; which post of hon our say they Satan expected , ,

t o be conferred on himself as next in honour maj esty , , ,

a n d power to God the supreme

,
.

This Opinion is follo wed by Mr Milton too as ap .

,

pears in the following l ines where he makes all the ,

angels attending a t a general summons and God the ,

F ather making the foll owing declaration to them

H ear all
ye angels progeny of light , ,

Thrones do mi nati ons princedo ms v i rtues p owers

, , , ,

H ear my decree whi ch u nre v ok d shall stand

.
,

Thi s day I have beg ot who m I declare

M y only S on a n d on thi s holy h i ll
,

Him have ano i nted who m you n ow behold ,

A t my ri ght hand your H ead I h im a p oi nt ;

A nd by my self have sworn to h i m sha l b ow
A ll knees i n heaven and shall confess h im lord ,

U nder hi s great v i ce g erent re i g n ab i de -

U n i ted as one i nd i v i dual soul

, ,

F or ever happy h im w h o di sobeys ,

M e di sobeys breaks u n i on and that da y

, , ,

C ast ou t fro m G od a n d blessed vi s i on falls ,

Into utter darkness deep ingulf d hi s place ,

,

O rdai ned w ithout rede mpt i on wi thout end , .

Satan a ff ronted at the appearance of a n ew essence

,

or being in heaven called the Son of God ; for G od , ,

says Mr Milton ( though erroneously ) declared himself

.
, ,

at that time saying This day have I begotten him and

, , ,

that he should be set up above all the former powers

of heaven of whom Satan ( as above ) was the chief, and
,

expecting if any highe r post could be granted it might

, ,

be his du e ; I say affr onted at this he resolved

, ,

Wi th all hi s legi on s to d i slodge and leave ,

U n w o rsh ip d u n ob ey d the throne supre me

, ,

C o ntemptu o us .

P ar L ost lib v
.
, . .
 H IS T OR Y OF T HE DEV IL . 31

But Mr Milton is gr ossly erroneous in ascribing

.

those words This day have I begotten thee to that

, ,

declaration of the F ather before Satan fell and cou se ,

quently to a time before the creation ; whereas it i s ,

by interpreters agreed to be u nderstood of the in car

nation of the Son of God or at least of the resurrect i on ,

see P ool upon Acts xiii 3 3

3
. .

In a word Satan withdrew with al l his followers mal

, , ,

content and chagrined resolved to disobey this n ew ,

command and n ot yield Obedience to the Son

, .

But Mr Milton agrees in that opinion that the

.
,

n umber of angels w hich rebelled with Satan w a s i n

nite ; and suggests in on e place that they were the ,

greatest half of al l the angelic body or seraphic host .

B ut S atan wi th hi s p owers ,

Innumerable as the stars of ni ght ,

O r stars of morni ng dew drop s whi ch the sun , .

I mp earls on every leaf an d every ow r

.

Ib lib v . . .

Be their numbe r as it is numberless million s and ,

l egions of mill ion s that is n o part of my present

,

inquiry ; Satan the leader gu ide and superior as he

, , , ,

was author of the celesti al rebell i on is still the gr eat ,

head and master devil as before ; and under his a u th o

-

rity they still act n ot obeying but carrying on the

, ,

3
Mr P ool s
.

are thesewords the words thi s S o me re fer ,

da y have I begotten thee to the i ncarnati on of the S o n of

,

G od others to the resurrecti on o u r translators lay the stress

,

on the p re p os i ti o n of wh i ch the verb i s co mp oun de d a n d by

, ,

adding agai n ( v iz ) ra i sed u p Jes u s agai n A cts x iii 3 3

,

.
,

.
,

i ntend i t to b e understood of th e resurrecti on ; and there is

g ound for i t i n th e c ontext for th e resurrecti on o f Chri st i s
r , ,

that whi ch S t P au l had prop ounded i n v 3 0 o f the same

. . .

chapter as h is the me or argument to prea ch u p on

, .

Not that Chri st at h i s res u rrecti on began to be the S on of

God but that he was man ifested then to be so
, .
32 T HE P OL ITICA L
same insurrection against God wh ich they begun in ,

heaven ; making war still against heaven in the person ,

Of his image and creature man ; and though vanquished

by the thunder of the Son of God and cast down head ,

l ong fro m hea v en they have yet reassumed or rathe r

, ,

n ot lost either the will or the power of doing m ischief

, .

This fall of the angels with the war in heaven which

,

preceded it is nely described by O vid in his war of

, ,

the Titans against Jupiter casting mountain upon ,

mountain and hill upon hill ( P elion upon O ssa ) in

, ,

order to scale th e adamantine Walls and break Open ,

the gates of heaven till Jupiter struck them with his

,

thunderbolts an d overwhelmed the m in the abyss .

V ide O vid Metam n ew translation

. .

N or were the G ods the mselves secure on high ,

F or n o w the Gi ants strove to storm the sk y ,

The lawless brood wi th bold atte mp t i nvade

The G ods a n d mounta ins u pon m ounta ins lai d
, .

B ut now the b olt enraged the Father took

, ,

O ly mpus fro m her dee p foundati on shook ,

The i r structure nodded at the mi ghty stroke ,

A nd O ss a s shattered to p o er P el i on broke

,

They re i n thei r ow n ungodly rui ns slai n

.

L ib i p ix . . . .

Then again speaking of Jupiter resol v ing in council

, , ,

to destroy makind by a deluge and gi v ing the reasons ,

of it to the heavenly host says thus speaking of the , ,

demigods alluding to good men below

,

Thi nk that the y i n s a fety re mai n can ,

When I myself who o e r i mmortals rei gn

, ,

,

W ho send the l i ght ning a n d heaven s e mpire s w ay

,

,

The ste m Lyca On b p racti sed to betray ?

lb .

Since then so much poetic liberty is taken with the

, ,

Devil relating to his m ost early state an d the time

, ,

b
S atan .
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 33

b efo r e his fall give me leave to make a n excursion of

,

the like kind relating to h i s history immediately afte r

,

the fall and till the creation of man ; an interv al which

,

I think much of the Devil s story is to be seen in an d ,

w h ich Mr Milton has take n little notice of at l east it

.
,

does not seem completely lled up ; after which I Shal l

return to honest prose again and pursue the duty of ,

an historian .

S atan , wi th h i deous ru i n thus su pprest,

E xpell d the seat of blessedness and rest,

L ook d back a n d sa w the hi gh eternal m ound,

Where a ll hi s rebel host the i r outlet fo u nd

Restor d i mpregnable the breach m ade u p,

A nd g arri sons of angels ranged a top

In front a hundred thousand thunders roll
, ,

An d li ghtn ings temper d to tra n sx a soul

,

T error of dev ils S atan and hi s host

.
,

N ow to the mselves as well as stati on lost ,

U nable to s u pp ort the hate d s i ght

E xp an d seraphi c w i ng s and swi ft as l i ght 1
,

5
,

S eek for n ew safety i n etern al n i ght .

In th e re motest g u lf of dark they land ,

H ere ve ngeance gi ves the m leave to m ake the i r stand

N ot th at to ste p s and m easures they preten d ,

C ounc i ls a n d sche mes the i r stat i on to defend ,

B ut broken di sconcerted a n d di s m ay d
, ,

,

By gu i lt and fri ght to gui lt and fri ght b etra y d

R ag e a n d confusi on every spi ri t possess d

,

A nd sha me a n d horror sw ell d i n every breast ;

Transforming envy to the i r essenti als burns ,

An d beauteous angels fri ghtful dev i ls turns .

Thus H ell began ; the re of consci ous rage

N o years ca n quench n o length of ti me assuage
, .

M ateri al re with its i ntensest a me

, ,

C o mp ared wi th th i s can scarce deserve a nam e

Ho w sho uld i t up to i mmateri als ri se ?
When we re all ame w e shall all re despi se

, .

Thi s re o u trageous a n d i ts heat inte n se

T u rns all th e p ai n of loss to p ai n of sense .

T h e foldi ng a m es concave a nd i nward roll ,

Act u p on spi ri t a nd p enetrate the soul :

H D . .
34 P OL I T IC AL T HE

N ot force of dev i ls can i ts new p owers re p el ,

Where er i t burns i t nds or makes a hell

For S atan a ming w ith u nqu ench d des i re

Forms hi s own hell and ki ndles hi s own re

V a n qu ish d n ot h u mb l d n ot i n wi ll bro u ght low

, , ,

But as hi s p owers decli ne h i s p ass i ons grow

The m al i ce v ip er l ike takes vent wi th i n
, , ,

Gnaws i ts own bowels and bursts in i ts own s i n ,

I mpati ent of the change he scorns to b ow ,

A nd never i mp otent i n p ower ti ll n ow ;

Ardent wi th hate a n d wi th revenge di stra ct, ,

A wi ll to new atte mpts but none to act ,

Yet a ll seraphi c and i n just degree , ,

S u i ted to Spirits hi gh sense of mi sery

D eri ved fro m loss whi ch nothi ng can rep ai r ,

A nd roo m for nothi ng left but m e re des p ai r .

H ere s n ish d H ell ! what ercer re ca n bu rn ?

Eno u gh ten thousand worl ds to overturn .

H ell s but the frenzy of de feated pri de

,

S eraphi c treason s stro ng i mp etuous t i de

,

W here v ile amb iti on disa p o inted rst , ,

T o i ts own r age an d bound ess hatred curst ;

The hate s fa n n d up to fury that to a me

, ,

F or re and fury are i n ki nd the sam e

These burn u n quenchable i n every face ,

An d the word endless consti tutes the place

.

0 state of be i ng ! where be ing s the only gri ef

,

A nd the chi e f torture s to be da mn d to li fe

0 life ! the only thi ng the have to hate

The nish d torment of a uture state

,

C o mplete i n all the p arts of endless mi sery ,

A nd worse ten thousand ti mes than not to be !

C ould but the da m n d th i mm ortal la w rep eal

,

An d devi ls die there d be an end o f hell

,

C ould they that th i ng called be i ng anni hilate

,

There d be no sorrows i n a future state

The wretch whose cri mes had shut h im out on hi gh

, ,

C ou ld be revenged on G od hi mself a n d di e ,

Job s wi fe w a s i n the ri ght and al ways w e

,

M i ght end by death all human mi sery ,

Might have i t i n our cho i ce to be or n ot to b e , ,

.
36 T HE P OL ITIC A L
H ere h e is cal led the serpent Gen iii I , . . .

The old serpent R ev xii 9 , . . .

The great red dragon R ev x 1 1 3 , . . .

The accuser of the brethren R ev x i 1 1 0 , . . .

The enemy Matt xxiii 2 9 , . . .

Satan Job i ; Zech iii l 2

, . . .
, .

Belial 2 C or vi 1 5
, . . .

Beelz e bub Matt xii 2 4, . . .

Mammon Matt vi 2 4 , . . .

The angel of light 2 Cor xi 1 4 ,

. . .

The ange l of the bottomless pit R ev ix 1 1 ,

. . .

The prince of the power of the ai r E ph ii 2 , . . .

L ucifer Isa xiv 1 2

, . . .

A b b a ddon or Apollion R ev ix 1 1
, , . . .

L egion Mark v 9
, . .

The god of this world 2 C or iv 4 , . . .

The fo u l spirit Mark ix 5 , . .

The unclean s p irit Mark i 2 7 ,

. .

The lying spir i t 2 Chron xxx , . .

The tempter Matt iv 3 , . . .

The son of the morning Isa xiv 1 2 . . . .

But to su m them all up in on e he is cal l ed in the ,

N ew Testament plain Devi l ; all his other names are

varied according to the custom of speech an d th e ,

dialects Of the several nations where he is spoken of ;

but in a word Devil is the common name of the Dev il
,

i n all the kn own languages of the earth Nay al l the .

,

mischief he is empowered to do is in Scripture placed ,

to his account under the particular title of the Devil

, ,

n ot of devils in the plura l n umber though they are ,

s ometimes mentioned too but in the singul ar it i s the

identic a l individual Devil in and under whom all th e ,

little devils and all the great devils if such there b e

, , ,

a re supposed to act ; n a they are supposed to be

y ,

govern ed an d directed by him Thus we are told in .

Scripture of the works of the devil 1 John iii 8 ; of ,

.

casting ou t the devil Mark i 3 4 ; of resisting the ,

.

de vil Jam e s i v 5 of ou r Sa v io u r being tempted of the

, .
 H ISTO RY O F T HE D E V I L . 37
devi l Matt iv 1 ; of Simon Magus a child of the
,
. .
,

devil Acts xiii 1 0 ; the devil came dow n in a great

,
.

wr ath R ev x 1 1 1 2 and the like And according to

,
. .
,
.

this u sage in speech we go on to this day and all th e ,

i nfernal things w e converse with in the world are ,

f athered upon the Devil as on e undivided simple ,

es sence by h ow many agents soever working : every

,

thing evil frightful in appearance wicked i n its

, ,

actings horrible in its manner monstrous in its e ff ects

, , ,

is called the Devi l ; in a word Devil is the commo n ,

name for all d evils that i s to say for all evil spirits , , ,

all evi l powers all evil works and even all evil things
, ,

yet it is remarkable the Devil is no O ld Testament

word and we never nd it used in all the Old Testament
,

but four times and then n ot once in the singular number

, ,

and not once to signify Satan as it is n ow understood ,

.

It is true the learned give a great many di ffer i ng

,
.

interp r etations of the word Dev i l ; the E nglish com

m entators tell us it means a destroyer others that it , ,

signies a deceiver and the Greeks derive i t from a ,

calumniator or false witness for we nd that Calumny

,

w a s a goddess to whom the Athenians built altars ,

and o ff ered sacrices upon some solemn occasions and ,

they call her Am BoM) from when ce came the masculine ,

A dB
r v g which we translate Devil
, .

Thus we take the name of Devil to signify not per

son s only but action s and habits ; making imaginary
,

devils an d transforming that substant i al creature

,

called Devil into e v erything noxious and o ff ensive

,

thus St F rancis being tempted by the Devil in the

.

shape of a bag of money lying in the highway the s aint ,

having discovered the fraud whether seeing his cloven ,

foot hang o u t of the purse or whether b e d i stinguished ,

h im by h i s smell of sulphur or h ow othe rwise authors , ,

are not agreed ; but I say the saint having discovered , , ,

the cheat and outwitted the Devil took occasion to

, ,

preach that emin ent sermon to his disciples where his ,

text w a s M oney is th e Devil

, .
38 T HE P OL I T ICA L
N or, po nthe whole 1 8 any wron g don e to th e Devi l
u ,

by this kind of treatment ; it only g i v es him the so v e

r ei n t of the whole army f H ell and making all the
g y o ,

n umberless legions of the bottoml ess pit servants or , ,

as the Scri pture calls them angels to Satan the grand ,

d evil ; an d all their actions performances and achieve , ,

m ents are j ustly attributed to him not as the prin ce of

, ,

devi l s only but the emperor of devi l s the prince of

, ,

all the princes of devi l s .

Under this den omination then of Devil all the ,

powers of H ell all the princes of the air all the black
.
,

armies of Satan are comprehen ded and in this manne r ,

they are to be u nderstood in this whole work m u ta tis ,

m u ta ndis accor ding to the several circumstances in

,

which we are to speak of them .

This being premised and my authority being so , .

good Satan must n ot tak e it ill if I treat him after

,

the manner of men an d give him those titles which h e

'

is best known by among u s ; for indeed having so ,

many it is n ot very easy to cal l him ou t of his name

, .

H owever as I am obl i ged by the duty of an historian

,

to decency a s well as impartiality so I thought it n e

, ,

c essa ry before I used too much freedom with Satan

, ,

to produce authentic documents and bring antiquity ,

upon the stage to j ustify th e manner of my writing

, ,

and let you see I shall describe him in n o colours n or ,

call him by any name but what he has been known by ,

for many ages before m e .

And n ow though being writing to the common u n

,

derstan din g of my reader I am obliged to treat Satan ,

ve ry coarsely and to speak of him in the common a c

,

c epta ti on c a l l ing him plain Devil ; a word which I n this

,

mannerly a ge is n ot so sonorou s as others might be ,

and which by the error of the times is apt to prej udice

us against his person yet it must be acknowle dged h e
h a s a great many other n ames and surnames w hi ch he
might be known by of a less obn oxiou s impo rt than ,

that of Devil or Dest r oy e r 850 , , .



H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 39

Mr Mi lton indeed wanting titles of honour to give

.
, ,

to the leaders of Satan s host is obliged to borro w se ,

v eral of his Scripture names and bestow them upon ,

his infernal heroes whom he makes the generals and ,

leaders of the a rmies of H ell ; and so he makes Beelz e

bub Lucifer Belial Mammo n and some others to b e
, , , , ,

the names of pa rt icular devils members of Satan s ,

uppe r house or P andemonium whereas indeed thes e

, , ,

ar e all names proper and peculiar to Satan himself .

T h e Scripture also has some n ames of a coarser

kind by which the Devil is understood ; as particularly
, ,

as is noted already in the A pocalypse he is called the

, ,

Gr eat R ed Dragon the Beast the Old Se rpent and , , ,

the like : but take it in the Scripture or where you ,

will in history sacred or profane you will nd that

, ,

in general the Devil is as I have said above his , ,

ordinary name in all languages and in al l nations the ,

name by which he and his works are principally dis

tingu ish ed : also the Scripture besides that it O ften ,

gives him this name speaks of the works of the devil , .

o f the subtilty of the devil of casting o u t devils of , ,

being tempted of the devil of being possessed with a ,

devil ; and so many other ex p ression s of that k ind as ,

I have said already are made use of for us to under ,

stand th e evil spirit by that in a word Devil is the , ,

commo n name of al l wicked spirits : for Satan is n o

more the devil as if he al one was so and all the rest
, ,

were a diminuti v e species who did not go by that

name ; but I sa y even in Scripture every spirit whe
, , , ,

ther under his dominion or ou t of his dominion is ,

called the Devil and I s as much a real devil that IS to

, ,

sa
y
, a con demned spirit an d emplo yed in the same ,

wicked work as Satan himself

, .

H is name then being thus ascertained and his exist

, , ,

ence acknowledged it should be a little inqu ired what ,

he is ; we believe there is such a thing s u ch a creature ,

as the Devil ; and that he has be e n and may still wit h ,

40 T HE P O L I T IC A L
propri e ty of
speech an d without inj ustice to his cha,

ra ct i h e called by his ancient name Devi l

t .
,

Bu t w o is b e ? what is h is original ? whence came

.

he ? and what is his present station and condition for

thes e things and these inquiries are very n ecessary to
his history nor indeed can any part of his history be
.
, ,

complete without them .

That h e is of an ancient and noble origina l must b e

acknowledged for he i s heaven born and of angelic
,
-

rac e as has been touched already ; if Scripture evi

,

dence may be of any weight in the question there is ,

n o room to doubt the genea l ogy of th e Devil ; he is

n ot only spoken of as an angel but a s a fallen angel , ,

on e that had been in heaven had behel d the face of G od ,

in his full e ff ulgence of glory and had surrounded the ,

thron e of the Most H igh ; from whence commencing ,

r ebel and b eing expelle d he w a s cast down down

, , , ,

down God and the Devil himself only know where fo r

,

indeed we cannot say that any man on earth knows it

an d wherever it is he has ever since man s creation , , ,

been a p l agu e to him been a tempter a deluder a , , ,

calumniator an en emy and the obj ect of man s hor r or
, ,

an d aversion .

A s h is original is heaven born and h is race a n -

,

g elic so the angelic nature is evidently placed in a

,

class superior to the human an d this the Scripture is ,

express in also when speaking of man it says h e , ,

m a de h im a li ttle low er th a n th e an l
g s.
e

Thus the Devil a s mean thoughts as yo u may ha v e

,

of him is of a better family than any of o u na y tha n

, y , ,

the best gentlemen of you all ; what he may be fallen

to is on e thing but what h e is fallen from is another ;
, , ,

and therefore I must tell my le a rned and reverend

friend J W I I D when he spoke so rudely of the
. .
,
.
,

Devil la sly H O pinion b e abused his betters

, .

Nor is the Scripture more a help to us in the search

af ter the Devil s origin al than it is in ou r search a fter

, .
,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 41

his nature ; it is true authors are n ot agre ed bo u t ,

"

his age what time he was created h ow many f Hs he

, ,
I

.
'

e nj oyed h is state of blessedness before he fef f or h ow

r

man y years he continued with his whole al my in a

state of darkness before the creation of ma n It is .

supposed it might be a considerable space an d that it ,

w a s a part of his punishment too being all the while ,

inactive unemployed having n o business nothing t o

, .
,

do but gnawing his ow n bowels and rolling in the ,

agony of his own self reproaches being a hell to him -

,

self in reecting on the glorious state from whence he

was fallen .

How long he remained thus it is tru e we have n o ,

light into from history and but little from tradition ; ,

R abbi J u dah says the Jews were of the opinion that

,

he remain ed twenty thousand years in that condition ,

and that the world shall continue twenty thousand

more in which he shall nd work enough to satisfy
,

his mischievous desires ; but he shows n o authority for

his Op i nion .

Indeed let the Devi l have been as idle as they think

,

he was before it must be ackn owledged that n ow he is

,

the most busy vigilant and diligent of all God s
, , ,

creatures and ver y full of employment too such as it

, ,

Is
.

Scripture indeed gives us light into the enmity

, ,

ther e is between the tw o natures the diabolical an d ,

the human ; the reason of it and h ow and by what ,

means the power of the Devil is restrained by the

Messiah ; and to those wh o are willing to trust to gos
pel light and believe what the Scripture says of th e
,

Devil there may much of his history be discovered ;

,

and therefore those that list may go there for a ful ler
account of the matter .

But to reserve all Scripture evidence of these things

as a m agazine in store for the use of those with who m
,

Scr i pt u re testimony is of force I must for the present ,

turn to other inquiries being n ow d irectin g my story ,

42 T HE P OL ITICAL
t o an wherein to be driven to Re vel ation a n d
age,
Scripture assertions is esteemed giving up the dispute ;
p eople n ow a days must have demonstration ; a n d in a
- -
,

word nothing will satisfy the a ge but such eviden ce

, ,

as perhaps the nature of the question will n ot adm i t .

It is hard indeed to bring demon strations in such a

, ,

case as this : N o m a n h a s seen G od a t a ny tim e says ,

the Scripture 1 John iv 1 2 So th e Devil being a

, . .
,

spirit incorporeal an ange l of light and consequ ently

, ,

n ot visible in his ow n substan ce nature and form it , , ,

may in some sense be said N O m an has seen the Devil ,

at any time ; all those pretences of fren z if ul and

f ancifu l people w h o tell us they have seen the
,

Devi l I shall examine and perhaps expose by them

, ,

se l v es .

It might take u p a gr e at deal of our time here to ,

inquire whether th e Devil has any particular shape or

personality of substance which can be visible to u s , ,

f e l t heard or understood an d which he cann ot alter ;

, , ,

a n d then what shapes or appearan ces the Devil has

,

at any time taken u po n him ; and whether he can

r e ally appear in a body which might be handled and
s een and yet so as to know it to have been the Devi l
,

at the time of his appearing but this also I defer as ,

n ot of weight in the present inquiry .

We have divers accounts of witches conversing with

the Devil ; the Devi l I n a real body with al l the ap ,

e a ra n c e of a body of a man or woman appearing

p
to them ; also of having a familiar as they call it , ,

a n incubus or l ittle devi l

,
which sucks their bodies , ,

runs away with them into the air and the l ike ; muc h ,

of this is said but much more than it i s easy to prove

, ,

and we ought to giv e but a j ust propo rtion of credit to

those things .

As to his borrowed shapes and his subtle t r ans

f ormings that we hav e such Open testimony of that
, ,

there 1 8 n o room for any question about it ; and when

I come to th at pa rt I sha ll be ob l ig e d rath er to giv e a
,
44 T HE P OL ITICAL
he has thought t not to be seen an d rath er to make the ,

poor peop l e believe he had a rea l shape and body with ,

hands to act mouth to speak and the l ike than to

, , ,

gi v e proof of it in common to th e who l e wo rl d b y ,

showing himself an d acting visibly and openly as a

, ,

bo dy usually and ordinarily does .

Nor is it any disadvantage to the Devil that his se ,

ra ph ic nature is n ot conned or imprisoned in a body

or shape suppose that shape to be what monstrous

,

thing we wo u ld ; for this would indeed conne his , ,

actings within the n arrow sphere of the organ or body

to which he was limited ; and though you were to sup
pose the body to have wings for a velocity of motio n
equa l to spirit yet if it had not a power of invisibility
,

too and a capacity of conveying i tself undiscovered

, , ,

into all the secret recesses of m ankind an d the same ,

secret art or capacity of insinuation suggestion accu , ,

sation &c by which his wicked designs are now pro

, .
,

a
p g a ted and all
, his other devices assisted by which he ,

deludes and betrays mankind ; I say he would b e n o ,

more a devil that is a destroyer n o more a deceiver

, , , ,

and n o m ore a Satan that is a dangerous arch enemy , ,

-

to the soul s of men ; n or would it be any di f culty to

mankind to shun and avoid him as I shall make plai n ,

in the oth er pa r t of his history

'
.

H ad the Devil from the beginning been embodied as ,

he could not have been inv i sible to u s whose s oul s , ,

equally seraphic are on lyprescrib ed by being embodied

,

and incased in esh and blood as w e are ; so he

would have been n o more a devil to anybody but him
self : the imprisonment in a b ody had the powers of ,

that body been all that we can con ceive to make him
formidable to u s would yet have been a hell to him ,
.

Consider him as a conquered exasperated rebel r e ,

taining all that fu ry and swelling ambition that hat r ed ,

of God and envy at his creatures which dwel l s now

,

in his enraged spirits as a Devi l ; yet suppose h im to

have been condemn ed to o r ganic powers conn ed to ,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 45

co rpo r eal motion and restrained as a body must be

,

supposed to restra i n a spirit i t must at the same time , ,

suppose him to be e ff ectually disabled from all the me

th ods he is n ow allowed to make u se of for exerting his ,

rage and enmity against God a ny further than as he ,

might suppose i t to a ff ect his Maker at second hand ,

by wounding his glory thr ough the S ides of his weakest

creat u re man
,
.

H e must certainly be thus conned because body

, , ,

can only act upon body n ot upon spirit ; n o species

,

being empowered to act ou t of the compass of its own

sphere : he m i ght have been empowered indeed to , ,

have acted terr i ble and even destru ctive t hi ngs u pon
m a nkind especially if this body had any powers given
,

it which mank i nd had n ot by wh i ch man would be ,

overmatched and n ot be in a cond i tion of self defence ; -

for example suppose him to have had wings to have

,

own in the a i r ; or to be invulnerable and that n o ,

human invent i on art or eng i n e could hurt ensnare

, , , , ,

captivate or restrain him

,
.

But this is to suppose the righteous and wise Creator

to have made a creature and not be able to defend and
preserve him or have left him defenceless to the mercy
,

of another of his ow n creatures whom he had given ,

power to destroy him this indeed might have oc ,

ca sion ed a general idolatry and made mankind as the , ,

A mericans do to this day worship the Devil that he , ,

might not hurt them ; but it could not have prevented

the destruction of mankind supposing the Devi l to ,

have had malice equal to his power ; and he must put

o n a n ew nature be compassionate generous b en e
, , ,

cent and steadily good in sparing the rival enemy he

,

wa s able to destroy or he must have ruined mankind

, .

In short he must have ceased to ha v e been a devil

, ,

1
8 11 11 11 have reassumed his original angelic heavenly
nat 11e lled with the principles of love to delight in
, ,

, ,

the works of h i s Creator and bent to propagate his

,

glo ry an d interest ; or he must have put an end to the

46 T HE P OL ITICAL
race of man who m it would be in his powe r to destroy
-

, ,

a n d oblige his Maker to create a n ew species or fo rtif

y ,

the old with some kind of defence which must be in

vulnerable an d which his ery darts could not penerate
, .

O n this occasion su ffer me to make an excursio n

fro m the usua l style of this work and wit h some solem ,

n ity to express my thoughts thus

How g l orious is the wisdom and goodn ess of the

great Creator of the world ! in thus restraining the se
s eraphic outcasts from the power Of assuming human or

organic bodies which could they do invigorating

, , ,

the m with the supernatural powers which as seraphs , ,

and angel s they now possess a n d might exert they

, ,

woul d be able even to fright mankind from the face of

the earth destroy and confound God s creation ; nay
, ,

even as they are were not their power lim i ted they
, ,

might destroy the creation itse l f r everse and overturn ,

nat ure an d put the world into a general con a gra tion
,
.

b u t were those immo r tal spirits embodied though they ,

were not permitted to confoun d nature they would be ,

ab l e to harass poor weak and de fenceless man ou t of

, ,

his wits and render him perfectly use l ess either to his
, ,

Maker or himsel f .

Bu t the dragon is chained the Devil s powe r is ,

limited ; he has indeed a vastl y extended empire being ,

princ e of the air ; having at l east the whole atmo , ,

S phere to range in and h ow far that atmosphere

,

is extended is n ot yet ascertained by the nicest ob ser

,

v a ti on s ; I say at least because w e do not yet know

, ,

h ow far he may be allowed to make excursion s beyond

the atmosphere of this globe into the planetary worlds ,

and what power he may exercise in all the habitabl e

parts of the solar system ; nay of a ll the other sola r ,

systems which for aught w e k n ow m ay exist in the

, , , ,

mighty extent of created space and of which y ou m ay ,

hear further in its order .

But let his power be what it will there we a re sure ,

it is limited here and that in two partic ul a r s ; rst he

, ,
 H ISTO R Y O F T HE D EV IL . 47

is l imited as above from assuming body or bodil y shapes

, ,

a n d substance ; and secondly from exerting ser a phic ,

powe r s and acting with that supernatural force which

, , ,

a s an angel he was certainly vested with before th e

,

fall and which we are n ot certain is yet taken from him ;

,

or at most w e do n ot know how much it may or may

,

n ot be diminished by his degeneracy an d by the b l ow ,

given him at his expulsion : this we are certain that ,

be his po w er greater or less he is restrained from the ,

exercise of it in this world ; and he who w a s onc e ,

equa l to the angel who killed a hundred and eighty

thousand men in on e night is not able n ow without a , ,

n ew commission to take away the life of on e Job

, ,

n or to touch anything he had .

Bu t let u s consider him then limited and restrained a s

he is yet he remains a mighty a terrible an immortal
, , ,

being : innitely superior to man as well in the dignity of ,

his na ture as i n the dreadful powers he retains still about

,

him and though the bra i ns i ck heads of ou r en th u si as

tics paint him blacker than he is and as I ha v e sai d , , ,

represent him clothed with terrors that do not really

belong to him ; as if the power of good and evil was
wholly vested in him and that he was placed in the ,

throne of his Maker to distribute both punishments and ,

rewards ; terrifying and del uding fanciful people about

him till they turn their heads and fright them into a ,

belief that the Devil will let them alone if they do

suc h and such good things or carry them away with ,

him they know not whither if they do n ot ; as if the

, ,

Devil whose p roper busin ess is mischief seducing and

, ,

del u d i ng mankind and drawing h im in to be a rebel ,

like himself should threaten to seize upon them carry

, ,

them away and in a word fall upon them to hurt them

, , , ,

i f they did evil and on the contrary h e favourabl e and

, ,

civil t o them if they did well , .

Thus a poor deluded country fellow in ou r town that ,

had lived a wicked abomina ble debauched life w as , , ,

frightened with an apparition as he called it of the Devil ; , ,

48 T HE P O L ITICAL
he fancied that he spoke to him and tell ing his tale to ,

a good hon est Christian gentleman his n eighbour that ,

had a little more sense than himsel f the gentleman ,

asked him if he was sure he really saw the Devil ? Yes ,

y e s sir
, says ,he I sa w him very p l ain ; an d so they
,

began the following disco u rse .

GE N T See him ! see the Devi l ! art thou sure of it

.

Thomas
T H O Y es yes I am sure enough of it master ; to be
.
, ,

s ure it was the Devil .

GE NT And h ow do you know twas the Devil
.
,

Thomas had you ever see n the Dev il before ?

TH O No n o I had n eve r seen him before to be
.
, , ,

sure but for all that I know it was the Devil

, .

GE NT Well if you re sure Thomas there s no con
.
, , ,

t ra dictin g yo u ; pray what clothes had he on ?

T H O N ay sir don t j est with me he had n o clothes
.
, , ,

on he was clothed w ith re and brimston e

,
.

GE NT Was it dark or daylight when you saw him

.
?

T H O O it was very dark for it was midnight

.
,
.

GE N T How could you see him then ? did you see

.

by the light of the re you speak of ?

TH O N o n o he gave me n o light himself but I
.
, , ,

sa w him for all that .

GE N T Bu t was it within doors or ou t in the street

.
?
,

T H O It was within it was in my o w n chamber

.
, ,

when I w a s j ust going into bed that 1 sa w him , .

GE T Well then yo u had a candle h a dn t you
N .
?
, ,

T H O Y es I had a candle but it burnt as blue ! and

.
, ,

as dim !
GE NT Well but if the Devil w a s clothed with re
.
,

and brimstone he must give you some light ; there

,

can t be such a re as you speak of but it must give a

light with it .

TH O No n o he gave n o l ight but I smel t his re

.
, , ,

and brimstone he l eft a smell of it behind hi m when ,

h e w a s gon e .

GE N T We ll so you say he had re but gave no

.
, ,
 H IS TO RY O F T HE D EV IL . 49

l i ght ; it was a devilish re indeed did it feel warm ,

was the room hot while he was in it ?

T H O No no but I was hot enough without it for it

.
, , ,

put me into a great sweat wit h the fright .

GE N T V ery well h e was all in re you say but

.
,
.
, ,

without light or heat only it seems he stunk of brim ,

stone ; pray what shape was h e in ? what was he like

for you say you sa w him .

T H O O ! sir I sa w two great staring saucer eyes

.
, ,

enough to frigh ten anybody ou t of their wits .

GE N T And was that all you sa w ?

.

T H O No I sa w his cloven foot very plain ; twas as
.
,
-

big as on e of our bullock s that goes to plough .

GE NT So you saw non e of his body but his eyes

.

and his feet ? a ne v i sion indeed ,

T H O N 0 that w a s enough to send me going

.
,
.

GEN T Going ! what did you r u n away from him

.

T H O No but I ed into bed at on e j ump and sunk

.
, ,

down and pu ll d the bedclothes quite over me
,
.

GE N T And what d i d you do that for ?

.

T H O T o hide myself from such a frightful crea

.

ture.

GE N T Why if it had really been the Devil do you

.
, ,

think the bedclothes would have secured you from

him

T H O Nay I don t kn ow but in a fright it w a s all I
.
, ,

coul d do .

GE N T Nay twas as wise as all the rest ; but come
.
, ,

Thomas to be a l i ttle serious pray did he S peak to

, ,

you
T H O Y es yes I heard a voice but who it w a s th e
.
, , ,

L ord knows .

?
GE N T What kind of voice was it was it like a man s
.

voice
TH O No ; it was a hoarse u gly n oise like the croak
.
,

ing of a frog and it called me by my name twic e T h o

, ,

mas Dawson Thomas Dawson ! ,

GE N T Well did you answer ?

.
,

H D . .
50 T HE P OL ITICAL
T H O:
N 0 n ot I I could not have spoken a wo r d for
, ,

my life ; why I was frighten ed to death ! ,

GE N T Did it say anyth i ng else ?

.

TH O Y es wh en it sa w that I did not speak it said

.
, , ,

Thomas Dawson Thomas Dawson you a re a wicked , ,

wretch ; yo u lay with Jenny S last ni ght ; if yo u

don t repent I will take you away alive a nd carry yo u
,

to hell an d you shall be da mn d yo u wretch
, , .

GE N T An d was it true Thomas ? did you lie with

.
,

Jenny S the night before ?

T H O Indee d master it was true ; but I was very
.
, ,

sorry afterwards .

GE N T But h ow should the Devi l know it Thomas ?

.
,

T H O Nay he knows it to be sure ; why they say h e

.
, ,

kn ows everything .

G EN T Well but why shou l d he be angry at that ?

.
,

he would rather bid you lie with her a gain an d en ,

courage you to lie with forty whores th an hinder you ,

this can t be the Devil Thomas , .

T H O Y es yes sir twas the Devi l to be sure

.
, .
, ,

GE N T But b e bid you repe n t too you say ?

.
,

T H O Y es he threatened me if I did not

.
,
.

GE N T Why Thomas do you think the Devi l woul d

.
, ,

h ave you repent ?

T H O Why no that s true too ; I don t know what t o
.
,

sa
y to that ; but what could it be ? twas the De v il to

b e sure it could be nobody else

,
.

GE N T No no twas n either the De v il Thomas n or
.
, , , ,

anybody else but your own frighten ed imagination T h o

, ,

mas you had lain with that wench and being a young ,

S in ner of that kind your conscience terried you told , ,

you the Devil would fetch you away and you would ,

be da mn d ; and you were so persuaded it would be

so that you at last imagined he w a s come for you in

,

deed ; that yo u sa w him and heard him whereas you ,

may depend upon it if Jenny S will let you lie ,

wit h her every night the Devil will hold the candle , ,

or do anything to fo rwa r d it but wi ll neve r distur b ,

52 T HE P OL ITICAL
in ; an d th e se w e have a clear discovery of in th e
who l e series of his conduct from the beginning .

1 That he is the vanquished but imp l acable enemy

.

of G od his creator who has conque r ed him an d

, ,

expe l led him from the ha b itations of bliss ; on

which account he is ll ed with envy r age malice , , ,

and all uncharitableness ; would dethron e G od ,

an d overturn the thrones of h eaven if it was in ,

his power .

2 That he is man s irr econcilab l e en emy ; n ot as h e
.

is a man n or on his ow n account simply n or fo r

, ,

any advantage he ( the Devil ) can mak e by the

ruin and destruction of man but in mere envy at
,

the felicity he is suppo sed to enj oy as Satan s
r ival ; and as he is appointed to succeed Satan

and his angels in the possession of those glo rie s

from which they are fal l en .

An d here I must take upon me to say Mr Milton , .

mak e s a wr o n g j udgment of the reason of Satan s
resolution to disturb the felicity of man he tells us it .

w a s merely to a ff ront God his maker rob him of th e

glory designed in his n ew work of creation and to ,

disappoint him in his m ain design namely the creating

, ,

a n ew S pecies of creatures in a perfect rectit u de of

,

soul and after his own image from whom he might

, ,

expect a n ew fund of glory should be raised and who ,

was to appear as the triumph of the Messiah s victory
over the Devil In al l which Satan could not be fool
.

enough not to know that he should be disappointed by

the same power which had so e m inently counteract e d
his rage before .

But I believ e the Devi l went u pon a much m o r e

, ,

probabl e design ; and though he may be said t o act

upon a meaner princip le than that of pointing his r age
at the personal glo ry of his Creator yet I own that In, ,

my Opinion it was by much the more rational und e r

,

taking and more l ikely to succeed ; and that w a s that

, ,

whereas he p e rceiv e d this new species of creatur e s had

 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 53

a subl ime as well as a human pa rt and were made ,

capable of possessing the mansion s of etern a l beatitude ,

fr om whence he ( Satan ) and his angels were expelled

and irretrievably banished envy at such a rival moved
him by all possible artice ( for he sa w himself de ,

riv ed of capacity to do it by force ) to render him n u

p ,

worthy like himself ; and that bringing him to fall into

,

rebell i on and disobedience he m i ght see his rival ,

damned with him ; an d those who were inten ded to

ll up the empty spaces in heaven made so by the ,

absence of so many m i llion s of fallen angels be cast ,

o u t into the same darkness with them .

H ow he came to know that this n ew species o f

creatures were liable to such imperfection is best e x ,

plained by the Devil s prying vigilant disposition , ,

j udging or leading him to j udge by h i mself ( for he w a s ,

as near being infall i ble as any of God s creatures had
been ) and then incl i ning him to try whether it w a s so
,

or no .

Modern naturalists especially some who have not

,

so large a charity for the fair sex as I have tell u s , ,

that as soon as ever Satan sa w the woman and looked ,

in her face he sa w it evidently that sh e was the best

,

formed creature to make a fool of and the best to make ,

a hypocrite of that could be made and therefore the

, ,

most tted for his purpose .

1 H e saw by some thwart lines in her face ( legible

.
, ,

perhaps to himself only ) that there was a thron e ready

, ,

prepared for the sin of p ride to sit in state u pon ,

especially if it too k an early possession E ve you may .

suppose w a s a perfect beauty if ever such a thing may,

be supposed in the human frame ; her gure being so

extraordinary was the groundwork of h i s proj ect
there needed n o more than to bring he r to be vain of
it and to conceit that it either w a s so or w a s innitely
, ,

more subl i me and beautiful than it really was ; an d

having thus tickled her vanity to introduce pride ,

gr adually till at last he might persuade he r that sh e

,
54 T HE P OL ITICAL
was real ly an gel ic or of heavenl y r ace and wanted
, ,

nothi n g but to eat the forbidden fruit an d that woul d ,

mak e her something more excellent st i ll .

2 L ooking further into her frame and with a n eare r

.
,

view to her imperfection s he saw room to conclude ,

that she was of a constitution easy to be seduce d an d

especially by attering her raising a com motion i ii he r
,

soul and a disturbance among her pass i on s ; and a o

c ordin gly he set himself to work to disturb her repose , ,

and put dream s of great things into her head together

with something of a nameless nature which (however ,

som e have been ill natured eno u gh to suggest ) I shal l

-

not inj ure the Devil so much a s to ment i on without ,

better evidence .

3 But besides this he found u pon th e very rst

.
, , ,

survey of her outside something so very charming in

,

her mien and behaviou r so eng a ging as well as agree

,

able in the whole texture of her person and with a l ,

such a sprightly wit such a vivacity of parts such a

, ,

uency of tongue and above all such a winning pre

, ,

vailing w hin e in her smiles or at least in her tears , ,

that h e made n o doubt if he could but once delude her ,

sh e would eas i ly be brought to delude Adam whom h e ,

found set not only a great valu e u pon her person but ,

was perfectly captivated by her charms in a word he ,

sa w plainly that if he could but ruin her he should

, ,

easily m ake a devil of her to ruin her husband an d , ,

draw him into any gulf of mischief were it ever so ,

black an d dreadful that sh e should rst fall into he r

,

sel f How far som e m ay be wicked enough from hence

.
, ,

to suggest of the fair sex tha t they have been dev i ls to

,

their hu sbands ever since I cannot s ay ; I h Ope they

,

will not be so unmerciful to discover tru ths of s uch

fatal con sequence though they should come to their
,

knowledge .

Thus subtle a n d penetrating has Satan been from

the beginning and who can wonder that upon these ,

discoveries made into the woman s inside h e went ,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 55
immediatel y to work with her rather than wi th Ad am ?
,

n ot but that on e would think if Adam was fool enough

,

to be deluded by his wife the Dev i l might have s een

,

so much of it in his countenance as to have encouraged ,

him to make his attack directly upon him and not go ,

round about beating the bush and ploughing with the

, ,

heifer ; setting upon the w o man rst and then sett i ng ,

her upon her husband who might as easily have bee n

,

imposed upon as sh e .

O ther commentators upon this critical text suggest

to u s that E ve was not so pleased with the hopes of
,

being made a goddess ; that the pride of a sera ph i c

knowledge did n ot so much work upon her imaginat i on
to bring her to consent as a certain secret notion i h
, ,

fused into her head by the same wicked instrument ,

that sh e sho u ld be wiser than A dam an d should by ,

the superiority of her understanding necessarily have ,

the government over him ; wh i ch at present she w a s , ,

sens i ble sh e h a d n ot he being master of a particula r

,

air of gravity and maj esty as well as of strength ih

, ,

nitely s u per i or to her .

Th i s is an ill natured suggestion ; but it must be con

-

fessed the impatient des i re of government which ( since

,

that ) appears in th e general behaviour of the sex an d ,

part i cularly of governing husbands l eaves too much ,

room to legit i mate the supposition .

The philosophers and expositors who are of this

Opinion add to it that this being her original crime
, , ,

o r the particular tem p tation to that crime H eaven ,

thought t to S how h i s j ustice in m aking her more ,

entire subj ection to her husband be a part of the curse ,

that sh e might read her sin in the punishment viz , .

H e sha ll l
r u e o v er th ee .

I only give t h e general hint of these things as they

a ppear recorded in the annals of Sat a n s rst tyrann y ,

and at the beg i nning of his government in the world ;

those that would be more part i cularly informed may ,

inquire of him and know further .

56 T HE P O L ITIC A L
I cannot h ow e ver but observe here with some r egre t
, , , ,

h ow it appears by the consequence that the Devil was ,

n ot mis taken when h e made an early j udgment of

Mr s E ve ; an d h ow Satan really went the right wa y to

.

work to j udge of her ; it is certain the Devil had no

,

thing to do b ut to look in her face and upon a n ear ,

steady View he might easily see there a n instrument ,

f or his turn ; nor has h e fa i led to make her a tool eve r

since by the very m ethods which he at rst proposed ;
,

to which perhaps he has made s ome additions in the

, ,

corrupting her composition as well as h e r understand

,

ing ; q u alifyin g her to be a complete snare to the poo r

weaker v essel man ; to wheedle him with her syr en s
voice abuse him with her smiles del u de him with
, ,

her crocod ile tears and sometimes cock her crown at

,

him and terrify hi m with th e thunder of her treble ;

,

m aking the e ff eminated ma l e apple eater tremble at -

th e noise of that very tongu e which at rst com

.

m a n ded him to sin F or it is yet a debate whic h

"
.
,

the learn ed have n ot decided whether she persuaded ,

and entreated him or like a tru e sh e tyrant exercised

,
-
,

her authority and obliged h im to eat the forbidden

fruit .

An d therefore a certain a u thor whose name fo r , ,

fear of the sex s resentment I conceal brings he r in, , ,

calling to Adam at a great distance in an imperious ,

haughty manner beckoning t o h im with her hand

, ,

thus ; H ere says sh e you cowardly faint h ea rtedwretch

, ,
-
,

take this branch of heavenly fru i t eat and be a stupid ,

f oo l n o l onger ; eat an d be wis e ; eat an d be a god

and know to your eternal shame that your wife has
, ,

been made an enlighten ed goddess before you .

He tells you Adam hung back a little at rst and

, ,

trembled afraid to trespass : W hat ails the sot ? says

,

the n ew termagant ; what are you afrai d of ? did G od

?
forbid you ! yes ; a n d why that we might n ot b e
k nowing and wise lik e himself ! what reason can th er e
be that we who ha ve capacious soul s able to re c ei ve
, ,
 H I STOR Y OF T H E D EV I L . 57

knowl edge should have it withheld ? take it you fool

, , ,

and eat ; don t you see h ow I am exalted I n soul by I t

,

and am quite another creature ? take it I say or if , , ,

o u don t I will go and cut down the tree and you

y , ,

shall never eat any of it at all and yo u shal l be still ,

a fool and be governed by your wife for ever

,
.

Thus if this interpretation of the thing is j ust S he

, ,

scolded him into it rated him and brought him to it

, ,

by the terror of her voice ; a thing that has retained

a dreadful inuence over him ever since ; nor have
the gr eatest of Adam s successors h ow light soever

som e husbands make of it in this age been ever able , ,

since that to conceal their terror at the very sound ;

,

nay if w e may believe history it prevailed even among

, ,

the gods ; not all the noise of Vulcan s hammers coul d
silence the clamours of that outrageous whore his ,

goddess ; nay even Jupiter himself led such a life with

,

a termagant w i fe that once they say Jun o outscolded

, , ,

the noise of all his thunders and w a s within an ace of ,

brawling him ou t of heaven But to return to the .

Devil .

With these vie w s he resolved it seems to attack the , ,

woman ; and if we consider h im as a devil and what ,

he aimed at and consider the fair pros p ect he had of

,

success I must confess I do n ot see who can blame

,

him or at least h ow anything less could be expected

, ,

fr om him ; but w e shall m ee t with it again by and by .

58. T HE P OLITIC A L

C HA P V . .

Of th e sta tion S a ta n h a d i n h ea v en bef or e h e f ell th e

n a tu r e a n d o rig i n a l of h is c r im e, a nd som e f Mr
'

q .

M ilton s m ista k es a bou t i t

.

T H U S far I have gone upon general observation in thi s

great a ff air of Satan and his empire in this world ; I
n ow come to my title and shall enter upon the h istori
,

cal part as the main work before me

, .

B esides what has been said poetically relating to ,

the fall and wandering condition of the Devi l and h is

host which poetical part I o der only as a n excursion
, ,

and desire it should be tak en so ; I shall give you what

I think is de duced from good originals on the part of

Satan s story in a f ew words .

H e w a s one of the created angel s formed by th e ,

sam e omnipotent hand and glorious power who create d

the heavens and the earth and all that is therein : this
,

innumerable heavenly host as we have reason to believe

, ,

contained angels of h i gher and lower stations of greate r ,

and of lesser degree expressed in the Scripture by

,

thrones dom i nions and principalities : this I think we

, , , ,

have as muc h reason to believe as we have that there ,

are stars in the rm a m en t ( or starry heavens ) of greater

and of l esser magnitude .

What particular station among the immortal choir

of angels this arch seraph this prince of devils called
-
, ,

Satan was placed in b e fore his expulsion that indeed

, , , ,

w e cannot come at the kn owledge of at least not with , ,

such an authority as may be depended upon ; but as

from Scripture authority he is placed at the head of all
,

the apostate armies after he w a s fallen w e cannot

, ,

think it in the least assuming to say that he might be ,

suppo sed to be one of the principa l agents in the rebel

60 T HE P OL ITICA L
divin e fac e to admire an d adore which is the ful l em
, ,

ployment of angels ; but even this though it goes as ,

high as im a ginat i on can carry us does n ot reach it n or

, , ,

to me make it on e j ot more comprehensible than it

,

w a s before ; all I can say to it here is that so it w a s , , ,

the fact was upon record and the rej ected troop are in
,

being ( whose circumstance s confess the guilt ) an d still

, ,

groan under the punishment .

If you will bear with a poetic excursion upon the

subj ect not to solve but to illustrate the di fcul ty
, , , ,

take it in a few lines thus ,

Thou s i n of w i tchcraft ! rst born ch ild of cri me !

-

Pro du c d before the bloo m of ti me ;

A mb i ti on s m a i den sin , i n heaven c o n ceiv

d,

And w h o could have bel i eved

D elem en t could in puri ty begi n ,

A n d bri ght eternal day be soil d wi th sin ?

T ell us sly p enetrating cri me

, ,

Ho w c a m st thou there thou fault subl i m e ?

,

H ow di dst thou p ass the ada m ant i ne gate ,

A nd i nto spi ri t thyself i ns i nuate ?

Fro m what dark state ? fro m what deep place ?
Fro m what strange u ncre ated race
Where w a s thy anci ent habi tati o n found ,

B efore vo i d ch a os heard th e formi ng sound ?

W ast thou a substance or a n ai ry ghost
, ,

A vap our yi ng in th e ui d waste

O f un co ncocted ai r ?
And h ow at rst di dst thou come there ?
Su re there w a s once a t i me when thou wert n ot ;
By who m wast thou created ? and for what ?
A rt thou a strea m fro m so me contagi ous da mp exhal d?

How should contagi on b e enta il d

O n bri ght seraph i c s pi rits and i n a place

,

Where all s supre me a n d glory lls the sp ace ?

,

N o no x i ous vap our there co uld ri se ,

For there no noxi ous m atter l i es

N othi ng that s evi l could ap pear

,

Sin n ever could seraphi c glory h e a r ;

The bri ghtness of the eternal face ,

W hi ch lls as well as constitutes the place ,

 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL 61 .

W ould be a re too hot for cri me to be a r ,

T wo u ld c al ci ne S in or m elt i t i nto a i r

, .

How then did rst delement enter i n ?

A mbiti on thou rst v ital seed of S in !
,

Thou l ife of death ! h ow c a m st thou there ?

In what bri ght form di dst thou app ear ?

In what seraphi c orb di dst thou ari se ?
Surely that place a dmi ts of n o di sgui se
Eternal s i ght must k now thee there ,

An d be i ng known thou soon must di sappear , .

B ut s ince the fatal truth w e know ,

Wi thout the m atter whence or m anner h ow

Thou high s u p erlative of sin ,

Te ll u s thy nature where thou didst begi n ? ,

The rst degree of thy i ncrease ,

D eb a u ch d th e regi ons of eternal p eace

,

An d ll d the breasts of loyal an gels there

Wi th the rst treason a n d infernal w a r .

Thou art the high e xtre m e of pri de ,

And dost o er lesse r cri mes pres i de

N ot for the m ean atte mpt of v i ce design d

B ut to e mbro i l th e world a n d dam n mankind .

Transformi ng mi schi ef h ow hast tho u procu r d ,

That loss that s ne er to b e restor d

And made th e bri ght seraphi c morn i ng star

In horri d monstrous shap es app ear ?
S atan that whi le h e dwelt i n glori ous l i ght
, ,

W as always then as pure as h e w a s bri ght ,

That in e ffulgent rays of glory shone ,

Ex cell d by the etern al li ght by Him alone

,

D i storted n o w a n d stript of i nnocence, ,

And b a nish d wi th thee fro m th e hi gh pre e mi nence

-

How has th e splendi d seraph ch a ng d hi s face

,

T ra nsform d by thee a nd l ike thy monstrous race ?

,

U gly as i s th e cri me for whi ch h e fell , ,

Fitted by thee to mak e a local hell ,

For such must be the place where e ither of you dwell .

Thus as I told you I only moralise u pon the subj ect

, , ,

but as to the di fculty I must leave it as I nd it u n , ,

less as I hinted a t rst I could prevail with Satan to

, ,

set pen to paper and wr ite this par t of his own history ;
,
62 T HE P O L ITIC A L
n o question but he could let us into the secr e t But t o .

b e plain I doubt I shall tell so many plain truths of

,

the Devil i n this history and discover so many of

, ,

his secrets which it is not for his interest to have dis

,

co v ered that before I have done the Devil and I may

, , ,

not be so good friends a s yo u may suppose we are ; at

least not friends enough to obtain such a favour of
,

him though it be for public good ; so we must be con

,

tent till we come tother side the Blue blanket and -
,

then we shall kno w the whole story .

But now though as I said I will not attempt to

, , ,

s o l ve the di fculty I may I hope venture to tell you

, , , ,

that there is n ot so m uch di fculty in it as at rst sight

a ppear s and especially n ot so much as some people
,

would make us believe let us see h ow others are mis

take n i h it perhaps that may hel p us a l ittl e i n the
,

inquiry ; for to kno w what it is not is on e help to ,

wards knowing what it is .

Mr Milton has indeed tol d us a great m any mer ry

.

things of the Devil in a most formal solemn mann er ; till

, , ,

i n short he has made a good play of H eaven and H ell

,

a n d no doubt if he had lived in our times he might

, ,

have had it acted with o u r P luto and P roserpine H e .

has made ne speeches both for God an d the Devil ,

a n d a little addition might have turned it a la m oder n , ,

into a H a r lequ in D ieu et D ia ble .

I confess I do not well kn ow h ow far the dominion of

,

poetry extends itself ; it seems the butts and bounds of

P arnass u s are not yet ascertain ed ; so that for aught I ,

know by virtue of their ancient pr i vileges called

, ,

li cen tia p oeta r a m there can be no blas p hemy i n

,

v erse as some of ou r d i vines say there can be no trea

,

s on ih the pulpit But they that will venture to write

.

that w a y oug h t to be better satised about that point

,

than I am .

Upon this foot Mr Milton to grace his poem and

,
.
, ,

give room for his towering fancy has gone a length b e ,

yond al l that e v er went before him since O vid in his ,

 H ISTOR Y O F T H E D EV IL . 63
Metamorphoses H e has indeed complimented God
.
, ,

Almighty w i th a ux of lofty words and great sounds , ,

a n d h a s made a very ne story of the Dev i l but he has ,

m ade a mere ye n e sea i gu oz of Jes u s Christ In on e lin e .

he has h i m rid i n g on :a cherub and in another sitting on ,

a throne both i n the very same moment of action In

, .

a nother place he has brought him i n making a speech

to his sa i nts w hen it is ev i dent he had none there for

, ,

We all know man w a s not created till a long while

a fter ; and n obo dy can be so dull as to say the angels
may be called sa i nts without the greatest absurdity in
,

n ature Besides he makes Christ himself distinguish

.
,

them as in two several bands and of d i ffering persons

, ,

and species as to b e sure they are

,
.

S tand still in bright array ye sai nts ,

H ere stand ,

Ye angels .

P ar L ost l ib v i
.
, . .

So that Christ here is brought in drawing up his

army before the last battle and making a speech to ,

them to tell them they shall only stand by in war

,

like order but that they shall have n o occasion to ght

, ,

for he alone w i ll engage the rebels Then in embat .

,

tling his legions he places the saints here and the

, ,

angels there as if one were the main battle of infantry

, ,

and the other the wings of cavalry But who are .

those saints ? they are indeed all of his own making ,

for it is certain there were no saints at all in heaven or

earth at that time ; G od and his angels lled u p
th e place ; and t i ll some of the a ngels fell and men
were created had lived and were dead there could
, , ,

have been n o saints there Sa i nt A bel w a s certainly .

the proto sa i nt of all that ever were seen in heaven as

-
,

well as the proto marty r of all that have been upon

-

earth .

Just such another mistake not to call i t a blunder , ,

he makes about hell ; which he not only makes l ocal ,

64 T HE P OL ITICAL
but gi ves it a being before the fall of th e ange l s an d ,

brings it in Opening its mo u th to receive them This .

i s so contrary to the n ature of the thing and so great ,

an absur dity that n o poetic license can account for it ;

,

for though poesy may form stories as idea and fancy

may furnish materials yet poesy must not break in ,

upon chronology and make things which in time were

, ,

to exist act before they existed

, .

Thus a pa i nter may make a ne p i ece of work the ,

fancy may be good the strokes masterly and the , ,

beauty of the workmanship inimitably curious and n e ,

an d yet have some u npardonable improprieties whi ch

mar the whole work S o the famous painter of .

Toledo painted the s tory of the t h r ee wise m en of the

E ast coming to worship and bring their presents to ou r
L ord upon his birth at Bethlehem where he represents ,

them as three Arabian or Indian kings ; two of the m

are white and on e black but unhap p ily when he drew
, ,

the l atter part of them kneeling which to b e sure was ,

done after their faces their l egs being n ecessarily a ,

l ittle intermixed he made three black feet for the N e

,
a

gro king and but three white feet for the two white
,

kings and yet n ever discovered the mistake till the

,

piece was presented to the king and hung up in the ,

great church As this is a n unpardonable error in

.

sculptu r e or limning it must be much more so in ,

poetry where the im a ges must have no improprieti e s ;

,

much less inconsistenc i es .

In a word Mr Milton has indeed made a ne

, .

poem b u t it is the devi l of a history I can easily

, .

allow Mr Milton to make hills and dales owery mea

.
,

dows a n d plains and the like in heaven ; a n d places

, ,

o f retreat and contemplation in hell ; though I must ,

add it can be allowed to n o poet on earth but Mr Mil

,
.

ton Nay I will a llow Mr Milton if you please to

.
,
.
, ,

set the angels a dancing in heaven lib v and the , . .

devils a s inging in hell l ib i though they are , . .

,

i n sho rt especia lly th e l ast most hor r id absur dities

, ,
.
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE DE V I L . 65
But I cannot allow h im to make their music in h ell to
b e harmonious an d Charming as he does ; such images
being incon gruous and indeed shocking to n ature
, .

Neither can I th ink w e should allow things to be placed

o u t of time in p oetry any more than in history ; it is a
,

co nfusion of images whic h is all o wed to be disallowed

by all the critics of wha t tribe or species soever in the
world and is indeed unpardonable But we shall n d
,
.

so many more of these things in Mr Milton that .

,

really taking no tice of them all would carry me quite

o u t of my w a y I being at this time not writing the
,

history of Mr Milton but of the Dev i l : besides Mr

.
, , .

Milton is suc h a celebrated man that w h o but he that ,

can write the history of the Devil dare meddle with

him
Bu t to come back to the business As I had cau .

tion ed you against running to Scripture for shelter i n

cases of di fculty Scripture weighing very little among
,

the people I am directing my speech to so indeed , ,

S cript u re gives but very little l i ght into anything of the

'

Devil s story before his fall and but to very little of it ,

for some time aft er .

N or has Mr Milton said on e word to solve the mai n

.

dii c u lty viz h ow th e Devil came to f all and h ow sin

, .
, ,

came into heaven an d h ow the spotless seraphic nature

,

c ould receive infect i on whence the contagion pro ,

c eeded what noxious matter could emit corrupt i on

, ,

h ow and whence any vapo u r to poison the angelic fram e

could rise up or h ow it increased and grew up to c r ime
, .

But all this he passes over an d hurrying u p that part ,

in two or three wo r ds only tells us , ,

hi s pri de
Ha d cast h i m ou t fro m heaven w i th a ll hi s host ,

O f rebel angels by whose ai d as pi ri ng

,

T o set hi mself in glory ab ove hi s p eers ,

H e tru sted to have equ all d th e M ost H i gh

.

L ib i . .

H is p ride ! b u t h ow came Satan while an ar changel

!
, ,

H D. . F
66 T HE P OL ITIC A L
to b e prou d ? How did it con sist that pride a nd pe r
'

feet holin ess should meet in the same person ? H er e

we must bid Mr Milton good night ; for in plain term s
.
, ,

h e is in the dark about it and so w e a re all ; an d th e ,

most that can be said is that we know the fact i s so , , ,

b ut n othing of the n ature or reason of it .

But to come to th e history : the ange l s fe ll they ,

sinned ( wonderful ! ) i n heaven and God cast them

, ,

o u t ; what their sin was is n ot explicit but in genera l ,

it is called a rebel l io n a gain st God ; all sin must be

so .

Mr Mil ton here takes upon him to give the history

.

of it as particularly as if he had been born there and

, ,

came down hither on p u rpose to give us an a ccou n t o f

it ; ( I hope he is better informed by this time ; ) but
this he does I n such a mann er as j ostles with religion , ,

and shocks our fait h I n so many points n ecessary to b e

believed that we must forbear t o give up to Milton
, ,

o r must set aside part of the sacred text in suc h a ,

man ner as will assist some people to set it as i de all

,
.

I mean by this his invented scheme of the Son s

,

being declared in heaven to be begotten then an d ,

then to be d eclared gen eralissimo of all the armies of

h eaven ; and of the F athe r s summoning all the a ngels
of the heavenly host to submit to him and pay him ,

homage The words are quoted already p age 3 0

.
, .

I must ow n the invention indeed is very n e th e , , ,

images exceeding magnicent the tho u ght rich an d ,

bright and in some respect truly subl i me : but th e

, ,

au thorities fail most wretchedly and the mistiming of ,

it is uns u fferably gross as is noted in the introduction ,

to this work for Christ is n ot declared the Son of God

but on earth ; it is true it is spoken from heaven b u t , ,

then it is spoken a s pe rfected o n earth if it was at all

t o be ass i gn ed to heaven it was from eternity and , ,

there in deed his eternal gen eration is allowed ; but to

, ,

take upon us to say that O n a day ; a ce rtain day for

, ,

s o ou r poet assumes lib v : . .

,
68 T HE P O L ITIC A L
media te sove r eign ; in sho rt he thre w up his commis ,

sion and in order n ot to be compe l led to obey re

, , ,

v olted and brok e ou t in open rebellion

, .

All this part is a decoration n oble and great n or is ,

there any obj ection to be made against the invention ,

because a deduction of probable events ; but the plot

is wrong l aid as is obse rv ed above because contradicted
, ,

by the Scripture account according to which Christ ,

w as dec l ared i n heaven n ot then but fr om eternity , , ,

and n ot declared with power but on earth vi z i n his

, .
,

victory over sin an d death by the resurrection fr om ,

the dead ; so that Mr Mi l ton is n ot orthodox in this .

par t but l ay s an avowed foundation for the corrupt

,

doctrine of Ar ius which says there was a time when

, ,

Christ was n ot the S on of God .

But to leav e Mr Milton to his ights I agr ee with

.
,

him in this part viz that the wicked or sinning angels

,
.
,

with th e great archan gel at the head of them revolted ,

f rom their obedie n ce even in heaven itself ; that ,

Sata n began the wicked defection and being a chief ,

among the heavenly host consequently carried over a ,

great pa rty with him who altogether r ebelled against ,

G od ; that u p on this rebellion they were sentenced ,

by the righteous j udgment of God to be expelled the ,

holy habitation ; this besides the authority of Scrip ,

tu r e w e have v isible testimonies of from the dev i ls

,

themselves ; their inuences and operation s among u s

every day of which m ankind are witn esses ; in all the
,

m erry things they do in his n am e and un der his pro ,

tection in almost every scene of life they pass through

, ,

whether we tal k of things done openly or in masque

rade things don e i n
, or ou t of it things don e i n ,

earnest or in j est .

But then wha t comes of the lo n g and bloody war

,

that Mr Mi lton gives such a full a n d particular account

.

of, a n d the terrible battles in heaven between Michael

with the royal army of angels on on e hand a n d Satan

-
,

wi th his rebel host on hte other ; i n which he s u pposes

 H I STORY O F T HE D EV IL . 69

th e numbers and strength to be pretty near equal but 9 .

at length brings in the Devil s army upon doubling

their rage and bringing n ew engines of war into the

,

eld putting Michae l and all the faithful army to the

,

worst ; and in a word defeats them ? F or though

, ,

th ey were not put to a plain ight in which case he ,

must at least have given an account of tw o or thre e

, ,

thousand millions of angels cut in pieces and wounded ,

yet he allows the m to give over the ght and make a ,

kind of retreat ; so making way for the complete vic

tory of the Son of God n ow this is all invention or at

least a borrowed thought from the old poets and the

, ,

ght of the giants against Jupiter so nobly designed by ,

O vid al most tw o thousand years ago ; and there it was

,

we ll enough ; but whether poetic fancy should be

allowed to fable upo n heaven or n o an d upon the , ,

kin g of heaven too that I leave to th e sages

, .

By this expulsion of the devils it is allowed by ,

most authors they are ipso f a c to stripped of the recti

, , ,

tude and holiness of their nature which w a s their ,

beauty and perfection ; and being ingul fed in the

abyss of irrecoverable ruin it is n o matter where fro m , ,

that very time they l ost their angelic beautiful form ,

and commenced ugly frightful monsters and dev ils ,

and b ecame e v il doers as well as ev il S pirit s ; lled

,

with a horrid m alignity and enmity against their

Maker an d armed with a hellish resol ution to Sho w
,

and exe rt it on all occasions r etaini ng howev er their

exalted spirituous nature and having a vast extensiv e,

power of action all which they can exert in nothing

,

else but doing evil for they are entirely divested of

either power or wi ll to do good ; and even in doing
,

evil they are under restraints and limitation s of a su

,

perior po w e r which it is their torment and perhaps a

, , , ,

great pa rt of th e i r hell tha t they cannot break through

, .
 0 T HE P OL I T ICAL

C HA P V I . .

Wh a t beca me of th e D ev i l a n d h is h ost of f a llen s p irits

'

f a terb ei ng ex elled
th eir
p f r om h ea v en , a n d h is

w a n der ing c ondi tio n till th e c r ea tion w i th som e

m or e of M r M i lton s a bsu r di ti es o n th a t su b ect

.
j .

H A V I N G thus brought the Devi l an d his innumerabl e

legions to th e edge Of the bottomless pit it remain s , ,

before I bring them to action that some inquiry ,

should be made into th e posture of t heir a ff a i rs im

mediately after their precipitate fall and into the plac e ,
.

of their immediate residence ; for this will appear t o

b e v ery n ecessary to Satan s history and indeed so a s , ,

that without it all the fu rther account we hav e to giv e

, ,

o f him wi l l be inconsistent an d imperfect .

And rst I take u pon me to lay down some funda

,

m entals which I bel ieve I shall be able to make ou t

,
.

historically though perhaps n ot so geographically a s

, . ,

some have pretended to do

'

1 That Satan was n ot imme dia tely n or is yet

.
,

l ocked down into th e abys s of a loca l hel l such ,

a s is supposed by some a n d such as he sh a ll be at ,

last ; or that ,

2 If he was h e h a s ce rtain libe rties al l ow ed h i m

. ,

for excursion s into the reg i ons of this a ir and ,

certain spheres of action i n which he can a n d ,

does move to do like a very devil as he is a ll

, ,

the mis chief h e can and of which w e see so ,

many exampl es both about us an d in us : In th e

inquiry after which I shal l tak e o cca sion to ex ,

a m i ne whether the Devil is n ot in most of u s

sometimes if n ot in all of us on e time or other

,
.

3 That Satan has no pa r ticu l a r r esid e nc e in this

.
,
 H ISTORY on T HE DEVI L . 71
globe or earth where w e live that he rambles ,

abo u t among us and marches over and over ou r

,

whole country he and his devils I n camps v ola n t

, , ,

but that he pitches his grand army or chief en

c a m m en t in ou r adj acencies or frontiers which
p , ,

the ph ilO SOph erS call atmosphere and whence h e ,

is called the prince of the power of that element

or part of the worl d w e cal l air ; from whence h e

s ends ou t his S pies his a gents and emissaries to

, , ,

get intelligence and to carry his c om m ission s to

,
'

his tru sty and well beloved cousins and council -

lors on earth by which his business is don e and

, ,

his a ff airs carried on in the world .

H ere again I meet Mr Milton full in my face w h o

, .
,

wil l have it that the Devil immediately a t his expu l

, ,

s ion rolled do w n directly into a he ll proper and l ocal ;

,

na ,y he measures the very dista nce at least gives the ,

le ngth of the jour n ey by the time they were passing or

f all i ng which he says w as nin e days ; a good poetic a l
, , ,

ight b u t ne i ther founded on Scripture or philosophy

, ,

f or he might every j ot as wel l have brought hell up to

th e walls of h eaven advanced to receive them or he
, ,

ought to have considered the space which is to be

a l lowed to any locality let h im take what part of ,

innite distance betwee n he a v en and a created hel l he

pleases .

But let that be as Mr Milto n s extraordinary genius .

pl eases to pl a ce it ; the passa ge it seems is j ust nine , ,

days betwixt heave n a n d hell well might Dives the n ,

s ee father Abraham and talk to h im too ; but then the

,

great gulf which Abraham tells him w a s xed b e

t w een them does not seem to be so large as accor ding
, ,

to sir Isaac Newton Dr H alley Mr Whiston and the

, .
, .
,

r est of ou r men of science w e take it to be , .

But su p pose the passage to be n ine days according ,

t o Mr Milton what followed ? why hel l gaped wide

.
, ,

o pened its frightful mouth and received them all at

on ce ; mill i ons and thousa n ds of mi ll io n s as they were ,

72 T HE POL ITIC A L
it rec eived them all at a gulp as w e call i t ; they had ,

n o di f cul ty to g o in no n on e at all , , .

descensus A vern i
F a cilis sed revocare gradu m
Hoe O pus hIc labor est V i rg

. .

Al l this as poetic a l we may receive but n ot a t all

, , ,

as historica l ; for then com e troubles in superable i n

o ur w a
y some
, Of which m a y be as follow :
( )
L hell i s
here suppo sed to be a pla ce ; nay a place created for ,

the punishment Of angels a n d men and likewis e ,

created l ong before those had fallen or these had being ; ,

this makes me say Mr Milton w a s a good poet but a

, .
,

bad historian ; Tophet w a s prepared Of Ol d indeed but , ,

it was for the king that is to say it was prepared for

, ,

tho se whose lot it should be to com e there ; but thi s

does not at all supp ose it was prepared bef ore it w a s .

resol v ed whether there sho uld be subj ects f or it or n o ; ,

el se we must suppose both men and a n gels were mad e

by the glorious a n d upright Maker Of all things on

purpose fo r destruction which wou ld be incongruou s ,

a nd a bsu r d .

But there is wo r se yet to com e ; for in the n ext plac e

he adds that hell havin g received them closed upo n
, ,
'

them that is to say took them in closed or sh u t its

, ,

mouth ; a n d in a word they were lo cked in as i t was

, , ,

said in an othe r place ; they were l ocked in and the ke y ,

is carried up to heaven and kept there for we know ,

the ange l came down from heaven havi ng the key of ,

'

th e bottoml ess pit ; but rst see Mr Mi lton ,

. .

N i ne days they fell confo u n ded C haos ro a r d

A nd felt tenfold confus i on i n the i r fall

H ell at last , ,

Ya wn i ng, receiv d the m w hole a n d o n the m clos d

,

D own fro m the v erge O f heav en , eternal wrath

B urnt after the m
U nquenchable .

This sch eme is c ertainl y d e cient if n ot absu r d, and , J

 H I STORY O F T HE D EV IL . 73
I think is more so than any other he h as laid ; it is
evident neither Satan or his host of devils are n o n ot
, , ,

any of them yet even n ow conned in the eternal

, , ,

prison where the Scripture says h e sh a ll be r eserv ed

, ,

i n ch a i ns of da rk ness They must have m ean thoughts .

of hell a s a prison a local connement that c an su p

, , ,

pose the Devil able to break j a i l knock off his fetters , ,

and come abroad if he had been on ce locked in there

, ,

a s Mr Milton says he was : n ow we know t h at he i s

.

abroad a gain ; he presented himself before G od a mo n g ,

his n e i ghbours when Job s case came to be discoursed
,

of ; an d more than that it is plain he was a prisoner ,

at large by his answer to God s question which w a s
, , ,

Wh en ce com est th ou ? to which he an swered F r om

'

r o th rou h th e ea r th c c this I i s
g o in
g t o a nd
f g say ,
.
, ,

plain and if it be as certain that hell closed u pon

,

them I demand then h ow got he ou t ? and w h y was

, ,

there not a proclamation f or apprehending him as .

there usually i s after such rogues as break ou t Of

prison

In short the true account of the Devil s circumstan ces
, ,

since his fall from heaven is much more likely to be ,

thus : that he is more of a va grant than a p risoner ; that

he is a wandere r in the wild unboun ded waste W he r e ,

he an d hi s legions like the hordes of Tartary w h o in

, , ,

the wild countries of K arak ath ay the deserts Of Barkan , ,

Cassan and Astracan live u p and down where they n d

, ,

proper ; so Satan and his innumerable l egions rove

about h ic et u biqu e pi tching their c am ps (b eing beast s
, ,
.

Of prey ) where they nd the most spoil ; watching over

this world ( and all the other worlds for aught w e know
, ,

and if there are any such I say watching and seeking , ,

w h o they may devour that is w h o they may deceiv e , ,

and delude and so destroy for devou r they c a nnot

, , .

Satan being thus conned to a vagabond wander ing , ,

unsettled condition is without any ce r tain abode ; for

,

though he h a s in con sequence of his angel ic nature, a

,

kin d of empire i n th e liquid waste or air y et this i s: ,

74 T HE P OL ITICAL
c e r tain l y part of his punishment that he 1 8 continually ,

hovering over this inhabited globe of earth swelling with

the rage of envy at the felicity of his rival man and , ,

studying al l the means possible to inj ure and ru i n him ,

but extremely limited In power to his unspeakable mor ,

t ica tion : this is his p r esent state without any xed ,

abode place or space allowed him to rest the sole of

, ,

hi s foot upon .

-
F rom hi s expulsion I take h is rst view of horror to ,

be that of looking back towards the heaven which h e

had lost and there to see the chasm or opening made
,

up ou t at which as at a breach i n the wall of the

, ,

holy place he w a s thrust headlong by the power

,

whi ch expelled him ; I say to see the breach repaired , ,

the mounds built up the walls garr i son ed with millio ns ,

of angels and armed wit h thunders ; and above all

, , ,

made terribl e by that glory fro m whose presence they '

w ere expelled as is p
oetically hinted
, at before .

Upo n this sight i t i s no wonder ( if there w a s such

!

a place ) that they ed till the darkness might cover '

them and that they might b e ou t of the v i e w of so

,

hated a sight .

Wherever they found it you may be sure the y ,

pitched their rst camp and began after many a sour , ,

reection upo n what was passed to consider and think ,

a little u pon what w a s to come .

If I had as much personal acquaintance with th e

Devi l as would admit i t and could depend upon the ,
!

truth of what answer he would give m e the rst ,

q u estion I would ask him should be W hat measures " , ,

they reso l ved on at their rst asse m bly ; and the n ext
shoul d be how they were employed in all that spac e of
,
f

t ime between their s o ying the face of their almighty

,

C onqueror and the creation Of man As for the l ength

,
.

of the time which according to the l earned was twenty

, , ,

thousand years and according to the more learned n ot

, ,
!

a q u arter so much I would n ot concern my curiosity ,

muc h abo u t it ; it is most c er tain there was a co u s i ,

76 T HE P OL ITIC A L
s
y stem a ry
world and b e abl e if n ot re strain ed to do
, , ,

mischief enough there too and even to ruin an d over ,

t h r o w the whole body of people contained in it .

But I say we n eed n ot y to these sh ifts or consult

, , ,

the astronomers i n the decision of this point ; fo r ,

whe r ever Satan and his defeated host went at their ex

pulsion fr om heav en we think we are certain non e of ,

al l these b eautiful worl ds or be they worl ds or n o I , ,

mean the xed stars planets &c had then any exist , , .
,

ence ; for th e b eg inn ing as the Scripture calls it was , ,

not yet begun

B ut to speak a little by the rules of ph il o sophy tha t ,

is to say so as to be understood by others even whe n

, ,

w e sp eak of things we cann o t fully understand ou r

selves : though i n the beginning of tim e all this gl ori
ou s creation was formed the earth the starry heavens , , ,

an d all the furniture thereof an d there w a s a time whe n ,

they were n ot ; yet w e cannot say so of the voi d or ,

that nameless n owh ere as I called it before which n ow , ,

a ppears to be a somewhere in which thes e glorious ,

bodies are placed That immense space w h ich tho se

. .

take up and which they move in at this time must be

, ,

sup p osed before they had being to be placed the re :

, ,

as G od himself was an d existed before all being tim e

, , ,

or p l ace so the heaven of heavens or the place wher e

, ,

the thrones and dominion s of his kingdom then existe d '

,

inconceivable and in eab le had an existence befor e the ,

glorious seraphs the innumerable company of a ngels

, ,

which attended about the th r one of God existed thes e ,

all had a being long before as th e eterna l Creato r of ,

the m a ll had before them .

Into this void or abyss of nothing however u m ,

measurable innite and ev en to those Sp irits them

, , ,

selves inconceivable they certainly launched from th e

, ,

b r ight precipice which they fe ll from and shifted a s ,

wel l as they could .

H ere expanding those w ings which f ea r an d horro r

,

at th e i r defe a t furnish e d th e m as I hint e d b ef ore th ey , ,

 H ISTO RY OP T HE D EV I L : 77
h urried away to the utmost distan ce possible from the
face of God their conqueror and then most dreaded ,

enemy formerly their j oy and glory

,
.

Be this utmost removed distance where it w ill here , ,

ce rtainly Satan and all his gang of devils his n u m

, ,

b erless though routed armies retire d

,
H ere Milton ,
.

might with some good ground h ave formed his P an

, ,

dem on iu m and have brought them in con sult ing what

, ,

w a s next to be don e and whether there was any room

,

left to ren ew the war or to carry on the rebellion ;

,

b u t had they been cast immediately into hell closed up ,

there the bottomless pit look ed upon them and the

,

key carried up to heaven to be kept there as Mr Mil , .

ton himself in part confesses and the Scripture a frms ;

,

I say h ad this been so the Devil himself could n ot

, ,

h ave bee n so ignorant as to think of any future steps

to be taken to retrieve his a ff ai s an d therefore a
,
r
,

P andemonium or divan in hell to consult Of it was , ,

ridiculous .

All Mr Milton s schemes of Satan s future conduct
.

and all the Scripture expressions about the Devil a n d

his numerous attendants and of his actings since that
,

time make it n ot reasonable to s u ggest that the devils

,

were conn ed to thei r eternal prison at their expulsion ,

out of heaven ; but that they were in a state of liberty

to act though limited in acting ; of which I shall also
,

speak in its place .

 78 T HE P OL ITIC A L

C HA P V II . .

Of th e n u mber of S a ta n s h ost ; h ow th ey c a me rs t

to k n ow of th e n ew c rea ted w o r lds, n ow i n b ei ng ,

a n d th ei r m ea su res w i th m a nk in d up on th e dis
c o v er
g .

SEVER AL thi n gs have been s u ggested to set u s a cal

c u la tin the number of this frightf l throng o f devi l s
g u ,

w h o with Satan the master devil was thu s cast ou t of

, ,
-
,

heaven ; I cannot say I am so much m a ster of political

arithmetic a s to cast up the nu mber of the beast n o , ,

n or the n umber of the beasts or devils who m ake u p

this throng St F rancis they tell us or some oth er
. .
, ,

saint they do not say who asked the Devil once h ow

, , ,

strong he w a s ; for St F rancis you must know w a s .

, ,

very f amiliar with him ; the Devil it seems did not , ,

tell him but presently raised a great cloud Of dust by

, ,

t h e h elp I suppose of a gust of wind an d bid that

, , ,

saint count it ; he was I suppose a ca l culator that , ,

wo u ld be called grave w h o dividing Satan s troops ,

into three lines cast up the number of the devils of

,

all sorts in each battalia at ten hundred times a ,

hundred thousan d mill i on s Of the rst lin e fty ,

m illions of times as many in the s econd line and three ,

hundred thousand times as many a s both in the third

line .

The i mpertinence of this account would hardly have

given i t a place here only to hint that it h a s always
,

been the Opinion that Satan s n am e may well b e called
,

a noun of multitude and that the Dev i l and his a n gels

,

a re certainly n o inconsiderable number It was a .

smart re p artee that a V enetian nobleman made to a

priest who rallied him upon his r efusing to give some
,
 H I STORY O F T HE D EV IL . 79
thing to the church which the priest deman ded for th e
,

delivering him from purgatory ; when the priest asking

him if he knew what an i nnumerable number of devils
there were to take him he a n swered yes he knew , , ,

how m any devils there were in all How many ? says .

the pr i est ; his curiosity I suppose being raised by the

, ,

n ovelty of the an swer : Why ten m illion s ve hundred ,

an d eleven thousand six hundred and s even ty v e

,
-

devils a n d a h alf says the n obleman A half ! says the

,
.

priest ; pray w hat kind of a devil is that ? Y ourself ,

says the n obleman for you are half a devil already

, ,

a n d will be a whole o n e when ou come there for you

y ,

are for deluding all you deal with a n d bri nging u s ,

soul a n d body into your h ands that you may be ,

p aid for letting us go a gain S o m u ch for their .

n umber .

H ere also it would co m e in very aptly to co n sider ,

the state of that long interval between the time of the i r

e xpuls i on from heaven and the creation of the world ;
,

a n d what th e posture of the Devil s a ffairs might be

,

during that time . The h orror of their cond i t i on can

only be conce i ved of at a d i stance a n d especially by u s
, ,

w h o being embodied creatures cannot fully j udge of ,

what is or is n ot a pun i shment to ser a phs a n d S p i rits ;

but it i s j ust to suppose they s u ffered a ll that S pirits of
a seraphic n ature were capable to sust a in consistent ,

with their existen ce ; notwithstanding which they re

t a i n ed stil l th e hellishn ess of their rebell i ous principle ,

namely their hatred and r age a gainst G od and their

, ,

envy at the fel i city of his creatures .

A s to h ow long their time m i ght be I s h all l eave ,

the search no lights being given m e that are either

,

probable or rational and we h ave so l i ttle room to

,

m ake a j udgment of it that we may as w ell believe

,

father M w h o s u pposes it to be a hundred thou

sand years as those wh o j udge it on e thousand years ;
,

it is enough that we are sure i t was before the creation ;

how l o n g before is n ot material to the Devil s history ,
 80 T HE P OL ITICAL
unless w e had some records of what happened to him ,

or was don e by him in the inter v al .

During the wandering conditio n the Devil was in at

that time we may suppose he and his whole clan to be
,

employed in exerting their hatred and r a ge at the

A lmighty and at the happiness of the remaining
,

faithfu l ange l s by all the ways they had power to S how

,

it
.

F rom this determined stated enmity of Satan an d

his host against God and at everything that brought ,

glory to his name Mr Milton brings in Satan when , .

,

rst he sa w Adam in P aradise and the felicity Of his ,

station there S welli n g with ra g e and envy and t aking

, ,

u
p a dreadful resolution to rui n Adam and all his po s

terity merely to d i sappoint his Maker Of the glory

,

of his creation ; I shal l come to S peak o f that in its

place .

How Satan in his remote situation got intelligence

, ,

of the place where to nd Adam ou t or that any such ,

thing as a man was created is matter of j ust specula ,

tion an d there might be man y rational schemes laid

,

f or it : Mr Milton does not undertake to tell u s the

.

particulars nor indeed could he nd room for it ; per

,

haps the Devil having as I have sai d a liberty to, , ,

range over the whole void or abyss which we want as ,

well a name for as indeed powers to conceive of , ,

might hav e discovered that the almighty Creator had

f ormed a n ew and glorious work with innite beauty ,

and variety lling up the I mmens e waste of space in

, ,

which he the Devil an d h is a ngels had roved for so

, ,

l ong a time without nding anything to work on

, ,

or to exert their apostate rage in against their Maker .

That at length they found the innite u ntrodden

space on a sudden spread full with glorious bodies
, ,

shining in self existing beauty with a n ew an d to them

-
, ,

unknown lustre called light : they found these l uminous

,

bodies,t h ough immense in bulk and innite in number , ,

yet xed in thei r wondrou s stations regul ar and exact ,

 H ISTORY OR T HE D EV IL . 81

in their motions conned I n their p roper orbits tending

, ,

to the ir particular centres and enjoy i ng every on e their ,

peculiar systems w i thin which was contained Inn u m er

,

able planets with their satellites O r moons in which ,

a gain a reciproca l inuence m otion and revolution , , ,

conspired to form the most admirable uniformity of

the whole .

S u rprised to be sure with this sudden and yet glori

, ,

ou s work Of the Almighty ( for the creation was enough , ,

with its lustre even to surprise the devils ) they might

, ,

reasonably be supposed to S tart o u t of their da rk

retreat and with a curiosity not below the seraphic
,

dignity ( for these are some Of the th i ngs which the

,

angels desire to look into ) to take a ight through all ,

the amazing systems of the xed suns or stars which ,

w e see n ow but at a distance and only make a stron o

mical guesses at .

H ere the Devil fou nd not subj ect Of wonder only but ,

matter to swell h i s revolted S p i rit w i th more rage ,

and to revive the mal i gnity of his mind against his

Maker an d especially aga i nst this n ew increase Of glory
, ,

which to h i s innite regret w a s extended over the whole

, ,

w aste a n d w h i ch he looked upon as we sa y in huma n

, ,

a ff airs as a p a gs con qu is or if you will have it in the lan

, , ,

guage of devils as an invasion upon their kingdom

, .

H ere i t naturally occurred to them in their state of ,

envy and rebellion that thoug h they could n ot assault

,

the impregnable walls of H eaven and could n o more ,

pretend to raise war in the place Of blessedness and

peace yet that perhaps they might nd room in thi s
,

new and however glorious yet inferior ki n gdom or

, , ,

creation to work some despite to their great Creator or

, ,

to a ffront his maj esty in the person Of some of his n ew

creatures an d upon thi s they may be j ustly supposed
to double their v igilance in the survey they resolved ,

to take of these new worlds however gr eat numberless , , ,

and wonderf ul .

What disco v eries they may ha v e ma de in the other

H D . . G
 82 T HE P OL I TIC A L
and gre at er worlds than this earth we have n bt yet

had an account ; possibly they are con versant with

other parts of God s creation besides this little little , ,

globe which is but as a point in comparison of the rest ;

,

and with other of God s crea tu res b esides man w h o may , ,

according to the Opinion of ou r phi losophers inhabi t ,

those worlds ; but as n obody knows that part but th e

Devil we Sh all not trouble ourselves with the inquiry
, .

Bu t it is very reasonable and indeed p r obable tha t

'

, ,

the devils were more than ordinarily surprised at th e

n ature and reason of al l this glorio u s creation afte r ,

they had with the utmost curiosity viewed all th e

, ,

parts of it ; the glories of the several systems ; the im

m en se spaces in which the glorious bodies that wer e
created and made part of it were allowed respectively ,

to move ; the innumerable xed stars a s so many sun s ,

in the centre Of so many distant solar systems ; th e

( likewise innumerab l e ) dark Opaqu e bodies receivin g
light and depen ding upon those suns respectively for
,

such light and then reecting that l ight a gain u pon

,

and for the u se of on e another ; to see the beauty an d

S plendour of their forms the re gularity of thei r ,

position the order and ex a ctness and yet inc onc eiv
, ,

able velocity of their motions the certainty of thei r ,

r evolutions and the variety and virtue of their i n u

,

en ces ; an d then which was even to the devils them

,

selves most astonishing that after all the rest of thei r ,

observations they should nd this whole immense work

w a s adapted for an d made subservient to the use de
, , ,

l ight an d blessing only of on e poo r species in itself

, ,

small an d in appearance contemptible ; the meanest of

,

all the kinds supposed to inhabit so many gloriou s

worlds as appeared n ow to be formed ; I mean that
, ,

moon called the E a rth an d the creatu re called Man ; ,

that al l was made for him upheld by the wise Creator ,

on his acco u nt only and would n ecessarily end an d ceas e

,

whenever that speices should end and be determined .

That this c re ature was to be f ound nowhe r e but ( as

 84 T HE P OL ITICAL
e nj oying him as above but ( which the Devil n ow
, ,

w a s not ) capable of honouring an d glorifying his

Maker who also had condescended to accept of
,

hon our from h im .

4 A nd which was still more that bei n g of an ange l ic

.
, ,

n ature though mixed with and conned for th e

, ,

present in a cas e of mortal esh ; he wa s intended

,

to be remov e d from this ea rth a fte r a certain time

of life here to inhabit that heaven a n d enj oy that
, ,

v ery gl ory an d felicity from which Satan and his ,

angels had been expelled .

When he found all th i s it presentl y occurred to him , ,

that God had done it all as an act of triumph over him

( Satan ) ; and that these creatures were only created to
people heaven depopulated or stripped of its l u hah i
, ,

tants by their expulsion ; and that these were all to be

,

made angels in the devils stead .

If this thought increased his fury and envy as far as ,

rage of devils can be capable of being m a de greater ;

it doubtless set him on work to give a vent to that rage
a n d envy by searching into the nature and constitutio n
,

Of this creature calle d man ; and to n d o u t whether

,

h e was invulnerable and could by no means be hurt by,

the power of hell or deluded by h i s subtilty ; or ,

whether he might be beguiled an d deluded an d so , ,

instead of being preserved in h olin ess an d purity ,

w h erein he was certainly created be brought to f all ,

an d rebel as he ( Satan ) had done before him ; by

which instead of being transplanted into a gl orio u s
,

state a fter this life in heaven as his Maker had de

, ,

signed him to be to ll up the angelic c h o i r and s up

, ,

ply the place from whence he ( Satan ) had fallen he ,

might be made to fall also like him and in a word h e , , ,

made a devil l ike himsel f .

This convinces us that the Devil has n ot lost his n a

tural powers by his fall and o ur learn ed commentator ,

Mr P ool is of the sam e opinion ; though he grants that

.

the De v i l has lost h is mo r al power or h i s powe r of doing ,

 H I STOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 85

good which he can never recover Vide Mr P ool upon

,
. .

A cts xix 1 7 where we may particularly observe

.
,

when the man possessed with an evil spirit ew upo n

the seven sons of S caev a the Jew ( w h o would have ex ,

orc ised them in the name of Jesus without the a u th o ,

rity of Jesus or w i thout faith in him ) he ew on the m

, ,

and mastered them so that they ed out of the house,

from the Devil conquered naked and wounded : b u t

, , ,

Of this power of the Devil I shall speak by itsel f .

In a word and to sum u p all the Dev i l s story fro m
,

his rst expulsion it stan ds th u s : for so many years as

,

were between his fall an d the creation of man though ,

we have n o memoirs Of his p articular a ff airs we hav e ,

reason to believe he was witho u t any manner of em

ployment but a certain tormenting endeavour to be
,

always expressing his rage an d enmity again st heaven .

I call i t tormenting because ever disappointed every

,

thought about i t p roving empty ; e v ery attempt towards

it abortive leaving them only light enough to see still
m ore and more reason to desp a ir of success and that
this made his condition still more and more a hell than
i t was before .

After a space of duration in this misery which we ,

have no light given us to measure or j udge of he at ,

length discovered the n ew creation of man as above , ,

upon which he soon found matter to set himself to

work upon and has been busily employed ever since
, .

And now indeed there may be room to suggest a

, ,

local hell and the connement of souls ( made corrupt

,

and degenerate by him ) to it as a place though he , ,

himself as is still apparent by his actings is not yet

, ,

conned to it ; of th i s hell its local i ty extent dim en , , ,

sions continuance an d nature as it does not belong to

, , ,

Sata n s history I have a good excuse for saying no
,

th i ng and so put off my meddling with that which if

, ,

I would meddle with I could say nothing to th e ,

pu rpose .
86 T HE P O L I T ICAL

C H A P V III
. .

Of th e ow er
p of th e D ev i l o
fa tt th e time
h e c r ea ti o n
s w or ld
o
f th i a n d w h eth er i t h a s n o t b een
f a r th er

s tr a i ten ed a n d lim i ted si n c e th a t tim e, a n d w h a t

sh f ts a n d str a ta g em s h e i s o blig ed to m a k e u se o
i f to

c om a ss h is desig n s u on m a n k i n d
p p .

C U N N IN G men have fabled and though it be without ,

either religion authority or physical foundation it m ay

, , ,

be w e may like it n ever the worse for that that ,

when God made the stars an d all the heavenly ln

m in aries the Devil to mimic his Maker and in s ul t his
, , ,

n ew creation made comets

, in imitation of the xed,

s tars but that the composition of them being c omb u s

tible when they came to wander in the abyss rolling
, ,

by an irregular ill grounded motion they took re in

-
, ,

their approach to some o f those great bodies of ame ,

the xed stars ; and being thus kindled like a rework ,

unskilfully let off they then took wild a n d eccentric

, ,

as also di ff erent mot i on s of their ow n ou t of Satan s ,

direction and beyond his power to regulate ever after

, .

L et this thought stand by itself it matters n ot to ou r ,

purpose whether we believe anything of it or n o ; it is

enough to ou r case that if Satan had any such powe r
,

then he h a s n o such power n ow and that leads me to

, ,

inquire into his more recent limi tations .

I am to suppose he and all his accomplices being

,

c onfounded at the discovery of the n ew creation an d ,

racking their wits to n d ou t the meaning of it had at ,

last n o matter how discovered the whole system and

, , ,

concluded as I have said that the creature cal led

, ,

m a n was to be their successor in the heaven l y man

sions ; upon which I suggest that the rst motion of
,
88 T HE P OL ITICAL
gl obe at once with a storm ; or how easil y cou l d he ,

who by the situation of his empire must be supposed

, ,

able to manage the clouds draw them u p in such ,

position as should n aturally produce thunders and

lightnings cause thos e l i ghtnings to blast the earth
, ,

dash i n pieces all the n e bui l dings burn al l the popu ,

lous towns and cities and lay waste the world ; at the
,

same time comman d suited quantities of sublimated air

t o b u rst out of the bo w els of the earth and overwhelm

and swallow up in the opening chasms all the in

habitants of the gl obe In a word Satan left to him
.
, ,

s elf as a Devil an d to the power which by virtue of hi s

, ,

seraphic original he must be veste d with was able to ,

have made devilish work in the world if by a superior ,

po w er he was not restrained .

But there is n o doubt at l east to me but that with , ,

his fall from heaven as he lost the rectitude and glory

,

of his angeli c nature I mean his innocence so he l ost

, ,

the power too that he h a d be fore an d that when h e

rs t commenced devil he received the chains of re ,

straint too as the ba dge of his apostacy viz a genera l

, , .

prohibition to do an ything to the prej udice of this

creation o r to a ct anything by force or violence with
,

o u t s p ecial permission .

This proh i bition w a s n ot sent him by a messenger ,

or by an order in writing or procla i med from hea v en ,

by a la w ; but Satan by a stra n ge invisible and n u

, , ,

acco u ntabl e impression felt the restra i nt within him ;

and at the same time that his mor a l capacity was n ot
take n awa y yet his power of exerting that capacity
,

felt th e restraint and left him unable to do even what

, ,

he was abl e to do at the same time ,

.

I make no question but the Devil is sen sibl e of thi s

r e straint that is to say n ot as it is a restraint only or
, , ,

as an e ffect of his expulsion from heaven ; but as it

prevents his capital design against man who for th e , ,

reason I have gi v en already he entertain s a mortal ,

hat re d Of and woul d dest r o y wit h all his hear t if h e

, ,
 H ISTOR Y OF T HE D EV IL . 89

might ; and therefore like a chained masti ff we nd

, , ,

hi m oftentimes making a horrid hellish clamour and

n o i se barking and howli ng and frightening the peo
, ,

ple letting them know that if he was loose he would

,

tear them to p i eces ; but at the same time his very

fury shakes his chain which l ets them kno w to their
, ,

sat i sfact i on he can only bark but cannot b i te

, ,
.

Some are O f O pi nion that the Devil is not restrained

so much by the super i or power of h i s sovereign and

Maker ; but that all his milder measures with man are
the e ff ect o f a political scheme and don e upon mature ,

del iberation ; that it was resol v ed to act t h us i n the

great coun cil or p t of dev i ls called upon this ,

v ery occasion when they rst were i nformed of th e

,

creation of man and espec i ally whe n they consi dered

what kind of creature he was and what might probably
be the reason Of making him viz to ll up the , .

vacancies in heaven ; I say th a t then the dev i ls re ,

solved that it was n ot for their i nterest to fall upon

,

him w i th fury and rage and so destroy the species for

, ,

that this would be no benet at all to them and would ,

only cause an other original man to be created ; for

that they knew God could by the same omnipotence , ,

form as many n ew s p ecies of creatures as he pleased

and if he thought t create them in heaven too ou t
, , ,

of t h e reach of devils or evil S pir i ts and that therefore ,

to destroy man would n o w ay answer their end .

O n the other hand exam i n i ng strictly the moul d Of

,

this n ew creature and ofwhat materials he was formed ;

,

how mixed up of a nature convertible and pervert i ble ,

capable indeed of innite excellence and consequently ,

of eternal fel i city but subj ect likewise to corruption

and degeneracy and consequently to eternal m i sery
,

that i nstead of being t to supply the places of Satan

a n d his rej ected tribe
( the expe lled angels ) I n heaven ,

and ll i ng up the thrones or stalls I n the celestial choir ,

they m i ght if they could but be brought into cr i me

, ,

become a race of rebels and traitors like the rest and ,

 90 T HE P OL ITIC AL
so co m e at last to keep them co m pany as well in the ,

place of eternal misery a s in the merit of it ; and in a , ,

word become devils instead Of angels

, .

Upon this discovery I say they fou n d it innitely , ,

m ore for the interest of Satan s infernal kingdom to go

,

a nother w a y to w ork with mankind an d see if it were ,

possible by the stre n gth of all their infernal wit and

,

councils to lay some snare for him and by some

, ,

stratagem to bring him to eternal ruin and misery .

This being then approved as their only m ethod ( and ,

the Devil showed he was n o fool in the choice ) he n ext ,

resolved that there w a s n o time to be lost ; that it was

to be set about immed i ately before the race wa s multi ,

plied an d before by that means the work be n ot made

, , ,

greater only but perhaps the more dii c u lt too ; a c

,

c ordin l the diligent Devil went instantly about it

gy , ,

a greeable to a ll the story of E ve and the serpent as ,

b efore the belief of which whether historically or alle ,

o r i call i s not at all Obstructed by this hypothesi

g y ,

I do n ot a ffi rm that this was the case at rst becaus e ,

being n ot present i n that black divan at least n ot that ,

I kn ow Of for who knows where he was or w a s not in

,

h i s pre existent state ? I cannot be pos i tive in the re

-

solve that passed there ; but except for some very little
contradiction which we nd i n the sacred writings I
, ,

S houl d I confess incline to bel i eve it historically ; and

, ,

I shall speak of those things which I c a ll contradictions

to it more largely hereafter

, .

In the m ean time b e it on e way or other th at is to

, ,

say e ither that Satan had n o power to have proceeded

,

with man by Violence and to have destroyed him a s ,

soon as h e was made ; or that he had the power but ,

chose rather to proceed by other methods to deceive

and debauch him ; I sa y be it which you please I am , ,

still of the Opinion that it really was n ot the Devil s
busin ess to destroy the species ; that it would have been
n othing to the purpose and n o advantage at all to him , ,

if he had d on e i t ; for that as abo v e G od co ul d 1 m , ,

92 T HE POL ITIC A L
u pon the came l s and the servants to carry off the rst , ,

and murder the last he made l i ghtning ash upon the

poor sheep and k i ll them all and he blowed the hous e
,

down upon his poor children and buried them all in ,

the rui ns .

N ow here is

a specimen of Satan s good will to
mankind and what a havoc the Devil would make in
,

the worl d if he might ; and here i s a testimony too

, ,

th at he could n ot do this without leave ; so that I can

n ot but b e of the opinion he has som e l im i tations som e ,

bounds set to his natural fury ; a certain number of

links in his chain which he cannot exceed or in a
, , ,

word that he cannot go a foot beyond his tether

, .

The same kin d of evidence we have in t h e Gospel ,

Matt viii 3 1 where Satan could n ot so much as pos

. .
,

sess the lthiest and mean est of all creatures th e ,

swin e till he had asked leave ; an d that st i ll toishow his

,

good will as soon as he had gotten leave he hurried

, ,

them all into the sea and choked them ; these I say , ,

are some of the reason s why I am n ot willing to say

the Devil is not restrained in power but on the other ,

Si de w e are told of s o m any mischievous things the

,

Devil has done in the world by virtue of h i s dominio n,

over the elements and by other testimo nies bf his

,

po w er that I do not k n o w what to think of it though

, , ,

u pon the whole the rst is the safest Opinion ; for if

,

we believe the last we may for a u ght I kn ow h e

, , ,

brought like the American Indians to worship him

, ,

that he may do us n o harm .

And now I have named those people in America I ,

confess it would go a great way in favour of Satan s
generosity as w ell as in testimony of his p ower if w e
, ,

might believe all the accounts which indeed authors ,

a re pretty wel l agreed in the truth of namely of the , ,

mischiefs the Devil does in thos e countries where his ,

dominion seems to be established ; h ow h e uses the m

when they deny him that homage he claims Of them a s
h is due ; what ha v oc and combustion he makes a mong
 H ISTORY OF T HE D EV IL . 93

them ; and how b en ec en t he is or at le a st n egative in ,

his m ischiefs when they ap p ease him by their hellish

,

sacrices .

L ikewise we see a test of his wicked subti l ty in his

manage m ent Of those dark nat i ons when he was more ,

immed i ately worsh i pped by them namely the making ,

them believe that a ll the i r good weather rains dews , , ,

a n d kind inuences upon the earth to make it fruitful , ,

w a s from him whereas they really were the common

blessings of a h i gher han d and came not from him , ,

the Dev i l but from him that made the Devil and
, ,

made him a devil or fallen angel by his curse .

But to go back to the method the Dev i l took with the

rst of mank i nd ; it is pla i n the pol i cy of hell was
right though the execution of the resolves they took did
,

n ot fully answer their end neither for Satan fastening

upon poor p roud ridiculous mother E ve as I have
, , ,

said before made p resently a true judgment of her

,

cap ac i t i es a n d of her temper ; took her by the right

,

handle and soothing her vanity which is to this day

, ,

the softest place in the head of all the sex wheedled ,

her out of her senses by pra i s i ng her beauty and pro

, ,

m isin g to make her a goddess .

The fool i sh woman yielded presently and that we are ,

told is the reason why the same method so strangely

takes with all her posterity viz that you are sure to , .

prevail with them i f you can but once persuade them

,

that you believe they are witty and handsome ; for

the Devil you may o b serve never quits any hold h e
, ,

gets and having once found a way into the heart al

, ,

ways takes care to keep the door open that any of his ,

agents may enter after him without any more dii c ulty
hence the same argument especially the last h a s so , ,

bewitching an inuence on the sex that they never ,

deny you anything after they are but weak enough and
,

v ain enough to acce p t of the pra i ses you o er them

'

o n that head ; on the other hand you are sure they ,

n e v er forgive you the unpardonable crime of s aying

94 T HE P O L ITICAL
they are u gly or disagreeable It is suggested that th e .

rst m ethod the Dev i l took to insinuate all thos e n e

things into E ve s giddy head was by creeping close to ,

her o n e night when sh e was asleep and laying his

, ,

mouth to her ear whispering all the ne things to her;

,

which he kn e w would set her fancy a tiptoe and so ,

made her receive them involuntar i ly into her mind ;

knowing well enough that when she had formed such
ideas I n her soul however they came there sh e would
, ,

n ever b e qui et till sh e had worked them up to som e

extraordinary thing or other .

It was evident what the Devil aimed at namely that , ,

sh e should break in upon the command Of God and so ,

having corrupted herself bring the curse u pon herself ,

an d all her race as G od had threatened ; but why the

,

pride of E ve should be so easily tickled by the motio n

of her exquisite beauty when there then was n o pro ,

spect of the u se or want of those charms that indeed

makes a kind of di f culty here which the learned hav e ,

not determined for ,

1 . If S he had been as u gly as the Devil S he had n o ,

body to rival her so that S he n eed not fear Adam

,

S houl d leave her and get another m i stress .

9 If sh e had been bright and beautiful as an angel ,

sh e h a d n o other admirer but poor Adam and he ,

could have no room to be j ealous of he r or afraid ,

Sh e should cuckold him ; so that in short E ve had ,

n o such occasion for her beauty nor could sh e ,

make any us e of it either to a bad purpose or to a

,

good ; an d therefore I believe the Devil w h o I S too ,

cunning to do anything that signies nothing ,

rather tempted her by the hope of I ncreasing her

wit than her beauty
,
.

But to come back to the m ethod of Satan s tempti n g
her viz by whispering to her in her Sleep ; it w a s a
, .

cunning trick that s the truth of it an d by that mean s

,

,
96 T HE P OL ITICA L
su eded ( if it were done by persuasion ) by his wi fe to
do the same thing .

And mark h ow wise they were after they had eaten ,

a n d what fools they both a cted like even to on e ,

another n ay even all the kn owle dge they attained to

,

by it was for aught I see only to know that they were

, ,

f ools to be sensible of si n and shame ; and see h ow

s imply they acted I sa
y upon t h
, eir having,committed
the c r ime a n d bei n g detected in i t
, .

V i ew the m to da y convers ing wi th the i r G od

-
,

H i s i m ag e both enjoy d and u nderstood

,

T o m orrow skulki ng wi th a so rdi d ight

-
,

A m ong the bushes fro m the i nn i te ,

A s i f tha t p ower w a s bli nd whi c h g ave the m Si ght

Wi th senseless labour t aggi ng g leaf vests - -
,

T o hi de the i r bodi es fro m th e si ght o f be a sts .

H ark ! h o w the fool pleads fa i nt for f O Ifeit l i fe , ,

First he repro a ches he aven a n d then hi s wife ,

The wo ma n whi ch tho u g a v st as i f the gi ft

,

C ould rob him of the l i ttle rea son le ft ,

A we ak pretence to shi ft hi s e arly cri me ,

A s i f accusi ng her would e x cuse h im

B ut thus encroaching cri me dethro nes the sense ,

A nd i nterce p ts the he avenly i n uence

D ebauches reason makes the m an a fool
, ,

A nd turns hi s acti ve light to ri d i cule .

It must he
confessed that it was un accountabl e de
,

g e n era c
y even
, Of their common reasoning which ,

Adam and E ve both fel l into u p on the rst committing

the o ff ence of taking the forbidden fruit : if that w a s
t h eir bei n g made as gods it made but a poor appear,

ance in its rst coming to hide the i r nakedness when

,

there was nobody to see them and cover themsel ves ,

among the bushes from th eir Maker but thus it w a s ,

and this the Devil had brought them to and well ,

might he an d all the clan o f hell as Mr Milton brings ,

.

the m in l augh and t r iumph over the man after the

,
<
 H ISTORY OP T HE D EV IL . 97

blow was given as havi n g so egregiously abused and

,

deluded the m both .

But here to be sure began the Devil s n ew king
, ,
.

dom ; as he had n ow seduced the two rst creatures ,

he w a s pretty sure of success upon all the race and ,

therefore prepared to attack them also as soon as they ,

came on ; n or w a s their increasing multitude any d i s

c ou ra gem en t to his attempt b u t j u st the contrary for ,

he had agents enough to employ if every m a n and ,

woman that should be born w a s to want a devil to

wait upon them separately and singly to sed u ce them ;
,

whereas some whole nat i ons have been such willing

subj ects to him that on e Of his seraphic imps may for
, ,

aught we know have been enough to guide a whole

,

country ; the people being entirely subj ected to his

government for m any ages ; as in America for ex ,

ample where some will have it that he conveyed the

, ,

rst inhabitants at least if he did not we don t well

, , ,

know w h o d i d or h ow they got thither

,
.

And h ow came all the communication to be so

entirely cut off between the n ation s of E uro p e a n d
Africa from w hence America must ce rtainly have
,

been peopled or else th e Devil must have done it in

,
.

deed ? I say how came the communication to be so

,

entirely cut off between them that except the time , ,

whenever it was that people did at rst reach om on e

,

to the other none ever came back to give their friends

,

any account of their success or inv i te them to follow ? ,

N or did they hear of on e another afterwards as w e ,

have reason to think did Satan politically keep them

thus asunder lest news from heaven S hould reach
,

them and S O they should be recovered ou t of his go

,

v ern m en t ? We cannot tell h ow to give a ny other

rat i onal account of it that a nation nay a quarter of , , ,

the world or as some will have it be half the globe

, , ,

should be peopled from E urope or Africa o r both and , ,

nobody ever go after them or come back fro m them in ,

above three thousand years after .

H D
. .
98 T HE P OL ITIC A L
Nay that those countries should be p eople d when
,

there was n o navigation in u se in these parts of the

world n o ships made that could carry provisions
,

enough to support the people that sailed in them but ,

that they m u st have been starved to deat h before they

could reach the shore Of America ; the ferry fro m
E urope or Africa in any part ( which we have known
,

navigation to be practised in ) bei n g at least a

thousand miles and in most places much more
, .

But as to the Americans let the Devil an d they ,

alon e to account for th eir coming thither this we are ,

certain of that w e knew n othing of them for many

,

hundred years and when w e did when the d i scovery ,

was m ade they that went from hence found Satan in

, ,

a full and quiet possession of them ruli n g them with ,

an arbitrary government particular to himsel f H e had,

.

led them into a blind subj ection to himself n ay I , ,

m ight call it devotion ( for it was all of religion that

,

was to be found among them ) worshipping horrible ,

idols in his name to who m he directed human sacri

,

ces continually to be made till he deluged the ,

country with blood and ri p ened them up for the de

,

struction that followed from the invasion of the

Spaniards who he knew would hurry them all ou t Of
,

the world as fast as he ( the Dev il ) himself could desire

of them .

But to go back a little to the original of thi n gs it is ,

evident that Satan h a s made a much better market of

mankind by thus subtilly attacking them and bring
, ,

ing the m to break with their Maker as he had don e ,

before them than he could have done by fulminating

,

upon them at rst and sending them all ou t of the

,

world a t once ; for n ow h e h a s peopled his ow n dominions

with them and though a rem n ant a re snatche d a s it
, ,

were ou t of his clutches by the agency Of invincibl e

, ,

grace of which I am not to disco u rse in this place ;

,

yet this may be said of th e Devil without O ff ence that , ,

he has in some sen se carr ied his point a n d a s it we r e , , ,

10 0 T HE P OL ITIC AL
the power of irresistible grace ; which number thus se
lected or elected call it which we will are still to
, , ,

supply the vacancies in heaven which Satan s defee
,

tion left open ; and what was before ll ed up with

created seraphs is n ow to be restored by recovered
,

saints by whom innite glory i s to accrue to the king

,

dom of the Redeemer .

This glorious establishment has robbed Satan of al l

the j oy of his v ictory and l eft him j us t where he w a s
, ,

defeated and disappointed nor does the possession of

,

all the myriads of the son s of perdition who yet som e

,

are Of the Opinion will be sn atched fro m him too at

last ; I say the possession Of all these makes n o amends
,

to him for he i s such a devil in his n ature that the

, ,

envy at those he cannot seduce eats o ut all the satis

,

faction Of the mischief he has done in seducing all the

r est ; but I must n ot preach so I return to things a s
,

much n e edful to know though l ess so l emn

, .
 HISTO RY O F T HE D EV IL . 10 1

C H A P IX . .

Of th e p r ogr ess of S a ta n i n c a r ryi ng on h is c onqu est

ov er m a nk i nd, f r om th e f a ll o v e to th e D elu e
f E g .

I DO U B T if the Devil was asked the question p lainly he ,

would confess that after he had conquered E ve by his

,

ow n W icked contrivance and then by her assistance

,

had brought Adam too like a fool as he was into the

, ,

same gulf of misery he tho u ght he had done his work

, ,

compassed the whole race that they were n ow his ow n , ,

and that he had put an end to the grand des i gn Of

their creation ; n amely o f peopling heaven with a n ew
,

angelic race of souls who when gloried should make

, ,

up the defection of the host of hell that had been ex ,

u n ed by their crime ; and that in a word he had

p g , ,

gotten a better conquest than if he had destroyed the m

all
.

But that i n the midst of h i s conquest he found a ,

check put to the advantages h e expected to reap from

his victory by the immediate promise of grace to a
,

part of the posterity of Adam who notwithstan din g , ,

the fall were to be purchased by the Messiah and

, ,

snatched ou t of h i s ( Satan s ) hands an d over whom he ,

could make n o nal conquest ; so that his power met

with a n ew limitation and that such as indeed fully
, ,

disappointed him in the ma i n thing he aimed at v i z , .

,

preventing the beatitudes of mank i nd which were ,

thus secured ; ( a n d what if the numbers of mankin d

were u p on this account increased in such a manner
, , ,

that the selected n umber shoul d by len gth of time , ,

amount to j ust as many as the whole race had they ,

not fallen would have amounted to in all ? ) and thus

, ,

indeed the worl d may be said to be upheld and con

,
102 T HE P OL ITICAL
tinned fo r the sake of those few since til l thei r numbe r ,

can b e completed the creation cannot fall an y more

, ,

than that without them or but for them it wou l d not , ,

have stood .

But l eaving this specu l ation a n d n ot having in ,

quired of Satan what he has to say on that subj ect let ,

u s go back to the antediluvian world ; the Devil to be ,

sure gained his point upon E ve and in her upon all

, ,

her race ; he drew her into sin ; got her turn ed ou t of

P aradise and the man with h e r : the next thing w a s to
,

go to work with her posterity and particularly with her ,

tw o sons Cain and Abel

, .

Adam having notwithstanding his fall repented ve ry

, ,

S incerely of his S in received the p romise of redem p

,

tion and pardon with an humble but believing heart ;

,

charity bids us suppose that he led a very relig i ous a n d

sober li f e ever after an d especially in the rst p a rt of
,

his time ; that he brought up his children very soberly ,

and gave them all the n ecessary advantages of a religi

ou s education an d a good in troduction into the world
, ,

that he was capable of and that E ve assisted to both ,

in her place and degree .

Their two eldest sons Cain an d Abel the on e hei r , ,

apparent to the patriarchal emp i re and the other heir ,

presumptive I suppose also lived very sober and reli

, ,

i ou s lives ; and as the principles of natura l religion

g
dictated a homage and subj ection due to the Almighty
Maker as an acknowledgment of his mercies and a
, ,

recognition of their obedience ; so the received usage

of re li gion dictating at that time that this homage

was to be paid by a sacrice they either of them ,

bro u ght a free will O ff er i ng to be ded i c ated to God re

-
,

s ectiv el
p y for themselves and families .

H ow it was an d for what reason that God had re

, ,

spect to the o ff e rin g of Abel which the learned say , , ,

was a l amb of the rstlings of the ock a n d did n ot ,

give any testimony of the like respect to Cain and his

Off er ing which was of the rst fruits of the e a rth the
,
-
,
 104 T HE P OL ITIC AL
l pla in s towards the sea is the orac l e to which all his
,

c hildren y for direction in such cases as are ou t of the

reac h of the ordinary understandi n g of m ankind ; please
you to give leave we will take a j ourney to him and re
, , ,

presenting your case to him we will hear his advi ce , ,

and bring it to you with all speed for the ease of your ,

mind .

C A IN I know not w h eth er h e can reach my case or n o

. .

D Doubtless he may an d if not the labour of ou r

.
, ,

j ourney i s nothin g when placed in competition w ith

the ease of your mind it is but a few days travel lost ,

and you will not be the worse if we fai l of the desired

success .

C A I N The o ffer is lial and I accept your a ffection

.
,

a te concern for me with a j ust sense of a n obliged

,

parent ; go then an d my blessing be upon you ; but

, , ,

alas ! why do I b l ess ? c a n he bless whom G od has n ot

blessed ?
D O sir do n ot say so ; has not God blessed you ?
.
,

a re you not the second sovereig n of the earth ? a n d

does he not converse with you face to face ? are n ot

you the oracle to all your gr owing posterity and n ext ,

after h is sove r eign imperial maj esty lord Adam patri ,

arch of the world ?

C A IN But h a s not God rej ected me and refused to
.
,

converse any mor e with m e while he daily favours an d ,

c ountenances my younger brother Abe l a s if b e re ,

solved to set him up to rule over me ?

D No sir that cannot be you cannot be disturbed
.
, , ,

at such a thing ; is n ot the right of sovereignty yours

by primogeniture ? can God himself take that away ,

when it is once given are n ot you lord Adam s eldest
son ? are you not the rst b orn glory of the creation-

an d does n ot the government descend to you by the

divine right of birth an d blood ?
C A I N But what does all th at signify to m e while
.

G od appears to favour an d caress my younger brother ,

and to shin e u pon him whil e a black dej ection and

,
 H ISTORY OP T HE DEV IL . 105

t oken of displea su re su rrou n ds me every day and h e

'
,

does n ot a ppear to me as he used to do ?

D An d what n eed your maj esty be concerned at
.

that if it be so ? if h e does n ot a ppear pleased you

, ,

have the whole world to enj oy yourself in and all your ,

n u merous and rising poster i ty adore and honour you ;

what need those remote things be any disturban ce to
you
C A I N H ow ! my children ; n ot the favour of God b e
.

valued ! yes yes in his favour is life ; what can all the
, ,

world avail without the smiles and countenance of him

that made it ?
D Doubtless sir he that made the world and
.
, ,

placed you at th e head of it all to govern and direct it , ,

has made it agreeable and it is able to give you a full

,

satisfaction an d enj oyment if you please to consi der it

,

well though you were n ever to converse with him all

,

the while you li v e i n it .

C A I N You are quite wro n g th ere my children

.
, ,

quite wrong .

D But do you not great sir see all you r children

.
, ,

as well as us rej oicing in the plenty of all thi n gs an d

.

are they n ot completely hap py and yet they know little ,

o f thi s great G od he seldom con v erses a mong u s

, we
hear of him indeed by your sage advices and w e bring ,

ou r o fferi n gs to o u for him as direct and whe n

y y o u , ,

that is done w e enj oy whatever ou r hearts desire ;
,

and so doubtless may you in an abun dant manner if

ou p lease
y .

C A I N But your felicity is wrong placed then or

.
,

you su p pose that God is pleased and satised in that

your o fferings are brought to me but what would you
say i f you knew that God is displeased ? that h e does
,

not acce p t your o ff erings ? that when I sacriced to ,

h im i n behalf of you all he rej ected m y o fferings , ,

though I brought a princely gi ft being of the nest of ,

the wheat the choicest and earliest fruits and sweetes t

, ,

of the oil, an o ffe ring suited to th e give r of them all ?

1 06 T HE P OL ITICAL
D Bu t if you o ff ered them sir h ow are you sur e
.
, ,

they were not accepted ?

C A IN Y es yes I am sure ; did not my brother
.
, ,

Abel o ff er at the same time a l a mb of his ock ( for he , ,

you know delights in cattle and covers the mo u ntains

, ,

w ith h is herds ) over him al l the wh i le he w a s sacri

g
, ,

cing a bright emanation shon e cheering and enl i v en

, ,

ing a pledge of favour ; and light ambient ames played

,

ho v ering in the l ower air as if attending h is sacrice ; ,

and when ready prepared immediately descended

, ,

and burnt up the esh a sweet odoriferous savour as ,

cen din g to him who thus testied his acceptance ; ,

whereas over my head a black cloud misty and dis

, , ,

tilling v apour hung dripping upon the humble altar I

,

had raised and wetting the n est and choicest things

, ,

I had prepared S poiled and de faced them ; the wood ,

unapt to burn by the mois ture which fell scarce re ,

c ei v ed th e re I brought to kindle it and even then , ,

r ather smothered and choked tha n kindled into a ,

ame ; in a word it went quite o u t without c on su m , ,

i ng what was brought to be o ff ered up .

D L et n ot ou r truly reverenced lord and father h e

.

disquieted at all this ; if he accepts n ot what you bring ,

you are discharged of the debt and need bring no more , ,

nor have the trouble of s u ch laboured collections of

rarities any more ; when he thinks t to require it agai n
ou will have notice no question and then it being
y , ,

called for wi l l be accepted or else why shoul d it be

, ,

re qui r ed ?
C AIN That may indeed be the case n or do I think
.
,

of attempting any more to bring an o ffering for I ,

rather take it that I a m forb i dden for the present ;

,

but then what is it that my younger brother triumphs

,

in ? and h ow am I insulted i n that he and his hous e ,

are all j oy and triumph as if they had some great a d ,

vantage over me in that their o ff ering was accept e d ,

when min e was not ?

D Does he triumph o ve r y o u r maj esty our l ord and
. ,
108 T HE P OL ITIC A L
the undutiful behaviour of A b el had giv e n Cain a ,

commission to chastise him a n d by force to cut h im ,

O ff an d a ll his family as guilty of rebellion an d pride

,

F illed with this mischievous and bloody resolution ,

they came back to their father Cain after staying a ,

few days such as were su fcient to make Cain bel ieve

,

they had been at the plains of Sh in n ar where Adam ,

dwelt ; the sam e which are n ow called the blessed

valleys or the p l ain s of Mecca in Arabia F elix near
, ,

the banks of the R ed sea .

Not e here also that Cain having received a wicked

,

hint fro m these men his children and subj ects as b e , ,

fore intimating that Abel had broken the laws Of

,

primogeniture in his behaviour towards h im ( Cain ) , ,

a n d that he m ight be j ustly pun ished for it ; Satan ,

that cunning manager of all our wayward passion s ,

f anned th e r e of envy and j ealousy wit h his utmost

skill all the while his oth e r agents wer e absent ; and by
the tim e they came back had blowed it up into such a
heat of fury a n d r a ge that it want e d n othi n g but air ,

to make it burn ou t as it soon afterwards did in a , ,

furious ame of wrath and revenge even to blood and ,

destruction .

J u st in the very critical moment while things stood ,

thus with Cain Satan brings in his wicked instruments

, ,

as if j u st arrived with the return of h is message from

Adam at whose court they had been for orders ; and
,

thus they that is the Devil assuming to speak by them

, , ,

approach th eir father with an air of solemn but cheerful

satisfaction at the s u ccess of their embassy .

D Hail sovereign reverend patriarchal lor d ! we

.
, , ,

come with j oy to render thee a n account of the s u ccess

of o u r message .

C A I N H ave you then seen the venerable tents where

.
,

dwel l the heaven born the angelic pair to whom all -

, ,

human reverence highly due is and ought a l ways to b e ,

h umbl y paid ?
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV I L . 109

D We h ave
.

C A I N Did you together with my grand request a

.
, ,

j ust a humble hom a ge for me pay to the great S ire and

,

mother of mankind
D We did
. .

C A IN Did you in humble language represent th e

.

griefs and a n gu i sh which O p press m y soul ?

D We d i d and back the i r blessing to thee bring
.
, .

C A IN I hope with humblest signs of lial duty you

.

took it for m e on your bending knees ?

D We did a n d had our Share ; the patriarch l ifting

.
, ,

his hands to heaven expressed his j oy to see his ,

Spreading race and blessed us all

,
.

C A I N Did you my solemn message too deliver my

.
,

I njur i es I mpartially lay down and due assistance and ,

direction crave ?
D We did
. .

C A I What S poke
N . t h e ?
oracle h e s God to me ;

wh at j ust comman d d ye bring ? what s to be done ? am

I to bear the insulting j unior s r a ge and meekly ,

su ff er what unj ustly he a ffronting pr i mogen i ture and ,

l aws of G od and man im p oses by his pride unsu ff erable ?

,

am I to be crushed and be n o more the rst born son

,
-

on earth but h ow and kneel to him ?

,

D F orbid it heaven ! as Adam too forbids ; who with

.
,

a just i ce godlike and peculiar to inj ured parents

, ,

Abel s pride resents and gives his high command to ,

thee to punish .

C A I N To punish say you ! Did he u se the word the

.
, ,

very word ? am I commissioned then to punish Abel ?

D Not Abel only b u t h i s rebel race ; a s they alik e
.
, ,

in crime alike are j oined in punishme n t

, .

C A I N The race indeed have S hared the merit with

.

h im ; how did they all insult and with a sho u t of tri ,

u mph m ock my sorrow when they sa w m e from my ,

sacrice dej ected come ; as if my disappointment w a s

the i r joy -
.

D This too the ve n e rab l e p r inc e re s e nts ; and to

.
, ,
1 10 T HE P OL I T ICA L
p reserve the race in bounds of la w s subordinat e a nd
limited to duty commands that this rst breach be not
,

passed by lest the precedent upon record stand to f u

,

ture times to encourage like rebellion .

C A I N And is it then my sovereign parent s will

.
?

D It is his will that thou his eldest son his

.
, , ,

image his beloved should be maintained in all the

, ,

rights of sovereignty derived to thee from him ; and

n ot be left exposed to inj ury and power usurped but ,

sho uld do thyself j ustice on th e rebel race .

C A I N And so I will Abel shall quickly know what

. .

it is to trample on his elder brother ; Shall kn ow that

he is thu s sentenced by his father and I am commi s ,

s i on ed but to execute his high command his sentence , ,

which is God s ; and that he falls by the h a n d of

heavenly j ustice .

So now Satan had done his work : he had deluded

the mother to a breach against the rst an d only com
mand ; h e had drawn Adam to the same snare ; an d n ow
he brings in Cain prompted by his ow n rage and de , ,

l u ded by his ( Satan s ) craft to commit murder nay a

, , ,

fratricide an aggravated murder

, .

Upon this he sends ou t Cain while the bloody r age ,

w a s in i ts ferment and wickedly at the same time ,

bringing Abel innocent and fearing n o ill j ust in his

, ,

way h e suggests to his thoughts such words as these

,
.

L ook you Cain see how divine j ustice concurs with

, ,

your father s righteous sentence ; see there is thy bro
ther Abel directed by heaven to fall into thy hands u n
a r med unguarded that tho u mayest do thyself j ustice
, ,

u p on him witho u t fear ; see thou mayest kill him an d , ,

if thou hast a mind to conceal it n o eyes can see or , ,

will the world ever know it S0 that no resentment or ,

'

revenge upon thee or thy posterity can be a ppre ~

hended but it may be said some wild beast had rent

,

him ; nor will any on e suggest that thou his b r other ,

a nd superior could be possibly the person

,
.
1 12 T HE P OL ITIC A L
poor Abel was butchered ; and thus the Devi l mad e a

S econd conquest in God s creaton ; for Adam was n ow ,

a s may b e said really childless for his two son s were thus
, ,

fa r lost Abel was killed and Cai n w a s cursed and driven

, ,

o u t from the presenc e of th e L or d and his race blasted ,

with him .

It would be a u seful inquiry here and wo r thy ou r ,

giving a n account of could we come to a certainty in ,

it namely what was the mark that God set upon Cain
, ,

by which he was kept from being fallen u p o n by Abel s
f riends or relations ? but as th i s does not belong to the

Devil s history and it wa s God s mark n ot the Devil s
,

,

,

I have nothing to do with it here .

T h e Devil had n ow gained his point the kingdom of ,

grace so newly erected had been as i t were extinct

, , , , ,

without a n ew creation had not Adam and E ve been ,

a l ive and had not E ve though n ow on e hundred and

, ,

thirty years of age bee n a breeding young lady for w e , ,

must suppose the women in that state of longevity

bare children till they were seven or eight hundred
years old : this teeming of E ve peopled not the world
so much as it restored the blessed race ; for though

Abel was killed Cain had a n umerous O ffspring pre,

sen tl which had Seth Adam s third son never been
y , , , ,

born would soon have replenished the world w i th people ,

s uch as they were ; th e seed Of a murderer cursed of ,

God branded with a mark of infamy and who after

, ,

war ds fell altogether in the universal ruin of the race

by the Deluge .

Bu t after the murder of Abel Adam had another ,

s on born namely Seth the father o f E nos and indeed

, , , ,

the father of the holy race ; for during his time and
his son E nos the text says that men began to call on
, ,

the name of the L ord ; that is to say they began to ,

look back upon Cain and his wicked race and being ,

convinced of the wickedness they had committed and led ,

their whole p osterity into they began to su e to heaven for ,

pardon of what was past and to lead a n ew sort of life ,

.
 H I S T ORY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 13

But the Devil had met with too much success in his
rs t attempts not to go on with his general resolution
,

o f debauch i ng th e minds of men and bringing them o ff ,

fro m G od ; and therefore as he kept h i s hold u pon , ,

Cai n s cursed race embroiled already in blood an d

,

murder so he proceeded with his degenerate O ff spring

, ,

till in a word he brought both the holy seed and the

, ,

degenerate race to j o i n in on e uni v ersal consent of

cr i me and to go on in it with s uch aggravating cir
,

c u m sta n ces as that it repented the L ord that he had

,

made man and he resolved to overwhel m them aga i n

,

w i th a general dest r uction and clear the world of ,

them .

The succession of bl ood in the roya l original line of

Adam is preserved in the sacred histories and brought
, ,

down as low as Noah and his three sons for a conti ,

n u ed ser i es of 1 5 4 0 years say so m e ; 1 6 4 0 say others ; , ,

i n wh i c h t i me sin spread i tself so generally through

the whole race and the sons of God so the Scripture, ,

calls the men of the righteous seed the progeny of ,

Seth came in unto the daughters of men t hat is , ,

j oined themselves to the cursed race of Cain and mar ,

ried prom i scuously with them accord i ng to their ,

fancies the women it seems being beautiful and tempt

,

ing ; and though the Devil could not make the women
handsome or ugly on one or other families yet he ,

might work up t he gust of wicked inclination on either

s i de so as to make both the men and women tem p ting
,

and agreeable to one a nother where they ought not

to have been s o ; and perhaps as it is ofte n seen to ,

th i s day the more tempting for being under legal re

,

stra i nt .

It is obj ected here that w e do n ot nd in the Scrip ,

ture that the m en of either race were at that time for

b i d i ntermarrying with one another ; and it is true
that l i terally i t is not for b id ; but i f we d i d not searc h
, ,

rather to make doubts than to explain them w e m i ght ,

sup p ose i t w as forbidden by some part i cular command

H D . . I
1 14 T HE P OL IT I C AL
at that time ; seeing w e m ay reasonab l y allow every
thing to b e forbidden which they are taxed with a,

crime in committing ; and as the sons of God taking

them wives as they thought t to choose though from ,

among the daughters of the cursed race is there ,

charged upon them as a general depravation and a ,

great crime an d for which it is said G od even re

, , ,

e n ted that he had made them we n eed o no fu r ther

p g ,

to satisfy ourselves that it w a s certa i nly forbidden .

Satan n o doubt too had a hand in this wickedness ;

, , ,

for as it was his business to prompt m en to do every

thing which God had prohib i ted so the reason given ,

why the men of those days did this thing w a s they ,

saw th e daughters of men that is of the wicked race ,

or forbidden sort were fair he tempted them by the

, ,

l ust of the eye ; in a word the ladies were beautiful ,

and a greeable and the Devil knew how to m ake u se of

,

the allurement ; the men liked an d took them by the

mere direction of their fa n cy an d appetite without re ,

garding the suprem e prohibition ; Th ey took th em

a ll w h ich th ey ch ose or such as they liked to
w i v es of ,

choose .

But the text adds that this promiscuous gen eration

,

went further than the mere outward crime of it for it ,

showed that the wickedness of the heart of man w a s

great be fore God and that he resented it ; in short
, ,

G od perceived a degeneracy or defect of virtue had

s e ized u pon the whole race that there was a general ,

corruption of manners and a depravity of n ature upon

them that e v en the holy seed was tainted with it that
, ,

the Devil had broken in upon them and prevailed to ,

a great degree ; that not only the practice of the a ge

w a s corrupt for that God could eas i ly have r estraine d
, ,

but that the very heart of man was debauche d his de ,

s i res wholly v itiated and his senses engaged in it ; s o

,

that hi a word it became n ecessary to S ho w the divin e

, ,

displeasure not in the ordinary manner by j udgment

, ,

and reproofs of such kind a s u sually reclaim men but ,

 1 16 T HE P OL ITICAL
and man l ike the wil d bear in the fo r est l ived by p r ey
, , ,

biting and devouring on e another .

At this time Noah begins to preach a n ew doctrine

,

to them for as he had before been a preacher of right

,
!

eou sn ess now h e becomes a preacher of vengeance ;

,

rst he tell s them they Shal l be al l overwhelmed with

,

a Deluge ; that fo r their sins G od r epented they were

made and that he woul d destroy them al l ; adding that
, ,

to prevent the ruin of hi msel f and f amily b e resolved ,

to build him a ship to have recourse to whe n the water

should co m e over the rest of the world .

What j esting what scorn what contempt did this

, ,

work expose the good old man to fo r above a hundred

years ; for so l ong the work was bui l ding as ancient ,

authors say L et us represent to ourselves in the most

.
,

l ively manner how the witty world at that time behaved

,

to poor old Noah ; how they took their evening wal ks

to see what he was doing and passed their j udgment ,

u pon it a n d upon the progress of it ; I say to r e re

, p ,

sent this to ourselves we need go n o further than to our

,

ow n witticisms upon religion and upon the most solemn ,

mysteries of divine worship h ow w e damn the serious

for enthusiasts think the grave mad and the sober
, ,

Im ela n c h oly ; call religion itselff la tus and hypp o mak e

th e devout ignorant the divine mercenary and the
, ,

whole scheme of divinity a frame of priestcraft ; an d

thus no doubt the building an ark or boat or whatever ,

they called it to oat over the mountains and dance

,

over the plains what could it be but a religious frenzy

, ,

and the man that so busied himself a lunatic ; and all ,

this in an age when divine things came by immediate

revelation into the minds of men ! The Devil must
therefore have made a strange conquest u pon mankind ,

to obliterate all the reverence which but a little before , , ,

was so strangely impressed upon them concerning their

Maker .

This was certainly the height of the Devil s king
 H IST O R Y OF T HE D EV IL 1 17 .

dom a n d we shall never nd him arrive to such a pitch

,

again ; he was then truly and literally the universal

monarch nay the god of this world and as all tyrants
, ,

do he governs them with an arbitr a ry absolute sway

,

and had not God thought t to give him a writ of

ej ectment and afterwa rds drown him ou t of possession
, ,

I know n ot what would have been the case he might

have kept his hold for aught I know til l the seed Of the
, ,

woman came to bruise his head that is to say cripple ,

.

his government dethron e him and depose his powe r

, , ,

a s has been fullled in the Messiah .

Bu t as he was I say drown ed ou t of the world his

, , ,

kingdom for the present was at an en d at l east if he ,

had a dominion he had no subj ects and as the creatio n ,

w a s in a manner renewed so the Devil had all his ,

work to do over a gain Unhappy man how has he by

.
,

his weak resistance made the Devil reco v ering his hold
, ,

too easy to him and given him all the advantages

, ,

exce p t a s before excepted wh i ch he had before ? Now

,

whither he retired i n the mean time and h ow he got

'

foot i ng again after Noah and h i s family were landed

upon the new sur face that we co me next to inquire
, .
1 18 T HE P OL ITIC A L

C HA P X . .

D ev il s

Of th e k ing dom,
sec on d a nd h ow h e got f ooting
in th e r en ew ed w o r ld, b h i v ic tor o v er N oa h a n d
y s y
h is r a ce.

TH E story of Noah his bui l ding the ark his embarking

, ,

himself and all nature s stock for a n ew world on board
i t ; the l o n g voyage they took and the bad weather ,

they met with thou gh it would embellish this work

,

v ery well and come in very much to the purpose in

,

this place yet as it does not belong to the Devil s story

,

or I cannot prov e what some suggest viz that he

( f ,
.

w a s in the ark among the rest ) I say for that reason I , ,

must omit it .

An d n ow having mentioned Satan s being in the
,

ark as I say I can not prove it so there are I think

, , , ,

some good reason s to believe he was n ot there : rst I ,

know n o business he had there ; secondly we read of ,

n o mischief done there and these j oined together make ,

me conclude he w a s absent ; the last I chiey insist

upon that we read of n o mischief don e there which if
, ,

he had been in the ark woul d certainly have happen ed ;

and therefore I s u ppose rather that when he saw his ,

kingdom dissolved his subj ects all ingulfed in an

,

i nevitable ruin and desolation ( a sight suitable en ough ,

to him except as it might unking him for a time ) I

, ,

sa
y when
,
he saw this he took care to speed himself
,

away as well as he co ul d and make his retreat to a ,

place of safety where that was is no more di fcult to

, ,

us than it was to him

,
.

It is suggested that as he is prince of the power of

,

the air he retired only into t h a t region It is most

,
.

rational to suppose he went no fu rther on many a c

counts of which I shall speak by and by : h er e h e stay ed
,
1 20 T HE P OL ITICA L

for all the n umberl ess legions of Satan s host ; but
there w a s and n ow certainly is suffi cient space to re
, ,

c eiv e him and a su fficient body of his troops for the

,

busin ess he had for them at that time and that is ,

eno u gh to the purpose ; o r if the earth s atmosphere ,

d i d suff er any particular convulsion on that occasion ,

h e might make his retreat to the atmosphere of the

moon or of Mars or of V enus or of a ny of the other
, , ,

planets or to any other pl ace for he that is prince of

~
,

the air could not wa n t retreats in such a case from ,

whence he might watch for the issue of things ; cer

t a inly he did n ot go far because hi s business la y here, ,

and he n ever goes o u t of his way of doing mischief .

In particular his m ore than ord i nary concern was

,

to see wh a t would b ecome of the ark ; h e w a s wise

enough doubtless to see that God w h o had directed , ,

its making n ay even the very structure of it would

, , ,

certainly take care of it preserve it upon the water , ,

a n d bri n g it to some place o f safety or other ; though

where it should be the Devil with a ll h is cunni n g

,

could n ot resolve whether on the s a m e su rface the

, ,

waters drawing off or in any other created or to be

,

created place ; and this state of u ncert a i n ty be i n g evi

den tly h is c a se an d which proves h is ign oran ce of f u
,

tu rity it was his business I say to watch with the u t

, , ,

m ost vig i lance for the event .

If the ark w a s a s Mr Burnet thinks gui ded by tw o

, .
,

angels they not only held it from foundering or being

,

swallowed up in the water but certainly kept th e ,

waters calm about it especially when the L ord brought

,

a strong wind to blow over the whole globe which by ,

th e way was the rst a n d I suppose th e only un iver, , ,

s al storm that ever blew f or to be sure it blew over ,

the whole surface at once I sa y if it was thus guided , ,

to be sure the Devil saw it an d that with envy and re ,

gret that he could do i t n o inj ury ; for doubtless had , ,

i t been in the Devil s power as God had drowned th e

,

whole race of man except w hat was in the ark he , ,

 H I STO RY O F T HE D EV I L . 121

woul d have taken care to have disp atched them too ,

and so ma de an end of the creation at once ; but either

he was not empowered to go to the ark or it w a s so ,

well guarded by angels that when he came near it he

,

could do it no har m : so it rested at length the waters ,

abating On the mountain s of Arrarat i n Armenia or

, ,

somewhere else that way and where they say a piece of,

th e keel is remaining to this day of which however , , ,

with Dr . I say I believe n ot a wor d

,
.

The ark being safe landed it is reasonable to b e ,

lie v e Noah prepared to go on shore as the seamen call ,

it as soon as the dry land began to appear ; an d here

,

ou must allow me to suppose Satan tho u gh himself

y ,

clothed with a cloud so as n ot to be seen ca m e imme

, ,

di ately an d perch i n g on the roof sa w all the heaven

, ,

k ept household safely landed and all the host Of living ,

creatures dis p ersing themselves down the sides of the

mounta i n as the search Of their food or other proper
,

occasions directed them .

This sight was eno u gh ; Satan w a s at no loss to con

clu de from hence that the design of God w a s to repeo

ple the world by the w ay of ordinary generation from

, ,

the posterity Of these eight persons without creating ,

any n ew species .

V ery well says th e Devil then m y advant a ge ove r

, ,

them by the snare I laid for poor E ve is good still ;

, ,

and I am now j ust where I was after Adam s expuls i on

from the garde n and when I had Ca i n and his race to

,

go to work with for here i s the Old expunged cor

,

ru ted race still ; as Cain was the obj ect then so Noah
p ,

is my man now and if I do not master him one way or

,

another I am mistaken in my mark Pardon me for

, .

mak i ng a speech for the Devil .

Noah big with a sense of his late condition and

, ,

wh i le the wonders Of the Deluge were fresh in h is min d ,

s p ent his rst days in the ecstacies of h is sou l giving ,

thanks and pra i s i ng the p ower that had been his pro
,

t ection in and through the ood of waters and which ,

1 22 T HE P OL ITICAL
h a d in miracul ous a mann er safely l anded him on
so

the surface of the n ewly discovered land ; and the text -

tells us as on e Of the rst things he was employed in

, ,

H e bu i lt a n a lta r u n to th e L or d a n d of er ed bu r n t ,

f
o er i ngs u on th e a lta r
p Gen vi i i 2 0 . . . .

While Noah was thus employed he was safe the ,

Devil himself could n owhere break i n upon him ; an d

w e may suppose very reasonably as he found the old ,

father invulnerable he left him for so m e years watch

, ,

ing n otwithstanding al l possible advantages against his

, ,

sons and their children ; for n ow the family began to

i ncrease and Noah s son s had several children
,

whether himself had any more children after the F lood

or n ot that we are n ot arrived to any certainty abo u t
, .

Am OiI g h is sons the Devil fo u nd Japh et an d Shem

, ,

good pious religious and very devout persons ; serv

, , ,

ing God daily after the example of the ir good Old

,

f ather Noah an d he could make nothing of them or

, ,

of any of their posterity ; but H am the second or , ,

according to some the younger son of Noah had a son

, ,

who w a s named Canaan a loose young profligate fel , , ,

low ; his education was probably but cursory and s u per

cial his father H am being n ot n ear so religious a n d
,

serious a m a n as his brothers Shem and Ja ph et were ;

and as Canaan s education was defect i ve so he proved , ,

as untaugh t youth generally do a wild a n d in short a , , , ,

very wicked fellow and consequently a t tool for th e

,

De v i l to go to work with .

Noah a diligent industrious man being with all his

, , ,

fa m ily thus planted in the rich fruitful plains of Ar

,

menia or wherever you please let it be near the

, ,

mountains Of Caucasus or Arra ra t ; went immediately

to work cultivating an d improving the soil increasing
, ,

his cattle and pastures sowing corn and amon g other , , ,

things planting trees for food ; and among the fruit

,

t r ees b e planted vi nes of the grapes whereof he made , ,

n o doubt as they still in the same country do make

, ,

m ost excell ent wine r ich l uscious st r ong and pl easant

, , , ,
.
1 24 T HE P O L ITIC A L
the roots Of in the earth and w hich n o doubt h ad been ,

there before in their highest perfection and had co u se ,

quent ly grown up and brought f orth the same l uscious

f ruit before .

Besi des as he foun d the roots Of the v in es so he

, ,

u nderstood what they were and what fruit they bore , ,

o r else i t may be supposed al so he wou l d n ot hav e

planted them ; for he planted them for their fruit as ,

he did it in the provision he w a s mak ing for h is su b

sistence and the subsistence of his fam i ly ; and if h e
,

did n ot know what they were he wou l d n ot have set ,

them for he w a s not planting for diversion but for

, ,

prot .

Upon the whole it seems plain to me he kn ew what

,

he d i d as well when he planted the vines a s when he

,

pressed ou t the grapes ; and also when he drank the ,

j uice that he knew it was win e w a s strong an d would

, , ,

mak e h im dr u nk if he took enough of it : he kn ew

that other men had been drunk with such l iquor b e
fore the F lood and that he had reprehen ded them f or
,

it ; and therefore it w a s n ot his ign orance but the ,

Devil took him at some advantage when his appetite ,

was eager or he thirsty and the liquor cooling and

, ,

pleasant ; and in short as E ve sai d T h e serp en t b e

, , ,

u i led h er a n d sh e did ea t so the Devil beguiled Noah

g , ,

an d h e did dri nk ; the temptation was too strong fo r

N oah n ot the wine ; he kn ew wel l enough what he
,

did but as the drunkar ds say to this day it was so

, ,

good he could not forbear it an d so h e got drunk b e ,

fore he was aware ; or as ou r ordinary speech expresses

,

it he was overtaken with drink ; a n d Mr P ool and

,
.

other expositors are partly of the same m i nd .

N O sooner was the poor Old man conquered and the ,

win e had l i ghtened h is head but it may be supposed ,

he falls off from the ch air or bench where he sat an d ,

tumbling backwards his c l othes which in those hot

, ,

countr i es were only l oose open robes like the vests ,

which the Armenians wear to this da y flying abroad , ,

 H I STORY O F T HE D EV IL . 125

or the Dev i l so assisting on purpose to expose him he ,

lay there in a naked indecent posture not t to be ,

seen .

In this j uncture who should come by but young

,

Canaan say some ; or as others th i nk this young

, ,

fello w rst attacked h im by way of kindness and pre

tended a ff ection ; prompted his grandfather to drink ,

O n pretence Of the wine being good for h i m and ,

proper for the support Of his Old age and subtilly set ,

upon him dr i nking also wit h him and S O ( his head

, ,

being too strong for the Old man s ) drank him down
,

and then Devil like triumphed over him ; boasted Of

, ,

his conquest insulted the body as it were dead u n

, ,

covered hi m ou purpose to expose h i m ; and leaving ,

him in that indecent post u re went and made sport ,

with it to his father H am who i n that part wicked , ,

like himsel f; did the same to h i s brethren Japh et and

Shem ; but they l i ke modest and good men far from ,

carrying on the wicked insult on the i r parent went ,

and covered him as the Script u re expresses it and a s

, , ,

may be supposed informed him h ow he had been

,

abused and by who

, .

Why else S hould Noah when he came to himself , ,

she w his resentment so much against Canaan h is

grandson rather than against H am h i s father an d
, ,

wh o it is supposed i n the story the guilt ch i ey lay ,

?
upon we see the curse is as it were laid wholly , ,

upo n Canaan the grandson and not a word of th e ,

father is mentioned Gen ix 2 5 2 6 2 7 Cu rsed be

,
. .
, , ,

Ca na a n a ser v a n t of ser v a n ts sh a ll h e b e 50
, ,
.

That H am was guilty that is certain from the history

,

of fact but I cannot but suppose his grandson was the

,

occasion of it ; and in this case the Devil seems to hav e

made Canaan the instrument or tool to delude Noah ,

and draw him into drunkenness as he made the ,

serp ent the tool to beguile E ve and draw her into dis ,

obedience .

P ossibly Canaan might do it without design at rst ,

1 26 T HE P OL ITIC A L
b ut might be brought I n to ridicul e an d m ak e a j est Of
the Old patriarch a fterwards a s i s too frequent since in ,

the pr a ctice of ou r days but I rather believe he did

it really with a wicked design an d on purpose to ex ,

pose and insult his reverend old parent ; an d this

seems more likely too because of the great bitterness ,

with which Noah resented it after he came to be in ,

formed of it .

But be that as it will the Devil certainly made a ,

great conqu est here a n d as to outward a ppearance n o

, ,

less than that which he gained before over Adam n or

did the Devil s v ictory con sist barel y in his having
drawn in the only righteous m a n of the whole a n tedi
l u vian world and so beginning or initiating the n ew
,

young progeny with a crime ; but here was the great

oracle silenced at once the preacher of righteousness ,

for such n o doubt he would have been to the n ew

world as he w a s to the Old I say the preacher w a s
, , ,

turned ou t of O fce or his mouth stopped which was , ,

worse nay it was a stopping of his mouth in the

, ,

worst kind far worse than stopping h is breath for had

, ,

h e died the o ffi ce had descended to his sons Shem

, ,

and Ja ph et but he was dea d to the o f ce of an i n stru c

,

t or though alive as to his being ; for of what force

,

could his preachi n gs be who had thus fallen himself ,

into the most shamefu l and beastly excess

Besides some are of the Opin ion th ou gh I hope
, ,
.

without ground that Noah was n ot only overtaken

,

once in his drink but that being fallen into that sin it
,

became habitual and he continued in it a great while

, ,

and that it w a s this which is the meaning of his being

uncovered in his tent and that his son sa w his n a ked ,

n ess that is he continually exposed himself for a long

,

time a hundred years say they an d that his son H am

, , , ,

and his grandson Canaan having drawn him into it , ,

kept h i m in it encouraged and prompted it an d all

, ,

the While Satan still prompting them j oined their ,

sco ffs and contempt of him with their wicked endea ,

128 T HE P O L ITICAL
and that not on ly to form a general defection among
the race u pon the foot of the original taint of nature
, ,

but like a bold devil he strikes at the very root and

, ,

ies at the n ext general re p resentative of mankind ,

attacks the head Of the family that in his miscarriage ,

the rise an d progress Of a r eformation of the n ew world

should recei v e an early check and should be at once ,

prevented ; I say like a bold devil he strikes at the

, ,

root and alas ! poor unhappy N oah he proved too

, , ,

weak for him Satan prevailed in his very rst attempt

, ,

and got the victory over him at once .

Noah thus overcome and Satan s conques t carried
, ,

o n to the ut m ost of his ow n wishes the Devil had little ,

more to do in th e world for some ages than to carry ,

on an universal degeneracy among mankin d and to ,

nish it by a like d i ligent application in deluding the ,

generality of the race and them as they came on ,

gradually into life this he found the less di fficult b e ,

cause O f the rst defection which spread l ike a conta ,

gion upon the earth immediately after .

The rst evidence we have of his success in this m is

c hiev ou s d esign was in the build i ng that great stu pen
,

du ou s staircase for s u ch it seems it was i ntended

, ,

called Babel which if the whole world had not been

,

drunk or otherwise infatuated they woul d n ever have

, ,

undertaken even Satan himself co uld never have pre

vailed with them to undertake such a preposterous
piece Of work for it had neithe r end or means pos si
, ,

b ility or probability in it .

I must confess I am sometimes apt to vindicate ou r

Old ancestors in my thoughts from the charge itself , ,

as w e general l y understand it namely that they really , ,

designed to build a tower which should reach up to

heaven or that it should secure them in case of another
,

ood an d F athe r Casaubon is of my opinion whethe r ,

I am Of his or no is a question by itself ; his Opinion is

, ,

that the confusion was nothing but a breach among the

undertakers and directors of the work and that the ,
 H ISTORY O E T HE D EV IL . 1 29

buildin g was designed chiey fo r a sto r ehouse for pro

visions in case of a second Deluge as to their notion
,

of its reaching up to heaven he takes the expression

,

to be allegorical rather than litteral and only to mea n ,

that it should be exceeding high ; perhaps they might

not b e astronomers enough to measure the dist ance of
space between the earth and heaven as we pretend to ,

do n ow : but as Noah w a s then alive and as we b e ,

lieve all his three sons we r e so too they were able to ,

h ave informed them how absurd it w a s to suppose

either the on e or the other viz 1 that they could,
. .

build up to heaven ; or 2 that they could build rm

, .

enough to resist or high enough to overtop the waters

, ,

supposing such another ood should hap p en I would .

rather think it was only that they intended to build a

most glorious and ma gnicent city where they might ,

all inhabit together ; and that this tower was to be

built for ornament and also for strength or as above , , ,

and fo r a storehouse to lay u p vast magazines of pro

visions in case of extraor dinary oods or other events
, ,

the city being built in a great pla i n namely the pl ains , ,

of S hinn a r n ear the river E uphrates .

Bu t the story as it is recorded suits better with

, ,

Satan s measures at that time and as he was from the
beginning prompting them to everything that was con
tra ry to the happiness of man so the more prepos ,

te t ons it was and th e more inconsistent with common

,

sense the more to his purpose ; a n d it showed the

,

more what a complete conquest he had gained over the

reas on as well as the relig i on of mankind at that time .

Again ; it is evident in this case they were not only ,

a cting contrary to the nat u re Of t h ings but contrary to ,

the design and to the co m man d of heaven ; for God s

command was that they should re plenish the earth ,

that is that they should spread their habitations over

,

it and people the whole globe ; whereas they were

,

p itching in on e place as if they were not to multipl y

,

su ffic i ent to take up any more .

H D
. .
13 0 T HE P OL I T ICA L
'

But w hat ca red th e Devil for th at ; or to put it a l ittl e ,

ha ndsomer that was what Satan aimed at ; for it was

,

enough to him to bring mankind to act j u st contrary

to what heaven had directed or commanded them in
anything and if possible in everything
, .

B ut God himself pu t a stop to this foolish piece of

work and it was time indeed to do so for a mad der
, ,

thi ng the Devil himself never p r oposed to them ; I sa y ,

G od h im self put a stop to thi s n ew undertaking an d

.
,

disappointed the Devil and h ow was it don e ? n ot in

j udg m ent and anger as perhaps the Devil expected ,

a n d hoped for but as pitying the simplicity of that

, ,

dreaming creature man b e confus e d their speech or , ,

as s ome say divided and confused their councils so

, ,

that they could not agree with one a nother which ,

woul d be the sam e thing a s n ot to understand on e

another ; or he put a n ew Shibboleth upo n their
tongues thereby s eparating them into tribes or fa
,

mili e s for by thi s every family found themsel v es

, , ,

under a necessity of keeping together and this n a ,

t u ra lly increased that di ffering j argons Of language ,

for at rst it might be n o mo r e .

What a confusion this was to them we all know by ,

their being obliged to leave O ff their building an d ,

immediately separating on e from anothe r ; but what a

surpr i s e it was to the old serpent that r e mains to be ,

con sidered of for indeed it belongs to his history

,
.

Satan had n ever met with any disappoi ntment in all

his wicked attempts till now ; for rst he succeeded ,

even to triumph upon E ve he did the like upon Cain , ,

and in short upon the whole world one man ( N oah )

, , ,

excepted when he blended th e sons of G od an d the

,

daughters Of hell for so the word i s understood together

, , ,

in promiscuous voluptuous living as well as generation .

As to the Deluge authors are not a greed whether it

,

w a s a disappo i ntment to the Devil or no it might be ,

i ndeed a surprise to him for though N oah had preached ,

o f it for a hundred yea rs together yet as he ( Satan ) ,

1 32 T HE P OL ITIC A L
j ust given them and the threatening of death al so a n
,

n ex ed to it if broken ?

But I go back to the affair of Babel this confusion

of language or of councils take it which w a ou will
, yy ,

w a s the rst disappointment that I nd the Devil met

with in all his attempts and practices upon mankind ,

or upon the n ew creation which I mentioned above ;

,

f or n ow he foresaw what would follow ; namely that ,

the people would separate and spread themsel ves over

the whole surface of the earth and a thousand n ew ,

scenes of action would appear in which he the r efore ,

prepares himself to behave as he should see occasion .

How th e Devil learned to speak all the langu ages

that were n ow to be used and h ow many l anguages ,

they were the several a ncient writers of the devil s
,

story have n ot yet determined ; some te ll us they were

divided only into fteen some into seventy two others
,
-
,

into on e hundred and eighty and othe r s again into se

- -
,

v era l thousands .

It also remain s a doubt with me and I suppose , , ,

wil l be so with others also whether Satan has yet ,

f ound o u t a method to converse with mankind without

the help of language and words or n ot ; seeing man has ,

n o other medium of conversing n o not with himself : ,

this I have not time to enter upon h ere however this ,

seems plain to me viz that the Devil soon learned to

, .

m ake mankind u nderstan d him whatever l anguage he ,

spoke and n o dou b t but he found ways an d mean s to

,

u nderstand them whatever langu a ge they spoke

, .

After the confusion of langu ages the people n eces ,

sarily sort ed themselves into families and tribes eve ry ,

family u nderstanding their ow n particular speech and ,

that only ; and these f amilies multiplying grew into

nations a n d those nations wanting room and seeking
, ,

o u t habitations wandered some this way some that till

, , ,

they found ou t countries respectively proper for their

s ettling ; and there they became a kingdom spreading ,

an d possessing still mo r e a n d mo r e l and as thei r peo

 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 33

p l e increased till at last the whole ea r th was sca r c e

,

big enough for them This presented Satan with a n .

opportunity to break in upo n their morals at another

door V iz their pride ; for men being n aturally proud
,
.

and envious nations and tribes began to j ostle with

,

o n e another for room either on e nat i on enj oyed bette r

a ccommodations or had a better soil or a more f avou r
,

able cl imate than another ; and these being numerous

a nd strong thrust the other out and encroache d upo n ,

their lan d ; the other liking their situation prepare ,

for their defence and so began Oppression invas i on

, , ,

w a r battle and blood ; Satan all the while b ea tingt he

, ,

drums and his attendants clapping their hands as men

, ,

do when they set dogs on upon on e another .

The bri n ging mankind thus to w ar and confusion ,

a s it was the rs t game the Devil played after the c on

found i ng of languages and divisions at Babel so it w a s ,

a conquest upon mankind purely devilish born from , ,

hell and so exactly t i nctured w i th Satan s original sin
, ,

ambition that it really transformed men into mere

,

devils for when is man trans formed into the very

image of Satan himself when 1 8 he turn ed into a mere ,

devil if it is not when he is ghting wit h his fell ow

,

creatures and dippin g h is hands in the blood of his

,

ow n kind ? L et his p i cture be considered the re of

hel l ames or S parkles In his eyes a voracious grin sits ,

u p on his countenance r a ge and fury distort the muscles

,

of his face his passions agitate his whole bo dy and he

, ,

is metamorphosed from a corn e beauteous angelic

creature into a fury a satyr a terrible and frightful, ,

monster nay into a devil ; for Satan himself i s de

, ,

scribed by the same word which on his very account is ,

changed into a substantive and th e devils are called ,

F ur i es .

This sowing the seeds Of strife in the world a n d ,

bringing nations to ght and make war upon on e

another would take up a gr eat p a rt of the Dev i l s
,

history and abundance of extraordi n ary things would

,
1 34 T H E P OL ITIC A L
occur in relating the particulars for there have been
very great c on a gration s kindled in the world by the ,

artice of hell under this head viz of maki n g w a r in , .

which it has been the Devil s masterpiece and he has

indeed shown himself a workman i n it that he has ,

wheedled mankind into strange unnatural n otions of

things in or der to prop a g a te a n d support the ghti n g
,

principle in the world ; such as laws Of war fair gh t ,

ing behaving like men of hon our, ghting to the last

,

drop , an d the like by which killing and murdering is

,

un derstood to be j ustiable Virtue and a true great .

n ess of S pirit is rated now by rules which God never

appointed and the standard Of honour I s quite dif

,

f eren t from that of reason a n d of nature : bravery I s

den ominated n ot from a fearless u ndaunted spirit in
,

the j ust defence of life an d liberty but from a dari n g ,

deance of God and man ghting killing and treading , , ,

under foot his fellow creatures at the ordinary com ,

mand of the C i cer wh ether it be right or wrong an d

, ,

whether it be in a j ust defence Of life and ou r country s ,

life that is liberty or whether it be for the suppo rt of

, ,

inj ury and oppression .

A prudent avo i d i ng cau seless quarrel is called

cowardice and to take an a ffront baseness and mean
, , ,

n ess of spirit ; to refu se ghting and putting life at a ,

cast on the point of a s w or d a practice forbid by the ,

l aws of God and Of all good government is yet cal led ,

cowardice and a man i s bound to die duelli n g or live ,

and h e l aughed at .

This trump i ng u p these imaginary things called

bravery and gallantry n aming them virtue and h o
,

n our is all from the Dev i l s n ew management an d his
, ,

subtle inuencing the m inds of men to y in the face of

God and n ature and to act against his senses ; nor b u t
,

for his artice i n th e man a gement could it be possible ,

that such in consistencies could go down with mankind ,

or the could pass such absurd things among them for

y
r eason i n g ; for example A I S found in bed with B s
,
1 36 T HE P OL ITICA L
ried e v er since as a pparently from th e sam e in
on ,

terest an d by the same origi n al

, .

But we shall m eet with thi s pa rt again very Ofte n in

the Devil s story an d as w e bring him further on in
,

the management of mankind I therefore l ay it by for

the present and come to the n ext step the Devi l took
,

with mankin d afte r the confu sion of languages an d ,

this was in the affair of worship It does n ot a ppear .

yet that ever the Dev il was so bold as either , ,

1 To set himself up to be worshipped as a god ; or

.

which was still worse ,

2 T o persuade men to believ e th ere was n o G od at

.

a ll to worship .

Both these are in tr oduced since the De l uge on e i n ,

deed by the Devil who soon found means to set him ,

s elf u p for a god in many parts Of the world and holds ,

it to this day ; but the last is brought in by the in v en

tion of m en in which it must h e confessed man h a s
,

outsinned the Devil ; for to do Satan j ustice he n ever ,

thought it could eve r pass upon mankind or that any ,

thing so gross would go down with them ; so that in ,

short these modern casuists in the reach Of ou r days

, , ,

have I say outsinned the Devi l

, ,
.

As then bot h these are modern inventions Satan ,

went on gradu ally and being to work upon human ,

n ature by stratagem n ot by force it would have been , ,

too gross to have set himse l f up as an Obj ect of worship

at rst it was to be done step by step ; for example
,

1 It was su fcient to bring mankin d to a n eglect of

.

G od to worship him by halves an d give l i ttle or

, ,

n o r egard to his laws and so grow loose and im ,

m oral in direct contradiction to his comman ds ;

,

this would not go down with them at rst so th e ,

Devil went on gra dually .

.2 F rom a negligence in worshipping the true G od ,

h e by degrees introduced the worship of fals e

gods ; an d to introduce this he bega n with th e ,

su n moon and stars ca ll e d in the holy text the

, , , , ,
 H ISTORY O F T HE DEV IL . 1 37

host Of heaven ; these had a greater maj esty upo n

them and seemed tter to command the homage
,

of m ank i nd ; so it was not the har dest thing i n

the world to bring men when they had once for ,

gotten the true G od to embrace the worship of ,

such gods as those .

3 H aving thus debauched their principles in w or

.

ship an d led them from the tr u e an d only Obj ec t

,

of worship to a false it was the easier to carry

, ,

them on ; so in a few gradations more he brought

, ,

them to downright idolatry and even in that ,

i dolatry he proceeded gradually too ; for he began

with awful names such as were ven erable in the
,

thoughts of men as Baal or Bell which in Chal

, , ,

daic and H ebrew signies lord or sovereign or, ,

mighty and magnicent and this was therefore ,

a name ascribed at rst to the true God but ,

afterwards they descended to make images and

gures to represent him and then they were ,

called by the same name a s Baal Baalim a n d , ,

a fterwards Bell from which by a hellish degen e

, ,

racy Satan brought mankind to adore every

,

block of their ow n hewing and to worshipping ,

stocks stones monsters hobgobl ins and every

, , , ,

sordid frightful thing and at l ast the Devil , ,

himself .

What notion s some people may ente rtain of the for

w a rdn ess of the rst ages of the world to run into ,

idolat ry I do n ot inqu i re her e ; I know they tell us

,

strange things of its being the product of mere nature

, ,

on e remove from its primitive state ; but I who pre ,

tend to have so critically inquired into Satan s history ,

can assure you and that from very good authority

, ,

that the Devil did not nd it so easy a task to oblite ,

rate the knowledge of the true God in the minds and ,

consciences of men as those people suggest

, .

It is true he carried things a great length under the

,

a t ria rchi a l government of the rst ages but st ill he

p ,
1 38 T HE P OL IT I C A L
w as sixteen hundred years bringi n g it to pass ; a nd
though w e have reason to believe th e old worl d before ,

the F lood was arrived to a very gre a t height Of wicked

,

n ess an d O vid very nobly describes it by the war Of

,

the Titan s a gainst Jupiter yet we do n ot read that ,

e v er Satan w a s com e to such a length as to bring

them to ido l atry ; in deed we do read of wars carried
o n among them whether it was on e nation again st
,

another or only personal we cannot tell ; but the

.
,

world seemed to be swallowed u p in a life of wicked

n ess that is to say of luxury and lewdness rapine and
, , ,

Violence and there were gi a nts among them and men

, ,

of renown that is to sa y men famed for their mighty

, ,

valour great action s in war we may suppose a n d their

, ,

st r ength who personally Oppressed others We read

, .

of n o co nsiderable wars i ndeed but it is n ot to be

, ,

doubted there were such wars or else it is to be u n ,

derstood that they lived in common a life som ewhat

, , ,

like the brutes the strong devouring the weak ; for

,

the text says th e w h ole ea r th w a s lled w ith v iolen ce

, ,

hunting and tearing on e an other to pieces eithe r for ,

domin i on or for wealth either for ambition or for ,

avarice we know n ot well which

,
.

Thus far the old antediluvi a n world went and very ,

wicked they were there is no doubt of that ; but we

,

have reason to believe there w a s n o idolatry the Devil ,

h a d n ot brought them to that length yet ; perhaps it

woul d soon have followed but the Del u ge intervened , .

After the Deluge a s I have said he had all h i s work

, ,

to do over again an d he went on by the sam e steps ;

,

rst he brought them to Violence a n d w a r then to ,

Oppression and tyranny then to n eglect of tru e wor ,

ship then to false worship and then idolatry by th e

, ,

mere natural con sequ en ce Of the thing Who were the .

rst n a tion or people that fell from the worship Of th e

true God is something hard to determin e ; the Devil
, ,

w h o certainly of all God s creatures is best able to i n
form u s havi n g l eft u s n othi n g upon record u pon that
,
1 40 T HE P OL ITICAL
Jupite r F eretriu s and about ten or twelv e Jupit er s
,

more .

I m u st ackn owl edge that I think it wa s a maste r

,

piece of hell to bring the worl d to idolatry so soon

a fter they had had such an eminent exampl e of the in
nite power Of the true God as was seen i n the Deluge ; ,

and particularly in the escape of Noah in the ark to ,

bring them ( eve n before Noah or his son s were dead )

to forget whose hand it was and give the homage of ,

the worl d to a name and that a name of a mortal man

, ,

dead and rotten who w a s famous for nothing when he

,

was ali v e but blood and war ; I say to b r ing the ,

world to set up this nothing this mere name nay the , , ,

very image and picture of him for a god it was rst a , ,

mark of most prodigious stupidity in the whole race of

man a monstrous degen eracy from nature an d eve n
, ,

fro m common sense ; and in the n ext place it was a , ,

toke n of an inexpressibl e craft and subtilty in the

Devil who had n ow gotten the people into so full an d
,

complete a management that in short he cou l d have , , ,

b r ought them by the same rule to have worshipped

, ,

anything ; and in a little while more did bring many ,

of the m to worship himself plai n devil as he w as and , ,

kn owing him to be such .

As to the antiquity of this horrible defection Of

mankin d though w e do not nd the beginning of it
,

particularl y recorded yet we are certain i t was n ot

,

long after the confusion of Babel ; for Nimrod as is ,

said was n o more than Noah s great grandson and
, ,

Noah himself I suppose might be alive some year s

, ,

after Nimrod was born and as Nimrod was n ot long

dead before they forgot that he was a tyrant an d a
m u rderer and mad e a Baal that is a lord or ido l of
, , ,

him ; I Say he was n ot long dead for Nimrod w a s

, ,

born in the year of the world 1 8 4 7 and built Babyl on , ,

the year 1 8 7 9 ; and we nd Terah the father Of ,

Abram wh o l ived fro m the year 1 8 7 9 was an idolate r

, , ,
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 141

as was doubtless Beth u el who was Terah s grandson ;,

f or we nd L aban w h o was Bethuel s son w a s so an d

, , ,

all this was during the life of the rst post diluvian -

family for Terah was born within on e hundred and

,

n inety three ye ars after the F loo d a n d on e hundred

-
,

a n d fty seven years before Noah was dead ;

-
and
even Abra m h imself w a s eight and fty years old - -

before Noah died and yet i dolatry had been then in

, ,

all probability above a hundred years practised in

,

the world .

N B It i s worth remark h ere wh at a terrible a d

. .
,

v a ntage the Devil gained by th e debauchi n g poo r

Noah a n d drawi n g h i m into the sin of drunken
ness ; f or by this a s I said he silenced an d
, ,

stopped the m outh of th e gr eat preacher of right

eou sn ess that father and p a triarch of the w hole
,

world who not be i ng a ble for the sh am e of his

, ,

ow n foul miscarriage to pretend to instruct or r e

,

prove the world any more the Devil took hold of ,

them immediately an d for want of a prophet to

,

warn and admonish run that little of religion ,

which ther e might be le ft in Shem a n d Japh et ,

quite ou t of the worl d and del u ged them all in ,

idolat ry .

H ow l ong the whole world m ay be said be thus to

o verwhelmed in ign orance and idolatry we m ay m ake ,

s ome t olerable guess at by the history of Abraham ;

for it was n ot till G od called h im from his father s
h ou se that any such thing as a church was established
,

in the world ; n or even then except i n his ow n family ,

an d successors for almost four hundred years after

,

th at call ; and till God brought the Israelites back ou t

o f E gypt the whole world may be sa i d to be involved
,

i n idolatry and Devil worshi p .

S O absolute a conq u est h a d the Devil made over

m ankind immediately after the F loo d a n d all tak ing ,
1 42 T HE P O L ITIC A L
its rise and beginning at the fatal de feat of Noah who ,

had he lived untainted and invulnerable as he had ,

done for six hundred years before would have gon e a ,

great way to have stemmed the torrent of wickedness

which broke in upon mankind ; an d therefore the
Devil I say was very cunning and very much in th e
, , ,

right of it take him as he is a mere devil to attack

, ,

N oa h personally and give h im a blow so soon

, .

It is true the Devil did not immediately rase out

,

the n otion Of religion and of a God from the minds of

, ,

m en nor co u ld he easily suppress the prin cipl e of

,

worship and homage to be paid to a sovereign being ,

the author of nature and guide of the world ; the

Devi l saw this clearly in the rst a ges of the n ew
world and therefore as I ha v e sai d he proceeded
, , ,

politically and by degrees That it was so is evident

.
,

from the story of Job and his three friends who if w e , ,

may take it for a history n ot a fable and may j udge

, ,

of the time of it by the length of Job s li fe and by the

family of E liphaz the Temanite who it is manifest was , , ,

a t least grandson or great grandson to E sau Isaac s ,

eldest so n and by the language of Abimelech king of

, ,

Gerar to Abraham and of L aban to Jacob both the

, , ,

latter being at the same time idolaters ; I say if we ,

may j udge of it by all these there were still very ,

sound n otions of religion in the minds Of men ; n or

could Satan w i th all his cunning an d pol i cy defac e
those ideas and root them ou t Of the minds of the
,

people .

And this put him upon taking n ew measures to keep

up his i n terest and preserve the hold he got u pon man
k i nd an d his metho d was l i ke himself subtle and po
, ,

l i tic to the last degree as h i s whole history makes a p

,

pear ; for seeing he foun d they could not but believe

the being of a God and that they would needs worship
,

so m ething it is evident he had no game left him to

,

play but th i s n amely to set u p wrong n otions Of wor

, ,

ship and bring them to a false worship instead o f a

,
1 44 T HE P OL ITICAL
the northern par ts of E urope and in the m the vast coun,

tries of C h in a and Tartary P ersia and India Guinea

, , ,

E thiopia Z a n qu eb ar Congo Angola Mon om otapa

, , , , ,

&c in all which except E thiopia we nd n o vestiges

.
, , ,

of any other worship but that of idols monsters and , ,

e v en the Devil himself ; till after the very coming of

o ur Saviour and even then if it be true that the
, , ,

Gospe l was preached i n the In dies an d China by St

Tho m as and in other remote countries by other of the

,

apostles ; we see that whatever ground Sata n lost he ,

seems to have recovered it again ; an d all Asia and

Africa is at present overrun with P aganism or Maho
m eta n ism which I think of the two is rather the
,

worst ; besides all America a part of the world as , ,

so m e say equa l in bigness to all the other in whic h

, ,

the Devil s kingdo m w a s n ever interrupted from its
rst being inhabited when ever it was to the rst dis
, ,

c ov er
y of it b y the E u ropean n ations in the sixteenth

centu ry .

In a word the Devil got what we may cal l an entire

,

v ictory over mankind and drove the worship of the

,

true God in a manner q u ite ou t of the worl d forcing

, , , ,

a s it were his M aker in a n ew kind of creation

,
the ,

old on e proving thus in e ff ectual to recover a certain

number by force and mere omnipoten ce to return to

their duty, s e r ve h im and worship him ; but of that
he r eafter .
 H IS T ORY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 45

CHA P xi
. .

Of God s h ou t of th e mids t of a de
c a lling a ch u r c

g en era te w or ld, a n d of S a ta n s n ew m ea su r es u o n
p
th a t i n c iden t : h ow he a tta ched th em im media tely,
a n d h is su ccess i n th ose a tta cks .

S ATA N havin g as I have said in the preceding chap

,

ter made as it were a full conquest of mankind de

, , , ,

ba u ch ed them all to idolatry and brought them at ,

least to worshipping the tr ue God by the wr etched

medium of corrupt and idolatrous representation s ;
G od seemed to have no tru e servants or worshippers
l eft in the world but if I may be allo wed to speak so
, , ,

w as obliged in order to restore the world to their

,

s en ses again to cal l a select number o u t from among

,

th e rest w h o he h imself undertook S ho uld ow n his

,

godhead or supreme authority and worsh i p him as he ,

required to be worshipped this I say God was obliged , ,

to do because it is evi dent it has not been don e so

,

muc h by the choice and council of men for Sata n ,

would have overruled that pa rt as by the power an d ,

energy of some irresistible and invincible operation ,

and this ou r divines give high names to ; but be it

what they will it is the second defeat or disappoint
,

ment that the De v il has met with in his progress in

the world ; the rst I have spoken of already .

It is true Satan very w e ll u nderstood what was

,

threatened to him in the original promise to the

woman immediately after the fall namely Th ou sh a lt
, , ,

b r u ise h is h ea d, 8rd but he did not expect it so sud

,

denly but thought himself sure of mankind till the

, ,

fu lness of ti m e when the Messiah should come ; and

there fore it was a gr eat surpri se to him to see that
H D. . L
146 T HE P OL ITICAL
Ab r aham being cal led wa s so imm e diatel y r eceived
, ,

and established though he did n ot so immediate ly

,

fol l ow the v oice that directed him ; yet in him in his ,

l oins was all God s church at that time contained
,
.

In the calling Abraham it is easy to see that the re ,

w a s n o other way for God to form a Church that is to ,

sa to S ing le ou t a people to hi m self as the world was

y
, ,

then stated but by immediate revolution and voice

,

from heaven All mankind were gone over to the

.

en emy overwhelmed in idol atry in a word were en

, , ,

gaged to the Devi l God Almighty or as the Scripture , ,

distinguishes him the L ord the tru e G od was ou t of

, , ,

the question ; m ankin d kne w little or n othing of him ,

m uch less did th ey know anythi ng of his worship or ,

that there w a s such a being in the world .

Well might it be said the L ord appeared to Abraham ,

Gen xii 7 , for if G od had not appeared himself he
. .
,

must have sent a messenge r from heaven and perhap s ,

it was so too for he had not on e tru e servant or wor

,

shipper that we know of; then on earth to send on that ,

errand ; n o prophet n o preache r of righteousness :

,

Noah was dead and had been so above seventeen

,

years ; and if he had not his preaching as I observed , ,

after his great miscarriage had but little e ff ect ; we ,

are indeed told that Noah left behind him ce rtai n

,

r ules and or ders for the true worship of God which ,

were called the P recepts of Noah and r emained in th e ,

world for a long time ; though h ow written when , ,

neither any letters much l ess writing were known

, ,

in the world is a di fficulty which remains to be solved ;

,

and this m akes me look upon those laws ca ll ed the ,

Precepts of Noah to be a modern invention as I d o

, ,

also the A lp h a betu m N oa ch i which Boch art p r etends ,

to give an account of .

But to leave that ction and come back to ,

Abraham ; God called him whether at rst by voice , ,

without any vision ; whether in a dream or night vision ,

which was very signicant in those day s ; or whethe r .

 148 T HE P OL IT I CAL
short they coul d never have any husbands &c and so
, , .
,

in their abundant concern to repeople the world and ,

that the race of mankin d might not be dest r oyed they ,

go and lie with their ow n father ; the Devil tellin g th em

doubtless h ow to do it by intoxicating his head with
"

wine ; in all which story whether they were n ot as

,

drunk as their father seems to be a question or else

, ,

they could n ot have supposed all the men in the earth

were con sumed when they kn ew that the l ittle city
,

Z oar had been preserv ed for their sakes .

This n ow was the thir d conquest Satan Obtained b y

the gust of human a ppetite ; that is to say onc e by ,

eating and twice by drinkin g or drunkenness and stil l

, ,

the last was the worst and most shameful ; for Lot ,

however his daughters managed him could not preten d ,

he did not understan d what the strength of win e was ;

and on e would have thought afte r so terrible a j udgment
a s that of Sodom was which w a s as we may say
, , ,

executed before his face his thoughts should have been

,

t oo solemnly engaged in praisi n g God for sparing his

l ife to be m ade drunk and that two nights together
, , .

But the Devil played his gam e sure he set his tw o ,

daughters to work and as the Devil s in struments
,

se l dom fail so h e secured his by that h ellish stratagem

,

of deluding the daughters to think all the world was

consumed but they two a n d their father : to be su r e

the old man could n ot suspect that h is daughters design
was so wicked a s indeed it w a s or that they i ntended
,

to debauch him with win e and m ake h im drink till he

,

knew not wh at he did .

Now the Devil having carried h i s game here gained

, ,

a great point ; for as there were but tw o r eligiou s

families in the world before from whence a twofol d
,

generation might be supposed to rise religio u s and ,

r ighteous like their parents viz that of Abraham ,

.

an d this of Lot ; this crime ruin ed th e hopes of on e of

them ; it could n o more be said that j ust Lot w a s i n
be ing who vexed his righteous soul from day to day
,
 H ISTORY O F THE D EV IL . 1 49

with th e wicked behaviour of the people of Sodom ;

r ighteous L ot was degenerated into drunken incestuous
Lot ; L ot fallen fro m what he w a s to be a wicked and
, ,

unrighteo u s man ; no pattern of virtue no reprover of ,

the age b ut a poor fallen degenerate patriarch who

, ,

co ul d now no more reprove or exhort but look down ,

and be ashamed and had n othing to do but to r epent ;

,

and see the poor mean excuses of all the three

E ve says Th e serp en t beg u iled m e a nd I did ea t
, ,
.

Noah say s My gr a ndson beg u iled m e or th e w ine

, ,

begu iled m e, a ndI did drink .

L ot says ,
My da ugh ters begu iled m e, a nd I a lso did
dri nk .

It is observable that as I said above Noah was

, , ,

si l enced and his preaching at an end after that

, ,

on e action so the like may be said of L ot ; and in short

, , ,

o never hear o n e word more of either of them after

y u

it ; as for mankind both were useless to them and as

, ,

to themselves w e never read of any of their repentance

, ,

n or have we much reason to believe they did repent .

F rom this attack of the Devil upon L ot we hear n o ,

more of the Devil being so busily employed as he had

been before in the world ; he had indeed but little t o
do for all the rest of the world w a s his ow n lulled
, ,

asleep unde r the witchc raft of idolatry and are so still , .

But it co u l d n ot be long that the Devil l ay idle ; as

soon as God called himself a people the Devil could ,

not be at rest tell he attacked them .

Wherever G od sets up a house O f prayer ,

The D evi l always bui lds a chap el there .

Abr aham indeed went Off the stage free and so did ,

Isaac too they were a kind of rst rate saints ; w e do

,
-

not so much as rea d of any failing they had or of an y

'

th i ng the Devil h a d ever the face to o ffer to them ; n o ,

or with Jacob either if you will excuse him for b e

,

guili ng h is brother E sau of both his b irthright and his

, .
1 50 T HE P OL ITIC A L
blessing but he was b u sv enough with all his chi l dren ;
,

fo r example ,

He sent Judah to his sheep shearing and placed a -

,

whore ( Tamar) in his w ay in the posture of temp ,

ta tion so made him commit incest and whoredo m

,

both together .

H e sent incestuous R euben to lie with his father s
concubine Billah , .

H e sent Dinah to the ball to dance with th e ,

S ich em ite ladies and p l ay the whore with the ir

,

master .

H e enraged Simeon and L evi at the supposed i n ,

j ury and then prompted them to revenge f or

, ,

wh i ch their father heartily cursed them .

H e s ent them al together to fall upon poor Joseph ,

rst to mur der him intentio n ally and then a o ,

tu a lly sell him to the Midianites .

H e made them S ho w the party coloured coat and -

tell a l ie to their father to make the poor old man ,

believe Joseph w a s killed by a l ion 86 0 ,

.

H e sent P otiphar s wife to attack Joseph s chastity ,

a n d lled her with r a ge at the disappointment .

H e taught Joseph to swear by th e l i fe of Pharaoh .

In a word he debauched the Whole race except

, ,

Benj amin and never man had such a set of sons so

, ,

wicked an d so notorious after so good an introduction ,

into the world as they all of them had to be sure ; for ,

Jacob n o doubt gav e them as good instru ction as th e

, ,

circ um stances of his wandering condition would allow

him to do .

We m ust n ow consider the Devil and his a ffairs in

a quite di ff ering S ituation : when the world rst ap
ea red peopled by the creat i ng power of God he had
p , ,

only Adam and E ve to take care of and I think he ,

plied his time with them to purpose enough : after the

Deluge he had Noah only to pitch upon and he quickly ,

conquered him by the inst i gation of his grandson .

At the building of Babel he guided them by thei r ,

1 52 T HE P OL ITICAL
b e en abl e to have prevented the mirac l e he wo ul d ,

ce rtainl y have p r evented the escape by sending out ,

Pharaoh and his a r my time enough to have taken th e

strand before them an d so have driven them to the
,

n ecessity of t r avell ing on foot round the north point of

that sea by the wil de r ness of E ta n where he wou l d
, ,

have pursued and haras sed them with his caval ry ,

and in al l probability have destroyed them : but the

bl ind sho r t sighted Devil perfectly in the dark an d
-
, ,

u nacquainted with fu turity kne w nothing of the matter , ,

w a s as much deceived as P haraoh himself stood still , ,

attering himself with the hopes of his booty and th e ,

re venge he should t ake u pon them the n ext morning ;

ti ll he saw the frighted waves in an uproar an d t o h is ,

utte r astonishment and confusion saw the pass a ge laid ,

open and Moses l eading his vast army in full m arch

,

o v er the d ry S pace ; nay even then it is ve ry probabl e

,

Satan did n ot know that if the E gyptians follow e d

,

them the sea wou l d return upon and overwhel m them ;

,

for I can ha r dly think so hard Of the Devil himse l f,

that if he had he woul d have su ff ere d much l ess
, ,

prompted Pharaoh to follo w the chace at such an ex

,

pense ; so that either he must be an ignorant u nfore ,

seeing Devil or a very ungratefu l false Devi l to h is

,

fr iends the E gyptians .

I am incl ined al so to the more charitab l e Opinion of

Satan too because the escape of the Israelites w a s
,

r eally a trium p h over himself ; for the war was cer

ta inly h is or at least he was auxiliary t o Pharaoh ; it
,

w a s a v ictory over hel l and E gypt together and he ,

woul d n ever have su ffered the disgrace if he had ,

know n it beforehand ; tha t is to say though he cou l d ,

not have prevented the escape of Israel or the dividing ,

the water yet h e might have warned the E gyptians

, ,

and ca ution ed them not to venture in after them .

But we shall see a great many weak steps t aken b y

the Devil in the a ffair of this very people and thei r ,

fo rty ye ar s wande r ing in the wil de r nes s ; and though

 H ISTO RY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 53

h e wa s in some things successful and wheed l ed the m ,

into many foolish and miserable murmurings an d

wranglings against God an d mutinies against poo r
,

Moses yet the Devil w a s oftentimes baulked and dis

,

appointed ; and it is for this reason that I choose to ,

nish the rst part of his history with the partic u la r

re lation of his behaviou r among the Jews becaus e ,

also we do not nd any extraordinary things happen

,

ing anywhere e l se in the worl d for above on e thousan d

,

ve hundred years ; n o variety no revolutions all the , ,

rest of mankind lay still under his yoke quietly su b ,

mitted to his government did j ust as he bade them , ,

worshipped every idol he set up and in a word he had , , ,

n o di fficulty with anybody but the Jews and for this ,

r eason I say this part of his story will be the more

, ,

useful and instructing .

To return therefore to Moses and h is div idin g the

, , ,

R ed sea ; that the people went over or thro u gh it

that we have the sacred history for ; but h ow the

Devi l behaved that you must come to me for or I
, ,

know n ot where you w ill n d a true account of it at ,

l east not in print .

1
. It was in the night they marched thro u gh ;

whether the Dev il saw it in the da r k or n o that s n ot ,

my busin e ss .

But when he had daylight for it and v iewed th e ,

n ext day s work I make no question but all H ell felt
,

the surprise the prey being thus snatched ou t of thei r

,

hands unexpectedly It is true the E gyptian host

.
,

w a s sent to him in their room but that w a s n ot what,

b e aimed at ; for he was sure enough Of them his ow n

w ay a n d if it was n ot j ust at tha t time yet he knew
, ,

what and wh o they were ; but as he had devoured the

whole Israelitish host in his imagination to the tun e ,

of at least a million and a half of so ul s ; men women , ,

and children ; it w a s no doubt a great disappointment

, ,

to the Devil to miss of h i s prey and to see them al l ,

triump h ing on the other side in safety .

1 54 T HE P OL ITIC AL

It is true Satan s ann als do not mention this defe at
, ,

f or historians are generally backward to register their

ow n misfort u nes ; but as we have an account of the
f act from other hands so as w e cannot question the ,

truth of it the nature of the thing will tell us it was

,

a disappointment to the Devil and a very great one ,

too.

I cannot but observe here that I think this part of ,

th e Devil s story v ery entertaining because Of the

great v ariety of incidents which appear in every par t

Of it ; sometimes he is l ike a hunted fox curveting ,

and counter runni n g to avoid his being pursued a n d

-

found ou t while at the same time he is carrying on his

, , ,

secret designs to draw the people he preten ds to

manage into some snare or other to their hurt ; at a n
,

other t i me though the comparison is a little too low

,

f or his dignity like a monkey that has don e mischief , ,

and who mak i ng his own escape sits and chatters at a

, ,

distance as if he had triumphed in what he had done

,

so Satan when he had drawn the m in to worship a

,

calf to o ffer strange re to set up a schism and th e

, , ,

like and so to bring the divin e vengean ce upon them

,

selves leaving them in the i r distress

, kept at a dis ,

tance as if he looked on with satisfact i on to see them

,

burn ed swallowed up swept away and the l ike as the

, , ,

several stories relate .

H is in defatigable vigi l ance is on the other hand a , ,

useful caveat as well as an improving vie w to u s ; n o

,

s ooner is he routed and exposed defeated and di sa p ,

pointed in on e enter p rise but he b egin s an other and , , ,

l ike a cunning glad i ator warily defends himself and ,

boldly attacks his enemy at the same t i me Thus w e .

see him up and down conquering and co n quered

, , ,

through this whole part of his story till at last b e re , ,

c eiv es a total defeat of which you shall b ea r in its ,

place ; in the mean time l et u s take up his story a gain ,

the R ed where he received a great b l i 3

a t s ea ow ,
n ,

stead of whic h he expect e d a comp l ete victo ry ; f or,

1 56 T HE P OL ITIC A L
suggestion s considering Moses was admitted to the
, .

vision of God and that G od had been p l eas ed to a p

,

pear to him in the most intimate manner ; that as the y

might depend God wo uld n ot destroy his faithful ser
vant so they might have concluded he w a s able to
,

support his being without food as long as he thought

t ; but to a people so easy to believe anything what ,

c Ould be too gross for the Devi l to persuade them to ? ,

A people who could dance r ound a calf and call it ,

their god might do anything ; t h at could say to on e

,

another that this w a s the great Jehovah th a t brough t

,

th em ou t o f th e la nd of E gyp t ; and that within so few

days after God s miraculous appearance to them and ,

f or them ; I say such a people were really tted to be

,

imposed upon n othing could be too gross for them

, .

This was indeed his rst considerable experimen t

, ,

upon them as a people or as a body ; and the truth is , ,

his a ff airs required it for Satan who has been a su c

, ,

c essf u l devil i n most of his attempts upon mankind ,

could hardl y doubt of success in anything after he had

carried his point at mount Sinai : to bring them to
idolatry i n the very face of their deliverer and j ust ,

a fter their deliverance ! It w a s more astonishing i n ,

the main than even their passing the R ed sea In a

,
.

word the Devil s whole history does not furnish u s
,

with a story equally surprising .

And ow was poor Aaron bewildered in it too He

h ?
,

that was Moses s partner in all the great things that

Moses did in Pharaoh s sight and that was appointed ,

to be his ass i st a nt and oracle or orator rather u po n , ,

al l public occasion s ; that he above all the rest S ho ul d

, ,

come into this absurd and ridic ulous proposal he tha t ,

w a s singled o ut for the sacred priesthood ; for him to

dele his holy han ds with a pol luted abominable sacri
c e and with making the idol for them too ( for it is
, ,

plain that he made it ) h ow monstrous was it ! ,

And see what an answer he gives to his broth e r

Mos e s ; h ow we ak ! h ow simp l e ! I did so and so in ,

 H IS T ORY O F T HE D EV IL 1 57 .

deed I bade them bring the earrings &c a n d I c a st

, ,
.
,

the gold into the re and it came o u t th is cal f R i ,

.

dic u lou s ! as if the cal f came ou t by mere fortuitou s

.

adventure without a moul d to cast i t i n ; which could

,

n ot be supposed : and if it h a d not come ou t so with

ou t a mould Moses would cert a inly have known of it
,
.

H ad A aron been innocen t he would have answered ,

after quite another manner and told Moses honestly

,
,

that the whole b ody of the people came to him in a

fright that they forced him to m ake them an idol ;
,

w hich he did by making rst a proper mould to cast

,

it in a n d then taking the proper metal to cast it from ;

,

that indeed he had s i nned in so doing but that he w as ,

mobbed into it and the people terr i ed him perhaps

, ,

they threatened to kill him ; and if he had adde d that ,

the Devil p r ompting his fear beguiled him he had said

, , ,

n othing but what was certainly true ; for if it was in

Satan s power to make the people insolent and outr a ge
ou s enough to threaten and bully the old venerable

prophet ( for he w a s n ot yet a priest ) who w a s the brothe r

of their oracle Moses and had been partn er with him
, ,

in so many of his commissions ; I say if he could bring ,

u
p the passion s o f the people to a height to be rude
a n d unmannerly to him ( Aar on ) and perh aps to ,

threaten and insult him he may be easily supposed to ,

be able to intimidate Aaron and terrify him into a ,

compliance .

See this cunning agent when he has m a n s de ,

struct i on in h is view h ow securely he acts ! he n ever

,

w ants a handle ; the best of m en have on e weak place

or other and h e always nds it ou t takes the advantage
, ,

of it and conquers them by on e artice or an othe r ;

,

only take it with you as you go it is always by stra

, ,

t a gem n ever by force ; a proof that he is not empowered

,

t o use violence H e may tempt an d h e does prev a il ;

.
,

but it is all legerdema i n it is all craft and artice he , ,

is st i ll A xh the calumniator a n d deceiver that is

ia o , , ,

the misrepresenter ; he misrepresent s man to God and ,

 1 58 T HE P OL ITIC A L
misrepresents God to man ; also he misrep r esents
things ; he p u ts false colours and then manages the ,

eye to see th em with an imperfect view raising cl ouds ,

and fogs to intercept o ur s i ght ; in short he deceives ,

all ou r senses an d imposes upon us in things which

,

otherwise would be the easiest to discern and j u dge of .

Th i s indeed is in par t the benet of the De v il s
, ,

history to let u s see that he has used the same method

,

all along and that ever since he has had anything to

do with mankind he has practised upon them with
,

stratagem and cunning ; also it is observable that h e

h as carried his point better that way than he would
have done by fury and violence if h e h a d been allowed ,

to mak e use of it ; for by his power indeed he might ,

have laid the world desolate and made a heap of ,

r u bbish of it long ago B ut as I have obser v ed b e .

,

fore that would n ot have answered his ends half so

,

well for by destroying men h e would have made

,

martyrs an d s ent abundance of good men to heaven

, ,

w h o would much rather have died than yielded to

serve him and as he aimed to have it to fall down
, , ,

and worship him ; I say he would have made martyrs , ,

and that n ot a few : but this was non e of Satan s busi
n ess ; his design lies quite anoth er way ; his business

i s to make men S in not to make them su ff er ; to make

,

de v ils of them n ot saints ; to delude them and draw

, ,

them away from their Maker n ot sen d them away to ,

him ; an d therefore he works by stratagem n ot by ,

force .

W e are n ow come to his story as it relates to the ,

Jewish church in the w i l dern ess and to the children of ,

Israel in their travelling circumstances ; and this was

the rst scene of publ i c management that the Devi l
had upon his hands in the world ; for as I h ave said , ,

till n ow he dealt with mank i nd either in their separate

,

condit i on on e by on e or else carried all before him

, , ,

engross i ng whole nation s in his systems of idolatry and ,

overwhelming them In an ignoran t d e struction 1 .

 1 60 T HE P OL I T ICAL
This making a calf and paying an idol atr ous wo r ship
,

to it ( for they acted the heathen s and idolaters not in ,

the setting up the calf onl y but in the manne r of their ,

wo r shipping v i z dancing and music things they had

, .
,

n ot been acquainted with in the worship of the tru e

God ) I mention here to observe how the Devi l not

,

only imposed upon their principl es but upon their ,

s enses too ; as if the awful maj esty o f heaven whose ,

glory they had seen in mount Sinai where they stood , ,

and whose pillar of cloud and re wa s their guide and

protection would be worshipped by dancing round a
,

cal f ! and that not a living creature or a r ea l calf but , ,

th e mere image of a calf cast in go l d or a s some think , , ,

i n brass gilded over .

But this was the Devi l s w ay with mankind namel y , ,

to impose upon their senses and bring them into the ,

grossest follies an d absurdities ; and then having rst

made the m fool s it was m uch the easier to make them
,

off enders .

In this very manne r he acted with them through all

the course of their wilderness trave l s ; for as they were ,

led by the han d like children de fended by omnipotence , ,

f ed by miracles instructed immediately from heaven

, ,

a n d in a ll things had Moses for their guide they had ,

n o room to miscarry but by acting the greatest absurd

,

i ties and committing the gr eatest follies in nature ;

,

a n d even these the Devi l brought them to be guilty of

i n a surprising manner : 1 A S God himse l f r elieved .

them in every exigence and supplied them in eve ry ,

want one would th i nk it was impossible they should be

,

ever brought to question either his wi ll ingness or his

ability and yet they really obj ected against both ;
,

wh ich w a s indeed v e ry provoking and I doubt n ot , ,

that when the Devil had b r ought them to act in such

a preposterous manner he really hoped and b e li e v e d
,

God wo uld be provoked e ff ectual ly The testimonies of .

h is care of them and ability to supply the m we r e

,

mi r acul ous and undeniable he gave them wate r from

 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 161

the rock bread from the air sent the fowl s to feed them
, ,

with esh and supported them all the way by miracles ;

,

their health wa s preserved non e were s i ck among them , ,

the i r clothes did n ot wear ou t nor their shoes grow ,

old upon their feet ; could anything be more absurd ,

than to do ubt whether he could provide for them who ,

had never let them want for so many years

But the Devil managed them in spite of miracle ;
n or did he ever give them over till he had brought six

hundred thousan d of them to provoke G od so highly

that he w ould n ot su ff er above two of them to go into
the land of promise so that in short Satan gained his , ,

point as to that generation for all their carc a ses fell in ,

the wilderness L et us take but a short v iew to what

.

a height he brought them and in what a rude absurd , ,

manner they acted how he set them u p on murm u ring

upon every occasion n ow for water then f or bread ;
, ,

nay they murmured at their bread when they had it ;

,

Ou r sou l loa th es th is ligh t b r ea d .

He so w ed the seeds of church

rebellion in the sons
of Aaro n and made Nadab and Abih u o ff er strange
,

re till they were strangely consumed by re for the

do i ng it .

H e set them a complaining at Taberah ; and a l ust

ing for esh at the rst three days j ourney from mount
Sinai .

H e planted envy in the hear ts of Miriam and Aaron

against the authority of Moses to pretend G od had ,

spoke n by them as well as by him till he humbled the ,

f ather and made a leper of the daughter

, .

H e debauched ten of the spies fr i ghtened them with ,

sha m ap p earances of t h in gs when they went ou t to ,

search the land and made them frighten the whole

,

p eo ple ou t of their understanding as well as duty for , ,

w hich six hundred thousand of their carcases fell in the

w i lderness .

H e raised the rebellion of Korah and the two hun

H D . . M
1 62 T HE P OL I T ICAL
dred and fty p rinces till he brought them to b e swal
,

lowed u p alive .

H e put Moses into a passion at Meribah and r u ffled ,

the temper of the meekest man u pon earth by which ,

h e made both him and Aaron forf eit their share of th e

promise and be shut o u t from the H oly L and
,
.

H e raised a mutiny among them when they travelle d

from mount H or till they brought ery serpents among
,

them to destroy them .

H e tried to make Bal aam the p r ophet curse them ;

but there the Devil was disappointed ; however he ,

brought the Midianites to debauch them with women ,

as in the case of Zimri and Cosb i .

H e tempted Achan with the wedge of go l d and the

Babyl onish garment that he might take of the accursed
,

thing and be destroyed

,
.

H e tempted the whol e people n ot e ff ectually to drive

ou t the cursed inhabitants of the l an d of promise tha t ,

they might r emai n and be goads in their sides t ill at ,

last t h ey often Oppressed them for their idolatry and , ,

which was worse debauched them to idolatry

, .

H e prompted the Benj amites to refuse satisfaction

to the people in the case of the wickedness of the men
of Gibeah to the destruction of the whole t r ibe four
, ,

hundred men excepted in the rock R immon , .

At last he tempted them to rej ect the theocracy of

their Maker and call upon Sam u el to mak e them a
,

king ; and m ost of those kings he made plagues and

sorrows to them in their time as you Sha ll hear i n ,

their o r der .

Thus he p l agued the who l e body of the peop l e c on

tinu ally making them sin a ga i nst God
,
and bring ,

j udgments upon themselves to the consum i ng some ,

million s of them rst and last, by the v e ngeance of

,

their Maker .

As he did with the whole congregation S O he did ,

with their rulers and several of the j u dges wh o were ,

1 64 T H E P OL ITIC AL
circumcised ; as if self murder was not half so ba d
-
,

either for sin against God or disgrace among men as , ,

being taken prison er by a Philistine ! A piece of mad

n ess none b u t the Devi l could have brought mankin d
to submit to though some ages after that he m ade it
, , ,

a fashion among the R omans .

.After Saul was dead and David come to the throne

, ,

by h ow much he was a m a n c hosen and particularly

fav oured by heaven the Devil fell upon him with the
,

more vigour attacked him so many ways and con

, ,

quered h im so very often that as n o man was so good , ,

a king so har dly any good king was ever a worse m an ;

,

in many cases on e would ha v e almost thought the

Devi l had made sport with David to show h ow easily ,

he could overthrow the best man God could choose of

the whole congregation .

H e made him distrust his benefactor so much as to

feign himself mad be fore the king of Gath when he had ,

ed to him for shelte r .

H e made him march with his four hundred cut

throats to cut off poor Nabal an d all his household
, , ,

only because he would not sen d him the good cheer

he had provided for his honest sheep shearers -
.

H e made him for his word s sake give Ziba ha lf his
, ,

master s estate for his treachery after he knew he had

,

been the traitor an d betrayed poor Mephibosheth for

,

the sak e of it ; in which ,

The g oo d Old king i t see ms w a s very loath

, ,

T o break h is word and therefore broke h i s oath

,
.

Then he tempted him to the ri dicu l ous proj ect of

numbering the people though again st God s express
,

command ; a thing Joab himself was n ot w icked

enough to do till David an d the Devil forced him
,

And to make him completely wicke d he carried

, ,

him to the top of his house a n d showed him a naked ,

lady bathing herself in her garden in which it ap ,

 HISTO R Y O F T HE D EV IL . 1 65

ea red that th e Devi l knew Davi d too well and what

p ,

w a s the particular sin of his inclination ; and so took

him by the right handle drawing him at once i nto ,

the sins of murder and adultery .

Then that he might not quite give him over

, ,

(

though David s re p entance for the last sin kept the

Devil off for a whi le ) when he could attack h i m n o,

further personally he fell upon him in his family and

, ,

made him as miserable as he could desire him to be ,

in his children three of whom he brought to destru c

.

tion before his fac e and another after h i s death

,
.

F irst he tempted Amnon to ravish his siste r

,

Tamar ; so there was an end of her ( poor girl ! ) as

to this world for we neve r hear any more of her
, .

Then he tempted A bsalom to murder his brother

Amn on in revenge for Tamar s maidenhead
, .

Then he made Joab run Absalom through the body ,

contrary to David s command .

And after David s death he brought Adomjah ( weak

,

man ! ) to the block for usurping king Solomon s ,

thron e .

As to Absalom b e tempted him to rebellion and

, ,

raising war aga i nst h i s father to the turning him ,

shamefully ou t of Jerusalem and almost ou t of the ,

kingdom .

H e tempted him for David s further m orti ca tion

,

,

to lie with his father s wives in the face of the whole ,

city ; Z and had Ah ith oph el s honest counsel been fol

lowed he had certainly sent him to sleep with his

,

fathers long before his time But there Satan an d .

Ahitho p hel were both outwitted together .

T h rough all the reigns of the several s u ccessors of

David the Devil took care to carry on his ow n game
, ,

to the continual i nsulting the measures which God

h i mself h ad taken for the establish i ng his people in
the world and especially a s a church ; till at last h e
, , ,

so e ff ectually debauched them to i dolatry that crime , ,

which of all others was most p r ovoking to G od as it

, , ,
 1 66 T HE P O L ITICAL
was carrying the p eopl e away from thei r allegiance ,

and transposing the homage they owed God their

maker to a contemptible block of wood or an im age
, ,

of a brute beast ; an d this h ow sordid and brutis h ,

soever it was i n itself; yet so did his artice pre v ail

among them that rst or last he brough t them all
, , ,

into it the ten tribes as well as the tw o tribes ; till at

, ,

l ast God himself was provoked to un church them

, ,

give them up to th eir en emies and th e few that were

left of them after incredible slaughters and desolation
, ,

were hurried away some into Tartary and others into , ,

Babylon ; from whence very few of that few that ,

were carried away ever foun d their way home again ; ,

and som e when they might have com e would n ot a c

, ,

cept of it but continued there to th e very coming of

,

th e Messiah See epistl es of St James an d of St

. . .

P eter at the beginning

, .

Bu t to look a little back u pon this part (for it can ,

n ot be omitted it makes so considerable a p a rt of the

,

Devi l s history ) I mean his drawing God s people

,

,

kings an d all i nto all the sin s and mischiefs which

,

gradually contributed to their destruction .

F irst (for he began immediately with th e very best

,

an d wises t of the race ) he drew in king Solomon in , ,

the midst of all his zeal for the building God s house ,

an d for the making the most glorious and m agnicent

appearance for God s worship that ever th e world saw ;

I say in the middle of all this he drew him into such

, ,

immoderate an d insatiable an appetite for women as ,

to set u p the rst and perhaps the greatest ser a glio

, , ,

o f whores that ever any prince in the world had or ,

p retended to before nay and to bring whoring so much ,

into reputation that as th e text says seven hundred

, , ,

of them were princesses that is to say l adies of qua , ,

lity ; n ot as the grand seigniors and great moguls , ,

other princes of the eastern world ) have since prae

(
tised namely to pick up their most beautiful slaves ;
, ,

but these it seems were women of rank kings

, , ,

,
1 68 T HE P OL I T ICAL
But though God m ight appoint Jeroboam to be
,

king ( that is to say of ten tribes ) yet G od did not

, , ,

appoint him to set u p the two calves in the two ex

treme parts of the l an d viz in Dan and in Bethel ; ,
.
,

that was Jeroboam s ow n doing and don e on purpose ,

to keep the peop l e from falling back to R ehoboam by ,

bein g obliged to go to Jerusalem to the public w or

ship : and the text adds Jer oboa m m a de I sr a el to ,

si n
. This w a s indee d a masterpiece Of the Devil s
, ,

policy an d it w a s e ectu al to answer the end ; n othi n g

,

could have been mor e to the purpose : what reason h e

had to expect the people would so universally com e
into it and be so well satised wi th a couple of calves
, ,

in stead of th e true worship of God at Jerusalem or ,

what arts and management he ( Satan ) ma de u se of

a fterwards to bring th e people in to j oin with such a
, ,

delusion that we nd but little of in all the annals of

,

Satan nor is it much to the case It i s certain the

, .

Devil foun d a strange kind Of propensity to worshippi n g

idol s rooted in the temper of that whole people eve n ,

from their rst breaking away from the E gyptia n

bondage ; so that he had n othing to do but t o work
u pon the old stock and propagate th e crime that h e
,

found was so natural to them And th i s is Satan s .

general way of working n ot with them only but w ith

, ,

u s also and with all the world even then an d eve r

, , ,

s mee .

When h e h a d thus secured Jeroboam s revolt w e

,

n eed n ot trace him among his successors ; for the same

reason of state that held for the settin g up the calves
at Bethel an d Dan held good for the keeping them
,

up to all J erob oam s posterity ; n or had they on e good
king ever after ; even Jehu who called his friends to ,

come and see his zeal for the L or d an d w h o fullled ,

the threaten ings of God u pon Ahab an d his family ,

and upon queen Jezebel and her o ffspring and kn ew ,

all the while that he was executing the j ud g ment of

the true G od upon an idolatrous race ; yet he would
,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 69

n ot pa r t with his calves but would have thought it

,

to have been part i ng with his kingdom and that as the ,

people would have gone u p to Jerusalem to worship ,

s o they would at the same time have tran sferred the i r

civil obedience to the king of Judah whose right it ,

really was as far as they could claim by bi rth an d

,

right line ; so that by the w ay Satan any more than

, ,

other politicians is n ot for the ju s div in u m of lineal

,

s u ccession or what we call hered i tary right a n y

, ,

fu rther than serves for his purpose .

Thus Satan ridded his hands of ten of the twelve

tribes ; let us n ow see h ow he went on with th e rest ,

f or h i s work was now brought into a narrower compass

the church Of G od w a s n ow reduced to tw o tribes ex ,

ce p t a few religious people who separated from the,

schism of J erob oa m and came a n d planted themselves

,

amo n g the tribes of Judah and Be nj amin ; the rst

thing the Devil d i d after this was to foment a war b e,

tween the two kings while Judah was govern ed by a

,

boy or youth Abij ah by name and he non e of the best

, ,

n either ; but God s time was not come and the Devil ,

received a great disappointment when Jeroboam was ,

so entirely overthrown that if the records of thos e

,

ages do not mistake no less than ve hundred thousan d

,

men Of Israel were killed ; s u ch a slau ghter that on e ,

would think the army of Judah had they known h ow ,

to improve as wel l as gain a victory might have ,

brought all the rest back again and have entirely re ,

du ced the house of Jeroboam and the ten trib e s that ,

followed him to their obe dience ; nay they did take a

, ,

great deal of the country from him and among the rest , ,

Bethel itself ; an d yet so c u nningly d i d Satan man a ge ,

that the king of Ju dah w h o w a s himself a wicked king

, ,

a n d perhaps an idolater in h i s heart did n ot t a ke down

,

the golden calf that Jeroboam h a d there n o n or de , ,

stroy the idolatry itself so that in sho rt his v ictory

, , ,

signied nothing .

F rom hence to the captivity we nd the Devi l busy ,

1 70 T HE P OL ITIC A L
with the kings of Judah especially the best of them ; as ,

f or such as Manasseh and those w h o transgr ess ed by

the general tenor of their lives those he had n o great ,

t r o u ble with .

But such as Asa J eh osh a ph at H ezekiah and , , ,

Josiah he hung about the m and their courts till he

, ,

brought every on e of them into some mischief or a n

other .

As rst good king Asa of whom the Scripture

, ,

says h is h ea rt w a s p erf ec t a ll h is da ys y et this sub tl e

, ,

spirit that could break in upon him nowhere else

, ,

tempted him when the king of Israe l came ou t against

him to sen d to hire Benhadad the king of Syria to help
,

him ; as if God who had before enabled him to conquer

,

the E thiopians w i th a n army of ten hundred thousand

,

m en could n ot have saved h i m from the king of the ten

,

tribes .

In the same manne r b e tempted J eh osh aph at to j oin

with that wicked king Ahab against the king of Syria ,

and also to marry his son to Ahab s daughter which ,

w a s fatal to J eh osh a ph a t an d to his posterity , .

Again he tem p ted H ezekiah to s h ow all his r iches

,

to the king of Babylon s m essengers ; and who ca n
doubt but that he ( Satan ) is to be understood by the
,

wicked spirit which s tood before the L ord 2 Chron ,

.

xviii 2 0 and O ff ered his service to entice Ahab th e

.
,
'

king of Israel to co m e ou t to battle to his r uin by being ,

a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets ; and

who for that time had a special commission as he had ,

a nother time i n the case Of Job ? and indeed it was a

commission t for n obody but the De v il ; Th ou sh a lt
en ti ce h i m, a nd th ou sh a lt a lso p r ev a i l ;
g o ou t a n d do
ev en so ver 2 1 . . .

E ven good Josiah himself of whom it is recorded , ,

that lik e h im th er e w a s n o k ing bef or e h im n ei th er ,

;

a ter h i m a r ose th er a ny lik e h im 2 K ings xxiii 2 5

f , .
,

yet the Devil n ever l eft h im with his machinations till ,

ndin g he could n ot tempt h im to anything wicked

1 72 T HE P OL IT I C A L
n ion so much as acknowledged ; all the world w a s
buried in idolatry and that of so many horrid kinds
, ,

that one would think the light of reason should have

convinced mankind that he who exacted such bloody
,

sacrices as that of Moloch and such a bloody cutting ,

themse l ves with knives as the priests of Baal did , ,

co uld not be a god a good an d b en e cent being b u t

, ,

must b e a cr u el voracio u s an d devouring devil whose

, , ,

en d w a s not the good but the destruction of his crea

~

tures : but to such a height was the blin d demented

world arrived to at that time that in these sordid and ,

corrupt ways they went on worshipping dumb idols

, ,

and o ff ering human sacrices to them and in a word , ,

committing all the most horrid and absurd abomina

tions that they were capable of or that the Devil ,

could prompt the m to till H eaven w a s again put as it

,

were to the n ecessity of bringing about a revolution ,

in favour of his ow n forsaken peop l e by miracle and ,

surprise as he had don e before

, .

We come therefore to the restoration or return fr om

the captivity : had Satan been able to have acted any
thing by force as I have observed before al l the
, ,

princes and po w ers o f the world having been as they , ,

really were at his devotion he m i ght easily have made

, ,

use of them armed all th e world against the Jews

, ,

an d prevented the rebuilding the temple and even the ,

r eturn of the captivity .

But n ow the Devil s power manifestly received a
c h eck and the hand of G od appeared in it and that
, ,

he was resolved to re establish his peo p le the Jews -

,

and to have a secon d temple built : the Devil w h o ,

kn ew the extent of his ow n power too well an d what ,

l i mitations were laid upon him stood still as it were , ,

looking on and not daring to Oppos e the return of the

,

captivity which he very well knew had been proph e

,

s i ed and would come to pass

,
.

H e did indeed make some l ittle Opposition to the .

building an d to the fortifying th e city but as it was

, ,
 17

H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL .

to no purpose so he w a s soon obliged to give it over

,

and thus the captivity being return ed and the templ e ,

rebu i lt the people of the Jews increased and m u l

,

t iplied to an innite number an d stren gth a n d from

th i s time we may say the power of the Devil rather

,

declined an d decreased than went on with success a s , ,

it had done before ; i t is tru e the Jews fell into sects

and errors and division s of m any kinds after the return
, ,

from the captivity and n o doubt the Dev i l had a grea t

,

b a n d in those divis i ons but he could n ever bri n g

them back to idolatry and his n ot be i ng able to do ,

that made him turn h i s hand so many ways to pl ague

,

and oppress them ; as particularly by Antiochus the

G reat w h o brought the abomination of desolation into
,

the holy place ; and there the Devil triumphed over

them for som e time ; but they were delivered many
ways t i ll at last they came p eaceably under the pro
,

t ec tion rather than th e dom i nion of the R oman em

, ,

pire ; when H erod the Great govern ed them as a k i n g ,

and re edi ed nay almost rebu i lt their temple with

-
, , ,

so great an expense and magnicence that he made ,

it as some say greater and more glorious than that of

, ,

Solomon s though that I take to be a great fable to

, ,

s a v no worse of it .

In this condition the Jewish church stood when the ,

fulness of time as it is called in Scripture was come

, ,

a n d the Devil was kept at bay though he had made ,

some encroachments upon them a s a b ove ; for there

was a glorious remnant of saints among them such a s ,

old Zachar i as the father of John the Baptist a n d old

, ,

Simeon w h o waited for the salvation of Israel I say

, ,

i n this condition the Jewish church stood when the

M essiah came into the worl d which was such another ,

mortal stab to the thron es and princ i palities infernal ,

as that of which I have S p oken already i n ch a p i i i at . .

the creation of man ; and therefore with this I break

o ff the ant i qu i t i es of the Devil s h i story or the a ncient

part of his kingdom ; for from hen ce downward we

1 74 T HE P OL ITICAL H ISTO RY OF T HE D EV I L .

S hall nd his empire has declined gradual ly ; and

though by his wonderfu l address his prodigious appli
,

cation and the Vigilance and delity of his in stru

,

m ents as well human as infernal and diabolical and

, ,

of the human as well the ecclesiastic as the secular

, ,

h e has many ti m es retrieved what he has l ost an d ,

sometimes b i d fair for recovering the u niversa l empire

he once possessed over mankind yet he has been st ill
,

defeated a gain repulsed and beaten back and his king

, ,

dom has greatly decl ined in many parts of the world

and especially in the n orthern parts except Great ,

Britain : and h ow he has politically maintained his

interest an d increased his dominion among the wis e
,

an d righteous generation that we cohabit with an d

among will be the subj ect of the modern pa rt of
,

Satan s history an d of which we are n ext to give an

account .
 1 76 T HE MOD ER N
powe r that not only his angelic strength seems to have
,

received a further bl o w upon the coming of the Son of

God into the world but he seems to have had a blow ,

upon his intellects his serpentine craft and devi l like -

su b telt seems to have b een circumscribed and cut S hort ;

y
and instead of his being so cunning a fellow as before ,

wh en as I said it is ev i dent he out w itted all mankind

, , ,

not only E ve Cain Noah L ot and all the patriarchs

, , , , ,

but even nations of men an d that in their p u blic c a

'

p a c i ty and thereby
, led them into abs u rd and ridiculou s

things s u ch as the building of Babel and deifying and

, ,

worshipping th eir kings when dead and rotten ; idol i zing ,

beasts stoc k s stones anything an d even nothing ;

, , , ,

and in a word when he managed mankind j ust as he

, ,

pleased .

Now and from this ti m e for w ard he appeared a

, ,

weak foolish ignorant devil compared to what he was

, , ,

before ; he was upon almost every occasion resis ted ,

disappointed balked an d defeated especially in all

, , ,

his attempts to thwart or cross the miss i on and ministry

of the Messiah while h e was upon earth and sometimes
, ,

upon other and very mean occasions too .

And rst h ow fool i sh a p roj ect w a s it a n d h o w ,

belo w Satan s celebrated artice i n like cases to put ,

H erod upon sen ding to kill the poor innocent children

in Bethlehem i n hopes to destroy the infant ? for I
,

take it for granted it was the Devil pu t into H erod s
,

thoughts that execution h ow simple an d foolish soever ; ,

n ow we must allow him to be very ignorant of the n a

t iv ity himself or else he might easily have gu i ded his

,

friend H erod to the place where the i nfant was .

This shows that either the Devil is in genera l igno

rant as w e are of what is to co me i n the world before
,

it is really come to pass and consequently can foretel ,

n othing n o n ot so much as ou r famous old Merlin or

, ,

Mother Shipto n did o r else that great event was h i d ,

from him by an immediate power superior to his whic h ,

I cannot thin k neither considering h ow much he was ,

 H I STOR Y OF T HE DEV I L . 1 77

concerned in it and how certainly he kne w that i t was

,

once to come to pass .

But be that as it w i ll it is certain the Devil ,

knew nothing where Christ was born or when ; nor ,

w a s he able to direct H erod to nd him ou t and there ,

fore p ut him u p on that foolish as well as cruel order , ,

to kill all the children that he might be sure to destroy ,

the Mess i ah among the rest .

The next simple step that the Devil took and in , ,

deed the mos t foolish one that he could ever be charged

,

with unworthy the very dign i ty of a devil and below the

, ,

understand i ng that he always w a s allowed to act w i th was ,

that of com i ng to tempt the Messiah i n the wilderness ;

i t is certa i n and he Own ed it h i mself afterwards upon
,

many occasions that the Dev i l knew our Saviour to be

,

the Son of G od ; and it is as certain that he knew that as ,

such he could have n o power or advantage over h im ;

h ow fool i sh then was it in h i m to attack h i m i n that
mann er If th ou b eest th e S on of G od w h y he kne w
,

h i m to be the Son of God well en ough ; he said so

afterwards I k now th ee w h o th ou a r t th e h oly on e of
, , ,

G od h ow then could he be so wea k a dev i l as to say ,

If thou art then do so and so ?

,

The case i s pla i n the Dev i l though he knew him to

, ,

be the Son of God d i d not fully kno w the mystery of

,

the incarnation ; nor d i d he know h ow far the i nan i :

t i on of Chr i st extended and whether a s man he w a s , ,

n ot subj ect to fall as Adam w a s though his reserved

, ,

Godhead might be st i ll immaculate and pure ; a n d

u p on this foot as he would leave n o method untried
, ,

he attempts him three times on e immed i ately after ,

n th er ; but then ndi n g himself disappo i nted he

zeg
, ,

This evidently pro v es that the Dev i l was ignorant of

th e g r ea t m ster
y y f g
o od li n ess as the text calls i t , ,

G od m a n if est i n th e esh ; and therefore mad e that

fool i sh attem p t u p on Chr i st thinking to have con ,

quered his human n ature as capabl e of S in wh i ch , ,

H . D .
1 78 T HE MODER N
it was not ; a n d at this r epu l se he ll gr oaned the ,

whole army of regimented devils r eceived a wound ,

and fe l t the shock of it ; it was a second overthrow t o
them they had had a long chain of success carried a
, ,

devilish conquest over the greatest p a rt of the creation

of G od ; but n ow they were cut short th e seed o th e
f ,

w om a n w a s n ow come to br ea k th e s erp en t s h ea d that

is to cut short his power to contract the limits of his

, ,

kingdom and in a word to d ethron e him I n the world :

, , ,

n o doubt the Devil received a shock for you nd him ,

a l ways afterwards crying ou t in a horrible manner ,

whenever Christ met with him or el se very humb l e ,

an d submissive a s when he begged leav e to go into

,

the herd of swine a th ing he has often done since

, .

Defeated here the rst sta tagem I nd him con

,

cerned in after it was his entering into Judas an d

, ,

putting him u pon betraying Christ to the chief priest ;

but her e again he was entirely m istaken for he did not ,

see as much a devil a s he w a s what the event woul d

, ,

be but when he came to know that if Christ was put ,

to death he would become a propitiatory and be th e ,

great sacrice o f mankind so to rescue the fallen race ,

from that death they had incurred the penalty of by

th e fall that this w a s the fullling of all Scripture
,

prophecy and that thus it was that Christ was to be

,

th e en d of th e la w I say as soon as b e perceived this

, ,

he strove all he could to prevent it and disturbed ,

P ilate s wife in her sleep in order to set her upon her
,

husband to hinder his delivering him up to the Jews

for then and not till then he kn ew h ow Christ was to
, ,

vanquish hell by the power of his cross .

Thus the Dev il was disappointed and exposed i n

every step he took and as he now plainly saw h is
,

kingdom declining and even the temporal kingdom of

,

Christ rising u p upon the ruin s of his ( Satan s ) power ,

he seemed to retreat into his ow n region th e a i r a nd , ,

to consult there with his fello w devils what measures ,

he Should take next to preserve his dominion among g

1 80 T H E MO DER N
among the churchmen for preceden cy and dominion , ,

he fell to work with them immediately so that turn

ing the tables and reassuming the subtlety and craft
, ,

which I say he seemed to have lost in the former four

, ,

hundred years he ga i ned more ground in the next

,

ages of the church and went further to w ards restoring

,

his power and empire in the world an d towards over ,

throwing that very church whic h was so lately esta

b lish ed than all he had done by re and blood before
, .

H is policy n o w seemed to be edged with resentment

for the mistakes he had mad e ; as if the Devil looking ,

back with anger at himself; to see what a fool he had

been to expect to crush religion by persecutio n re ,

oic ed for having discovered that liberty an d dominion

j
was the only way to ruin the church n ot re and fa ggot ; ,

and that he had nothing to do but to give the zealous

people their utmost l i berty in religion only sowing ,

error and variety of Opinion among them and they ,

would bri ng re and faggot in fast enough among them

selves .

It must be confessed these were devilish politics ;

and so sure was the aim and so certain was the Devil ,

to h i t h i s mark by them that we nd he not only did ,

n o t fail then but the same hellish methods have pre

,

vailed still and will do so to the end of the world

,
.

Nor had the Devil ever a better game to play than

this for the ruin of religion as we shall have room to
, ,

S how in many examples besides that of the dissenters ,

in E ngl and w h o are evidently weakened by the late

,

tolerat i on : whether the Devil had any b a n d in bait

ing his hook wit h an a o f parl i ament or n o his ,

tory is silent but it is too evident he has catched the

,

sh by it ; and if the honest Church of E ngland does

not i n pity an d Chr i stian charity to the dissenters
, ,

stra i ghten her hand a little I cannot but fear the Dev i l ,

will gain his point and the dissenters will be undon e

,

b y it .

Upon this n ew foot of politics the Devi l began with

 H ISTORY OP T HE DEV IL . 18 1

the emperors themse lves Arius the father of the .

,

heretics of that a ge having broached his Opinions and

, ,

Athanasius the orthodox bishop of the E ast opposing

him the Devil n o sooner sa w the do or open to strife
,

and im p osition but he thrust himself in and raising

, ,

the quarrel u p to a suited degr ee of rage and S pleen ,

he involved the good emperor himself in it rst and ,

Athanasius was banished an d recalled and ban i shed ,

and recalled again several times as erro r ran high

, , ,

and as the Dev i l e i ther got or lost ground after C on

sta n ti n e, the next emperor was a child of his ow n
( Arian ),an d then the court came all i nto the quarrel ,

as courts Often do and then the Arians and the o rtho

,

dox persecuted one another as fu riously as the pagan s

p ersecuted them all before To such a height the .

Devil brought his conquest in the very infancy of the

question and so muc h d i d he preva i l over the true
,

Christ i anity of the primitive church even before they ,

had enj oyed the liberty of the pure worship twenty

years .

F lushed with this success the Devil made one push ,

for the restoring paganism and bringing on the old ,

worsh i p of th e heathen idols and temples but like ou r ,

king James II he drove too hard and Julian had so

.
, ,

provoked the whole R oman empire which w a s generally ,

at that time become Christian that had the apostate , ,

l i ved he would n ot have been able t o have held th e

,

throne ; and as he was cut off in his beginning paga nism ,

expired with him and the Devil himself might have

,

cried ou t as Julian did and with much more propriety

, , ,

V ic isti G a lilea n .

Jovian the next empero r being a glorious Christian

, ,

and a very good and gr eat man the Devil abdicated ,

for awhile and left the Christian armies to re-establish

,

the orthodox faith ; nor could he br i ng the Christian s

a breach a gain among themselves a great while
after .

H owever time and a diligent devil did the work at

,
 1 82 T HE MOD ER N
a nd

last , wh e n the emperors concerning th e mse l ves one
w ay or othe r did n ot appear su fcient to answe r h is
,

en d he changed hands again and went to work with

, ,

the c l ergy : to set the doctors eff ectually together by

the e ars he threw in the n ew notion of primacy among
,

them for a bone of conte ntion ; the bait took the

, ,

prie sts swallowed it eagerly down and the Devi l a , ,

c unninger sherman than eve r St P eter was struck ,

them ( as the anglers call it ) with a quick hand and ,

hung them fast upon the hook .

H a v ing them thus in his c l utches and they being ,

now as we may say his o wn they took their measures

, , ,

afterwards from him and most obediently followed hi s

,

di rections ; nay I will not say but he may have had

,

pretty much the management of the whole society ever

since of what profession or par ty soever they may hav e
,

been with exception only to the r everend and right

,

reve r end among ourselves .

The sacred as above being thus b ook ed in and the

, , ,

Devi l being at the head of their a ffairs matte r s went ,

o n most gloriously his ow n w ay ; rst the bishops fe l l ,

to bandy i ng and party making for the superiority as -

,

heartily as ever temporal tyrants did for dominion and ,

took as black and devilish methods to carry it o n as ,

the worst of those tyrants ever had done befo r e them .

At last Satan declared for the Roman ponti ff and ,

that upon exce ll ent condition s in the re i gn of the ,

emperor Mauritius ; for Boniface who had lon g con ,

tended for the title of supreme fell into a treaty with ,

P hocas captain of the emperor s guar ds : wh eth er th e
,

bar gain w a s from hell or n ot let any on e ju dge the , ,

condition s absolutely entitle the Devil to the honour of

making the contract v iz that Phocas rst murderin g
, .
,

his master (the emperor ) an d his son s Boniface shoul d ,

countenance the treason and dec l are him emperor ; an d ,

in return Phocas should acknowle dge the primacy of

,

the Church of R ome and declare Boniface unive r sal

,

bishop A b l essed compact ! w hich a t once set the

.
 T HE MO DER N
verted to Christianity by it and that the king sent the ,

key with another m ade like it to mm P elagius then

, , ,

bishop of R ome who thereupon assumed the power of

,

opening and shutt i ng heaven s gates ; an d he after
wards sett i ng a price or tol l upon the entrance as we ,

do here at passing a turnpike ; these n e th i ngs I say , ,

were successfully man aged for some years be fore this

I am n ow speaking of and the Devil got a great deal ,

o f gr oun d by it too ; but n ow he triumphed openly and ,

having set up a murderer upon the temporal thron e ,

an d a church emperor upon the eccles i astic thron e and ,

both of his ow n choosing the Devil m ay be said to ,

begin his n ew kingdom from this epocha and call it ,

the restoration .

Since this time indeed th e Devil s a ffairs went very
merrily on an d the clergy brought so many gewgaws
,

into their worship and such devilish principles were

,

mixed with that which we call the Chr i st i an faith ,

that in a word from this time the bishop of R ome com

, ,

m en ced whore of Baby l on in all the most express terms ,

that could be imagined : tyranny of the worst sort crept

i nto the pon ti ca te errors of all sorts into the profession
, ,

and they proceeded from on e thing to another t i ll the ,

v ery popes ( for so the bishop of R om e w a s n ow calle d

, ,

by way of distinction ) I say the popes themselves , , ,

their spiritual gu i des pro fessed openly to confe derate

,

with the Devil and to carry on a personal and private

,

correspondence with h i m at the same time tak in g u pon , o

them the title of Christ s vicar an d the infallible guide ,

of the consc i ences of Christians .

This we have sundry in stances Of in s om e merry

po p es who if fame lies n ot were sorcerers magicians
, , , , ,

had f amiliar spirits and immediate conversation with

,

the Dev i l as well visibly as invisibly and by this

, ,

means becam e what w e c a ll devils incarnate : upon

this account it is tha t I have l eft the conversation that

passes between dev il s and men to this p lace as we ll ,

because I believe it di ff ers much now i n his modern

 H I ST O RY OP T HE D EV IL 1 85 .

state from what it w a s in his anc i ent state and there

, ,

fore that which most concern s us belongs rather to

this par t of his history ; as also because as I am n ow ,

writ i ng to the present age I choose to br i ng the most ,

s i gnicant p arts of his history especially as they ,

relate to ourselves into that part of t i me that we are

,

most concerned in .

The Devil had once as I observed before the , ,

universal monarchy or government of mankind in

h i mself and I doubt not but in that our i shing state
,

of his a ff airs he governed them like what he is viz

,
an ,
.
,

absolute tyrant ; d u ring this theocracy of his ( for Satan ,

is called the god of this world ) he d i d not fam i l i arize ,

himself to mank i n d so much as he n ds occasion to do

n ow, there was not then so much need of i t ; he
governed then w i th an absolute sway ; he had h i s
oracles where he gave audie n ce to his votar i es like a
,

de i ty and he had h i s su b gods who under his several

,
-
, ,

d i s p os i t i ons received the homage o f mank i nd in their

,

names such were all the rabble of t he heathen

deit i es from Jupiter the supreme to the L ares or
, ,

household gods of every family ; these I say like , ,

res i dents recei v ed the prostrations but the homage w a s

, ,

all Satan s the Devil had the substance O f it all which ,

was the idolatry .

Dur i ng th i s administration of hell there w a s less ,

witchcraft less true l i tera l magic than there has been

, ,

since ; there w a s indeed n o need of it th e Dev i l did not ,

stoop to the mechanism of h is more modern o perations ,

but ruled as a deity and received the vows and the

,

bows of h is subj ects in more state and w i th more ,

solemnity ; whereas since that he i s content to employ

, ,

more agents and take more pains himself too n ow he

runs u p and down hackney in the world more like a ,

drudge than a pr i nce and much more than he did ,

then .

H ence all those things we call apparitions and

vision s of ghosts famil i ar spirits and dealings with the
, ,
1 86 T HE MOD ER N
De v i l of which there is so great a variety in the worl d
,

at this time were n ot so much kn own amon

,

people in those rst ages of the Devil s ki n gdom in a r

word the Devil seems t o be put to his shifts an d to

, ,
!

y to art and stratagem for the carryi n g on his a ffairs ,

much more now than he did then .

O n e reason for this may be that he has been m ore ,

discovered an d exposed in these a ges than h e was b e ,

fore ; then he could appear in the world in his own

proper shapes a n d yet n ot be known ; when the son s

,

of God appeared at the divin e summon s Satan came ,

al ong with them ; but n ow he h a s played so many

scurvy tricks upon m en and they kn ow him so well , ,

that h e is obliged to play quite ou t of sight and act in ,

disguise ; mankind will a llow n othing of his doing ,

a n d hear n othing of his saying in his ow n name an d ,

if you propose anythi n g to be don e and it be but said ,

the Devil is to help in the doing it or if you say of ,

any man he deals with the Devil or the Devi l has a
, ,

hand in it everybody ies him a n d shun s him as th e

,

,

most frightful thing in the world .

Nay if anything strange and improbabl e be don e

, ,

or related to be don e we presently sa the Devil was

y ,

at the doing it Thu s the great ditch at Newmarket

.

H eath is called the Devil s ditch ; so the Devil built
Crowland abbey and the whisperi n g place in Glon ,
-

oester cathedral ; n a
y the cave at Castleton ,only b e ,

cause there i s n o getting t o the further end of it is ,

called the Devil s a and the like The poor peo .

p l e of Wiltshire when you a sk them h ow the great,

stones at Ston ehenge were brought thither they will ,

all tel l you the Devi l brought them If any mischief .

extraordinary befalls us we presently say the Devil ,

w a s in it and the Devil would have i t so

,

in a wor d ,

the Devil has got an ill n ame among us an d so he is ,

fain to act more i n ten ebris more i n cog than he ,

.
,

used to do play o u t of sight himself a n d work by the

, ,

sa a s the e n gin eers cal l it, and n ot Openly and avow

p
,
 T HE MO DER N

C H A P II . .

Of H ell, a s i t is rep r es en ted to u s a n d h ow th e D ev il

'

is to b e u n derstood a s b eing p erson a lly i n H ell,

w h en , a t th e s a m e ti m e, w e n d h i m a t li ber ty, r a ng
i ng o v er th e w or ld .

IT is tr u e as that learn ed an d pleasant author the

, ,

inimitable Dr Brown says The Devil is his own hell
.
, ,

one of the most con stitut i ng parts of his infelicity i s ,

that he ca n n ot act upon mankind br ev i m a n u by his ,

ow n inherent power as well as r a ge ; that he cannot

,

unhinge th i s creation whic h as I have Observed in its

, ,

place h e had the utmost av ersion to from its begin

,

ning as it was a stated des i gn I n the Creator to sup p ly

,

his place In heaven with a n ew species of being called

man and ll the vacancies occasioned by his degen e
,

racy and rebell i on .

This lled h i m with rage inexpress i ble and horrible ,

resolution s of revenge and the impossibility of ex ec u t

,

i ng those resolutions torments h i m with despair this ,

added to what he was be fore makes him a complete ,

devil with a hell in his ow n breast an d a re u n

, ,

quen chable burn i ng about his heart .

I might enlarge here an d very much to the purpose

, ,

i n describing spher i cally and mathematically that ex

, ,

quisit o qual i ty called a devilish S p ir i t i n which i t ,

w ould naturally occur to give you a whole chapter u pon

the glorious articles of malice and envy and especially ,

u p on that lusc i o u s delightful triumphant passion

, , ,

called revenge h ow natural to man nay even to both , ,

sexes how pleasant in the very contemplation though ,

there be n ot j ust at that time a power of execut i on : how

, ,

p alatable it i s in itself and h ow well it relishes when

,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV I L . 1 89

dished up with its proper sauces such a s plo t contr i , ,

van ce scheme and confederacy all leadi n g on to exe

, , ,

c u tion : h ow i t possesses the human soul in all the mos t

sensible p arts : h ow it empowers mankind to sin i n

i m aginat i on a s e ff ectually to all future intents and
, ,

p urposes ( damnation ) as if h e had s i nned actually ,

h ow safe a practice i t is too as to p u nishment in this ,

life namely that i t empowers us to cut throats clear

, ,

of the gallows to Slander v i rtue reproac h innocence

, , ,

wound hono u r and stab reputat i on ; and i n a word to

, , ,

do all the wicked things i n the world out of the reach ,

of the law .

It would also requ ire some few words to describe

th e secret operations of those nice qualit i es when they
reach the human soul ; how e ff ectually they form a
hell with i n us and how impercept i bly they assim i late
,

and transform us into dev i ls mere h u man devils as , ,

really devils as Satan h i mself or any of his angels ; ,

and that therefore i t i s not so m uc h ou t of the way

, ,

a s some imag i ne to say such a man i s an incarnate

, ,

devil ; for a s crime made Satan a devil who was b e

, ,

fore a bright immortal seraph or angel of l i ght h ow , ,

much more eas i ly may the same crime make the same
devil though every way m eaner and more c on tem pti
,

ble of a man or a woman e i ther ! But this is too

,

grave a subj ect for me at this t i me .

The Devil being thus I say red with rage and , ,

envy in consequence of h i s j ealo u sy upon the creation

,

o f man his torment is increased to the h i ghest by the

,

l i mitat i on of his p ower a nd his being forbid to act ,

aga i nst mankind by force of arms ; th i s is I say part , ,

of h i s hell which as above is within him

, , an d wh i ch , ,

he carries with h i m wherever he goes ; nor is i t so

d i ffi cult to conceive of hell or o f the Dev i l either , ,

under this j ust descr ip tion as i t is by all the usua l ,

not i ons that we are taught to enterta i n of them by ,

( the old women ) our i nstructers ; for every man may ,

1 90 T HE MOD ERN
b y taking but a common Vie w of himself and m ak irig ,

a j ust scr u tiny into his ow n passions on s ome of their ,

particular excursions see a hell within himself and

, ,

himself a mere devil as l ong as the inammation lasts ;

a n d th at as really and to all intents an d purposes as if
, ,

h e had the angel ( Satan ) before his face i n his local ity ,

a n d personality ; that is to sa all devil an d monste r

y ,

i n his person and a n immaterial but intense re

, ,

aming about and from within him at al l the pores of ,

his body .
1

The notions we receive of the Devil as a person ,

be i ng I n hel l as a place are innitely absurd and ri

,

dic u lou s The rst we are certain is not true in fact

.
, ,

becaus e he has a certain liberty ( however l imited ,

'
,

that is not to the purpose ) is da i ly visi b le and to be

, ,

traced in his se v eral attacks upon mankind and has ,

been so ever S ince his rst appearance in P aradise : as

to his corporal visib i l i ty that is n ot the present
,

questio n n eithe r ; it is enough that we can hunt h im

by the foot that we can fo l low him as hounds do a fox
,

upon a hot scent : w e can see him as plainly by the

f
e ect by the mischief he does and mor e by the mis
f , ,

C hief he p uts u s upon doing I say as plainly as if we

, , ,

sa w him by the eye .

It is n ot to be doubted but the Devil can see us "

wh e n and where we cannot see him ; and as he has a

personality though it be S piritous he and his angels
, ,

too may be reasonably supposed to inhabit the worl d

of S pirits and to have free access from thence to the
,

regions of life an d to pass and repass in the air a s

, ,

really though not perceptible to us as the spirits of

, ,

men do after thei r release from the body pass to th e

, ,

p l ace ( wherever that is ) which i s appointed for them .

If the Devil was con fined to a place ( H ell ) a s a ri

s on he could the n have no business here ; and i
,
we

preten d to describe hell as not a prison but that th e:

, ,

Devi l has l iberty to be there or n ot be there as he ,
 1 92 T HE MODER N
the Devil is in hell an d hell is in the Devil ; he is lled
,

w ith this u nquenchable re he is expelled the place of ,

glory ban i shed fr om the regions of light ; absence from

,

the life of all beatitude is his curse despair i s the ,

reigning pass i on in his mind ; and all the little con sti
tuting parts of his torment such as rage envy malice , , , ,

an d j ealousy are con solidated in this to mak e his

, ,

misery com p lete viz the duration of it all the eternity

,
.
, ,

of his con d i tion ; that he is without hope without r e ,

d emption without recovery

, .

If anything can iname this hel l and make it hotter , ,

it is th i s only and this does add an in expressible hor

,

ror to the Devil himself ; n amely the seeing man ( the ,

only creature he hates ) placed in a state of recovery a ,

glorious establishment of redemption formed for him in

heaven an d the scheme of it perfected on earth ; by
,

which this man though even the Dev i l by his a rt may

,

have deluded him and drawn him into crime is yet i n

, ,

a state of recovery wh i ch the Devil is n ot ; and that

,

it is n ot in his ( Satan s ) power to prevent it Now take

.

the Devil as he is in h i s own nature angelic a bright , ,

i mmortal s eraph heaven born and hav i ng tasted the

,
-
,

etern al beatitude which these a re a p pointed to enj oy ;

,

the loss of that stat e to himself the possess i on of it ,

granted to his rival though w i cked lik e an d as himself;

,

I sa y take th e Devil a s he is having a quick sen se of

, ,

his ow n perdition and a st i ngi n g s i ght of his rival s fe
,

lic ity it is hell enough and more than enough even

, , ,

f or an angel to support ; n othing we can conce i ve of

can be worse .

As to any other re than this s u ch an d so imma ,

t eria lly intense as to torment a spirit which i s i tself ,

re also I will n ot say it c a nnot be because to Innite

, ,

everyth i ng is possible but I must say I cann ot con , , ,

c ei v e rightly of it .

1 will n ot enter here into the wisdom or reasonable

n ess of representing the torments of h ell to be re and ,

th a t re t o be a commixture of ame a n d sulphur ;

,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 93

it has pleased G od to l et the horror of those eterna l

a gonies about a l ost h ea V en be laid before us by those
simil i t u des or allegor ies wh i ch are most moving to ou r
s enses and to ou r understandings ; nor will I dispute

the possibility much less will I doubt but that there is

,

to be a consummation of misery to all the obj ects of

m isery whe nthe Devil s kingdom in this world ending

, ,

with the world itself that liberty he has n ow may be

,

further abridged ; when he may be returned to th e

s ame state he was in bet ween the time of his fall an d

the creation of the world with perhaps some additional

,

v engeance on him such a s at present we cannot de

,

s cribe for all that treason and those high crimes and
,

misdemeanors which he has been guilty of here in

his conversation w i th mankind

As his infelicity will be then consummated and com

l eted s o the infelicity of that par t of mankind who
p ,

a re condemned w i th him may receive a considerable

a ddition from those words in their sentence to b e tor ,

m en ted w ith th e D ev il a n d h is a ng els ; for as the a h ,

s ence of the s u preme Good i s a complete hell so the ,

hated company of the Deceiver who was the great ,

cause of their ruin must be a subj ect of additional hor

,

ror ; and they w i ll be al ways saying as a Scotch gentle

man w h o died of his excesses said to the famous Dr .

P who came to see him on his death bed but had -

,

b e en too much his companion in his life ,

O tu fundamenta gessisti

I would not treat the v ery subj ect itself with a ny in

decency nor do I think my Opinion of that hell which
, ,

I say consists in the absence of him in whom i s

,

heaven one j ot less solemn than theirs who bel i eve i t

,

all re and brimstone ; but I must ow n that to me , ,

nothing can be more ridiculous than the notions that

we entertain and ll o u r heads with about hell an d ,

about the devils being there tormenting of souls ,

br o i ling them upon gr i dirons hanging them

, u
p upon
H D
. . O
1 94 T HE MODER N
hooks carrying th em upon their backs and the like ;
, ,
'

with the several p i ctures of hell represented by a great ,

mouth with horrible teeth gaping like a cave o n the ,

side of a mountai n ; suppose that appropriated t o Satan

i n the P eak which indeed is n ot much unlike it with
, , , ,

a stream of re coming out of it as there is of water , ,

and sm al l er devils going and coming continually in and

o u t to fetch an d carry souls the L ord knows whither
, ,

and for the L ord knows what

These things however intended for terror are in
, ,

de e d so ridiculous that the Devi l himself to be sure

, , , ,

mocks at them and a man of sense ca n hardly refrain

,

doing th e like only I avoid it because I would n ot

, ,

give o ffence to weaker heads .

H owever I m ust not compliment the brains of othe r

,

men at the expense of my ow n or talk n onsense b e ,

ca use they can underst a nd n o other I think all thes e

notion s and representations of hell and of the Devi l to
be as profane as they are ridiculous an d I ought n o ,

more to talk profanely than merrily of them .

L et us learn to talk of these things then a s w e , ,

should do ; and as w e really cannot describe the m to

,

ou r reason and understanding why should we describ e ,

them to ou r senses ? we h a d I think much better n ot , ,

describe them at al l that is to say n ot attem p t it : th e

, ,

blessed apostle St P aul was as he said himself, carrie d

.
,

up or caught up into th e t hird heaven yet when h e

, , ,

came down again he could n either tel l what h e heard ,

or describe what he sa w ; all he could sa y of it w a s ,

that what he heard was unutterable and what he saw ,

was inconceivabl e .

It is the same thing as to the state of the Devi l i n

those regions which h e n ow possesses and where h e ,

n ow more particularly inhabits ; my present business ,

then is not to enter into those gr ave things so as to

,
.

make them ridiculous as I think most people do tha t ,

talk of them ; but as the Devil let his residence b e ,

whe re it will has evidently free l eave to come and go

, ,
"
1 96 T HE MOD ER N

g a
u e,l oose u ngovern ed fe ll ow we must be cont e nt to
, ,

trace him where we can nd him .

It is true in the foregoing chapter I showed you

,

the Devil entered into the herd ecclesiastic and gave ,

o u som e account of th e rst successfu l step he took

y
with mankind since the Christian epoch ; how having ,

secretly managed both temporal an d spiritual power

apart and by themselves he n ow united them In po i nt
, , ,

of man a gement and brought the church usurpation an d

,

the army S usurpation together the pope to bless th e .

general in deposin g and murdering his master the

, ,

emperor and the general to recognise the pope in de

,

throning his master Christ Jesus , .

F rom this time forward you are to allow the Devil

a mystica l empire in this world ; n ot an action of
moment done without him n ot a treason but he has a ,

han d in it not a tyrant but he prompts him n ot a

, ,

government but he has a in it ; n ot a fool but

he tickles him not a knave but he guides him he has
,

a nger in every fra u d a key to ev ery cabinet from , ,

the divan at C onstantinople to the Mississippi in

F rance and to the South S ea cheats at
,
fro m -

the rst attack u pon the Christian world in the person ,

of the R omish antichrist down to the bull U n ig en i tu s ,

and from the m ixture of St P eter and Confucius in .

China to the holy oi c e in Spain ; an d down to the

,

E mlin s and Dodwells of the current age .

H ow he has managed and does manage an d h ow i n , ,

al l probability he w i ll manage till his kingdom S hall

come to a period and how at last he will probably be
,

managed h imself inquire within and you S hal l kno w

, ,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 1 97

C HAP . 1 11 .

Of th e m a n n er of S a ta n s a c ting a nd ca r ryi ng on h is
f
a ir s i n th is w o r ld, a n d p a r tic u la r ly o h is or din a r
'

a y
w ork i ngs i n th e da rk , by p ossession a n d a g i ta ti on .

T HE Devil being thus reduced to act upon mankind

by stratagem only i t remains to inquire h ow he per
,

f orms and which way he directs his attacks

,
the
faculties of man are a kin d of a garr i son in a strong
castle which as they defend it on the on e hand unde r
,

the command of the reasoning p ower of man s soul so ,

they are prescribed on the other hand an d can not sally ,

ou t without leave for the governor of a fort does n ot

permit his soldiers to hold any corres p ondence with
the enemy without spec i al order and d i rection N ow
, .

the great inquiry before us is H ow comes the Devil to ,

a parley with us h ow does he converse wit h ou r

?

senses and with the understanding ? h ow does he

,

reach us ? which way does he come at the a ff ection s ?

and which way does he move the pass i ons ? It i s a
little di fcult to d i scover th i s tre a sonable correspond
ence and that di fculty is indeed the Devil s a dv a n
,

tage and for aught I see the chief advantage he has

, , ,

over mankind .

It is also a great inquiry here whether the Devil ,

knows o ur thoughts or n o : if I may giv e my O p inion

I am with a negative I deny that he knows anything

o f our thoughts except of those thou ghts which he puts
,

u s upon t h inking for I w i ll not doubt but he has the

,

a rt to inj ect thoughts and to revive dormant thoughts

,

in us : it is not so wild a scheme as some take it to be ,

that Mr Milton lays down to represent the Devi l

.
,

inj ecting corrupt desires and wand er ing thoughts into

 1 98 T HE M O D ER N
the head of E ve by dreams and that he brought he r
, ,

t o dream whatever h e put into her tho u ghts by

whispering to her vocally wh en sh e was a sleep ; an d

to this end h e im a gin es the Devil l aying himself clos e
,

to her ca r in th e sh a pe of a toad when sh e w a s fast

, ,

asleep ; I say this i s not so wild a schem a seeing even

,
-

n ow if you c a n whisper a nything close to the ear of a

'

person in a deep sleep so as to speak distinctly to the ,

person an d yet n ot awaken him a s has been frequently

, ,

tried the person sleeping s h all dream distinctly of

,

what you say to him n ay S hall dream the very word s ,

ou sa
y y .

We have then n o more to a sk but h ow th e Devi l

, , ,

can con vey himself to th e ear of a sleeping person an d

it is granted th e n that he m ay h av e power to m ake u s
dream what h e pleases : but this is n ot all for if he can ,

so forcibly by his invisible applicatio n cause u s to

, ,

dream what he pleases why can he not with the sam e ,

facility pro m pt ou r thoughts whether sleeping or ,

waking ? To drea m is n othing els e but to think sleep

,

ing ; a n d w e have abundance of deep he a ded gentleme n -

a m o n g u s who give u s a mple testimony that they dream

,

waking .

But if the Devil can prompt us to dream that i s t o ,

say to think yet if he does n ot kn ow ou r thoughts how

, , ,

then can he tell whether th e whisper h a d its e ffect ?

The a n swer is pl a in ; t h e Devil like the a n gler baits the , ,

hook if the sh bite h e l i es re a dy to t ak e th e advant a g e ;

,

h e whispers to th e im a ginat i on a n d then w a its to see ,

h ow it works ; as N aomi said to R uth ch a p iii 5 1 8 ,

. .
, ,

S i t still, my da u gh ter , u n ti l th ou k n ow h ow th e m a tter

w i ll f a ll, f o r th e m a n w i ll n ot b e a t r es t u n ti l h e h a v e
ed th e thi ng Thus when h Devil h a d whispered
n i sh t. e

to E ve in her sleep , accord i ng to Milton , a n d suggested

mischi ef to h er im a gi n at i on , h e only sa t still to see h ow
the matter would work for h e k n ew if it took with her , ,

he should hear more of it ; a n d then b y nding her

al on e the n ext day without he r ordinary guard he r
, ,
2 00 T HE MOD ER N
work with quotation s from a book which we have n ot

m uch to do with in the Devil s story at l east n ot much ,

to his satis faction I only hint his personal appearan ce

,

to o u r Saviour i n the wilderness where it is said th e , ,

D ev il ta k eth h im up to a n ex ceeding h ig h m ou n ta i n ; and ,

in another place th e D ev il depa r tedf r om h im What

, .

shape or gure he appeared in w e do n ot nd men

ti oned but I cann ot doubt h i s appearing to him there ,
,

any more than I can his talking to ou r Saviour in the

mouths and with the voices of the several person s who
were under the terrib l e a f ictio n of a n actual posses
sion .

These things leave u s n o room to doubt of what is

advanced above namely that he ( the Devil ) has a cer
, ,

tain residence or liberty of residing in and moving

, ,

about upon the surface of this earth as well as in th e

, , ,

compass of the atmosphere vulgarly called the air in , ,

some mann er or other : that is the general .

l t remains to inquire into the manner which I re ,

sol ve into two kinds

1 . O rdinary which I suppose to be his invisible
,

mot i ons as a spirit ; under which con siderat i on I

suppose him to have an unconne d unlimited , ,

unrestra i ned liberty a s to th e mann er of acting ;

,

a n d this either i n persons by posses sion ; or in ,

things by agitation
, .

2 E xtraordinary w h ich I understand to be his ap

.
,

p ea ra n ces in borrowed shapes an d bodies or ,

S hadows rather of bodies ; assuming speech ,

gure posture and several powers of which w e

, , ,

can give little or n o account ; i n wh i ch ex tra ordi

nary manner of appearances he I s e i ther l imited ,

by a superior power or limits himself politically

, ,

as being not the way most for his interest or pur

pose to act in his business wh i ch is mo r e eff ec ,

t u a lly don e I n his state of Obscurity .

H ence we must suppose the Devil has it very much

in his own choice wh e the r to act in on e capacity or in

, ,
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 20 1

the othe r or in both ; that is to say of a ppearing an d

, ,

not ap p earing as he nds for his purpose : in this

,

state of invisi b ility and under the operatio n of thes e ,

powers and liberties he performs all his functions and ,

o ffi ces as Devil as prince of darkn ess as god of this

, , ,

world as tempter accuser deceiver and all whatso

, , , ,

ever other names of o ffi ce or titles of honour he is

known by .

N ow taking h i m in this large unlimite d or little ,

limited state of action he is well called the god of this ,

world for he has very much of the attribute of omni

,

presence a n d may be said either by himself or his

, ,

ag ents to be everywhere and s ee everything ; that is

, ,

to say everyth i ng that is visible ; for I cannot allow

,

him any share of omniscience at all .

That he ranges about everywhere is with u s an d , ,

somet i mes i n us sees when he is not seen hears whe n

, ,

he is not heard comes in w i thout leave an d goes out

, ,

without noise is nei ther to be shut in or shut o u t ; that

,

when he runs fro m u s we cannot catch him an d whe n ,

he runs after us w e cannot escape him i s seen whe n ,

he is n ot known and i s known when he is n ot seen ;

,

all these things and more we have knowle dge enough

, ,

about to convince us of the truth of them so that a s ,

I have sa i d above h e i s certainly walking to and fro ,

through the e a rth after some manner or other , ,

and i n some gure o r other visible or i nvisible as he , ,

nds occasion N ow in order to make ou r h i story of

.

h im complete the next question before us is h ow an d

, , ,

in what manner he acts with mankind : h ow h i s k i ng

,

dom is carried on and by what methods he does his ,

business for he certainly has a great deal of business

,

to do ; he is n ot an idle spectator nor is he walking ,

about in cog n ito and clothed in m i st and darkness

, ,

purely i n k i ndness to us that w e should not be fright ,

ened at him ; b ut it is in pol i cy that he may act u n ,

discovered that h e may see and not b e seen may play

, ,

his gam e in the d ark and not be detected i n his ,

202 T HE MOD ER N
roguery ; that he m ay pro m pt mischief raise t empests , ,

blow up coals kindle strife embroil n a tions u se in stru

, , ,

ments and n ot be known to have his hand in anyth i ng

, ,

when at the same tim e he really has a hand in every

thing .

Some are of Opinion and I among the rest that , ,

if the Devi l was personally and visibly present among

u s and we conversed with him face to fa ce w e S hould
, ,

b e so familiar with him in a little time that his u gly ,

gu re would n ot a ffect us at all that ll l S terrors would ,

.

n ot frighten u s or that w e should a ny m ore troubl e

,

ourselves about him tha n w e did with the last gre a t

comet i n 1 6 7 8 which a ppeared so long and so con
,

sta n tl without any particular kn own event tha t at

y ,

last we took no m ore n otice of it th an of the other .

ordinary stars whic h had appeare d before we or ou r

,

ancestors were born .

N or indeed should we h ave m u ch reason to b e

, ,

frighten ed at him o r at least n on e of those S illy things

,

could be sa i d of him which we n ow am use ourselves

about and by which we set him up l i ke a scarecro w t o
,

frighten children an d old wom en to ll up old stories , ,

make songs and ball a ds a n d in a wor d carry on the , , ,

low prized bu ff oon ery of the common people ; we

-

should either see h i m i n his ang el i c form as he was ,

f rom th e or i ginal or if he has any deformities entailed

,

upon him by the supreme sentence a n d in j ustice to ,

the deformity of his crim e th ey would be of a superio r ,

n ature an d tted m ore for ou r contempt as well a s

, ,

horror than those weak fanc i ed tri es contrived by

,
-

ou r ancient devil raisers and d evil makers to feed th e

- -
,

wayward fancies of Old witch es and sorcerers who ,

cheated the ignorant world with a devil of th eir ow n

maki n g set forth in ter r or em w ith bat s wings horns
, , , , ,

cloven foot long tail forked tongue a n d the like

, , , .

In the next place be h is fr i ghtful gure what it ,

would a n d his legion s as n umerou s as the h ost of

, _
.

heaven, we should see him still as the princ e of de vils , ,

204 T HE MOD ER N
state in the world a s he has don e ? as a mere professed
,

devil he could do n othing ,

H ad he been obliged always to act the mere dev il in

his ow n clothes and with his ow n S hape appearing u p
,

erm ost in all cases an d places he could n ev er h a v e

p , _

preached in so many p ulpits presi ded in so many ,

councils voted in so many committees sa t in so m a ny

, ,

courts an d inuenced so many parties and faction s i n

,

churc h and state as we have reason to believe he has

,

done in o u r n ation a n d in ou r memories too as well a s

, ,

i n other nat i ons and in more ancient times The shar e .

Satan has had in all the weighty confusion s of the

times ever sin ce the rst ages of Christianity in th e
,

world has been carried on with so m uch secrecy an d

, ,

so much wit h an air of cabal and intrigue that nothing ,

can have been man a ged more subtly and closely and
in the same mann er has he acted I n ou r times in order ,

to conceal his interest and conce a l the inuence h e

,

has had i n the councils of the world .

H ad it been poss i ble for him to have r aised th e

ames of rebellion an d war so often in this nation as ,

he certainly has don e ? could he have agitated the

parties on both sides and inamed the spirits of three
,

nations if he had appeared in his ow n dress a mere

, ,

n aked devil ? It is n ot the Devil as a devil that doe s ,

the mischie f, but the Devil in masquerade Satan in ,

full disguise an d acting at the head of civil confusion

,

and distraction .

If history may be credited the F rench cou rt at th e ,

time of o u r old confusion s was m ade the scen e of

S atan s politics and prompted both parties i n E ngland

,

an d In Scotland also to quarrel ; an d how was it done ?

will any man o ffer to scandalize the Devi l so much as
to say or so much as to suggest that Satan had n o
, ,

han d In it all ? did n ot the Devil by the agency of ,

cardinal R ichelieu sen d four hun dred thousand crown s

,

at on e time, and six hundr e d thousand at anoth er to ,

"
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL 20 5 .

the Scots ; to ra i se an army and march boldly into

E ngland ? and did not the same Devil at the same ,

time by other agents remit e i ght hundred thousand

, ,

crowns to the other party i n order to r a i se an army to ,

fall u p on the Scots ? nay did not the Devil w i th the same
,

s ubtlety send down the archbisho p s order to impose

the service book upon the people i n Scotland an d at

-
,

the same time raise a m ob aga i nst it in th e great ,

church ( at St Gi les s ) ? n a y d i d not he actually in

.

, ,

the person of an old woman ( his favourite instrument ) ,

throw the three legged stool a t the service book an d

- -
,

animate the zealous p eo p le to take up arms for religion ,

and turn rebels for G od s sake

All these happy and successful u ndertakings though ,

it is no more to be doubted they were done by the

a gency of Satan and i n a very surpris i ng manner too
, ,

yet were all don e in secret by what I call p ossession ,

and inj ect i on and by the agency and contriva n ce of

,

such instr u ments or by the Dev i l in the d i sguise of

,

such servants as he foun d ou t tted to be em p loyed i n

.

his work a n d wh o he took a more e ectu a l care in

,

conceal i ng of .

But we shall have occasion to touch all this part

over a gain when we come to d i scourse of the pa rtic u
,

la r habits and disguises which the Devil h as made u se

of all along in the world the better to cover his ,

actions an d to conceal his being concerned in them

, .

In the mean time the cunni n g or art i ce the

,

Devil makes u se of in all these th i ngs is in itself very , , ,

considerable ; it is an old practice of h i s using and he ,

has gone on in diver s measures for the better con ,

c ealin himself in it which m easures though he

g ; ,

varies sometimes as his extraordinary a ffa i rs require

, ,

yet they are in all a ges much the same and have the ,

same tendency namely that he may get all h i s busi

,

ness carried on by the instrumentality of fools ; that

he may make mankind a gents i n the i r own destru o
tion a nd that h e may have all his work done in such
,
2 06 T HE M O D E R N
a manner as that he may seem to have n o hand in it
na
y he
,
contrives s o well that the very name Devil i s
, , ,

put upon his opposite party and the scandal of the

,

black agent lies all upon them .

In order then to look a little into his conduct l et

, , ,

us inquire into the common mistakes about him see ,

what use is made of them to hi s adv a nt a ge and h ow

,

f a r m an k in d is impos e d u pon in those particu l a r s and

to what pu rpose .
 208 T HE MOD ER N
s omething and some good for n othing ; but h is peop l e
,

are every on e t for everything ca n nd their way ,

everywhere and are a match for everybo dy they are

,

sent to ; in a word they are n o foolish devils they

, ,

are all ful ly qualied for their employment t for any ,

thing h e sets them about and very seldom mistake ,

t heir errand or fai l in the business they are sent

,

to do .

Nor is it strange at all that the Devil should have

,

s uch a numberless train of deputy devils to act under

him for it must be acknowledged he has a great de al

o f business u p on his hands a vast deal of work to do
, ,

abundance of public a ffairs under his direction an d a n ,

innite variety of particular cases always be fore him ;

for example
How many govern m ents in the worl d are wholly in
his administration ? h ow many divans and great coun
cils under his direction ? n ay I believe it w o u ld be , ,

hard to prove that there is or has been on e council o f

state in the world for m any hun dred years past down ,

t o the year 1 7 1 3 ( we do not pretend to come n earer

,

home ) where the Devil by himself or his agents in on e

, , ,

shape or another h a s n ot sat as a member if n ot taken

, ,

the chair .

An d tho u gh some learn ed a uthors may dispute this

point with me by giving some examples where the
,

councils of princes have been acted by a better hand ,

a n d where things have been c a rried a ga i nst Satan s

interest an d even to his great m or ti ca tion it amounts

, ,

to n o more than th i s ; namely that i n such cases the ,

Devil has been outvoted ; but it does n ot a rgue but

h e might have been present there and have pushed ,

his interest as far as he could only that he had n ot ,

the s uccess he expected ; for I do n ot preten d to say

that he has n ever been disappointed : but those ex
amples are so rare and of so smal l signication that
, ,

when I come to th e part i culars a s I shall do in the ,

sequel of this history you will nd them hardly w o rt h

.
 H IS T O RY OF T HE D E V IL . 209

n aming ; and that take it on e time with another the , ,

Devil has met with such a series of success in all his

a ff airs and has so seldom been balked and where he
,

has met with a little check in his politics has not , ,

withstanding 5 0 soon and so easily recovered h i mself

, ;

regained h i s lost groun d or replaced himself i n ,

another country when he has been su p planted in one ,

that his empire is far from being lessened in the

worl d for the last thousand years of the Christian esta
,

b lish m en t .

Suppose w e take an observation from the beginning

of L ut h er or f rom the year 1 4 2 0 and call the R eform
, ,

ation a blo w to the Dev i l s kingdom which before , ,

that was come to such a height in Chr i stendom that it

, ,

is a question not yet thoroughly decided whether that

medley of superstitio n and horrible heresies that mass ,

of enthusiasm and idols called the catholic hierarchy , ,

w a s a church of God or a church of the Devil ; ,

whether it w a s an assembly of saints or a synagogue ,

of Satan : I say take that time to be the e p och of

,

Satan s declension and of L ucifer s falling from heaven , ,

that is from the top of h i s terrestrial glory yet whether

, ,

he did not gai n in the defection of the Greek c h urch ,

about that t i me and s i nce as much as he l ost in th e ,

reformation of the R oman i s what authors are n ot yet ,

agreed about not reckoning what he has regained

,

si nce of the ground wh i ch he had lost even by the Re

formation v i z the countries of the duke of Savoy s

, .
,

dom i nion where the R eformation is almost eaten ou t

,

by persecution ; the whole V altolin e and some adj a ,

cent countries ; the whole kingdom of P ola nd and a l ,

most all H ungary for S ince the last w a r the R eform , ,

ation as it were l i es gasp i ng for breath and expiring

, , ,

i n that country ; also several large prov i nces in Ger

many as A ustr i a Carinth i a and the whole kingdom
, , ,

of Bohem i a where the R eformation

, once powerfully ,

planted received its death s woun d at the battle of
,

P rague ann 1 6 2 7 and languished but a very littl e

, .
,

H D . .
P
2 10 T HE MOD ER N
whi l e die d and was buried an d good king popery
, , ,
"

reigned in its stead .

T o these countries thus regain ed to Satan s inferna l ,

empire let u s add h i s modern conquests and the en

, ,

c roa ch m en ts he has made upon the R eformation in the

present a ge which are h owever light we m ake of them

, , ,

very considerable viz the electorate of the Rhine an d .

,

th e P alatinate the on e fallen to the house of Bav a ria

, ,

and the other to that of Neuburg both popish ; th e

. ,

duchy of Deux P onts fallen j ust now to a p opish ,

branch ; the whole electorate of Saxony fallen under ,

the power of popish gov ernment by the apostacy of ,

their princes an d more likely to fo l low the fate of

,

Bohem i a when ever th e diligent Devil can bring his

,

n ew proj ect in P olan d to bear a s it is more tha n ,

probable he will do some time or other by the growing ,

zeal as well as power of ( that house of bigots ) the house

of A

But to su m up the dull story ; we must add in the

ro l l of th e Devi l s conquests the whole kingdom of ,

F rance where we have i n on e year see n to th e i m m or

, ,

tal glory of the Devil s politics that his measures have ,

prevailed to the total extirpation of the protestant

churches without a war and that interest which for
, ,

two hun dred years had supported itself in spite of

persecution s massacres ve civil wars an d innu m er
, , ,

able battles and slaughters at last received its mort al ,

wound from its ow n champion H enry I V and sunk .

,

i nto utter oblivion by Satan s most exquisite m anage ,

m ent under the a g ency of his tw o prime ministers

,

cardinal R ichelieu and L ewis XI V whom b e en .

,

tirely possesse d .

Thus far w e have a mel ancholy n ew of the Devil s
n ew con quests and the ground he has regain ed u pon
,

the R eformation in which his secret management h as

,

been so exquisite and his politics so good that could

, ,

he bring but on e thing to pass wh i ch by his ow n , ,

former mistake ( for the Dev il is not infallible ) he h as ,

2 12 T HE MOD ER N

This devil ish policy took to his heart s content : the ,

Christian princes stood still stupid dosing and u n c on , , ,

cerned till the Turk conquered Thrace overrun Servia

, , ,

Macedonia Bulgaria and all the remains of the Grecian

, ,

empire and at last the imperial city of Constantinople

, .

i tsel f .

F inding this politic method so well answer his ends ,

the Devil who always improves u pon the success of

,

his O w n experiments resolved from that time t o lay a

.
,

foundation for the making those divisions and j ealousies

o f the Christian princes immortal ; whereas they were

at rst only person al and founded in private quarrels

,

between the princes respectively ; such as emulation of

on e an other s glory envy at the extraordinary valour

or other merit of this or that leader or revenge of so m

,

e ,

little affront ; for which notwithstanding so great was , ,

the piety of Christian princes in those days that they ,

made n o scruple to sacrice whole armies yea nations , , ,

to their piques and private quarrels a certain S ign ,

whose management they were un der .

These being the causes by which the Devil rst

sowed the see ds of mischief among them and the ,

success S O well answering h is des i gn he could n ot but ,

wish to have the same advantage always ready at his

han d : and therefore he resolved to order it so that ,

these divisions which however usefu l to him were only

, , ,

personal and consequently temporary like an annual

, ,

i n the garden which must be raised ane w every season

, ,

might for the future be national and consequently ,

durable an d immortal .

To this end it was necessary to lay the foundation of

eternal feud not in the humours and pass i on s of men
,

only but in the interests of n ations : the way to do this

,

was to form and state the dominion of those princes by ,

such a plan drawn in hell and laid ou t from a scheme

, ,

truly polit i cal of which the Devil was chief engineer

, ,

that the divis i ons should always remain ; being made a

natural consequenc e of the situation of the country the ,
 HIS T OR Y or T HE DEV IL . 213

temper of their people the nature of their commerce , ,

the climate the manner of living or something which

, ,

should for ever render i t impossible for them to unite .

Th i s I say was a scheme truly infernal in wh i ch

, , ,

the Devil w a s as certainly the principal operator ( to ,

i llustrate great things by small ) as ever John of L eyden ,

w a s of the high Dutch rebellion or s ir John B t of ,

the late proj ect called the South sea stock Nor did
,
-
.

this contrivance of the Devil at all d i shonour its author ,

or the success appear unworthy of the undert aker ; for

w e se e it not only an swer the end a n d made the T u rk ,

victorious at the same time and formidable to E urope ,

e ver after but it works to this day the foundat i on of

, ,

the divisions remains in all the several nations an d ,

that to s u ch a degree that it is impossible they should

unite.

This is what I hinted be fore in which the Devil w a s ,

mistaken and is another instance that he knows

,
.

n othing of what is to come ; for this very foundation of

immortal j ealousy and discord between the sever a l

nations of Spain F rance Germany and others whic h
, , , ,

the Devil himself with so much policy contrive d an d ,

which served his interests so long is n ow the only ,

obstruction to bis des i gns and prevents the entire ru i n

'

of the R eformation ; for thou gh the reformed countries

are very powerful and some of them as Great Brita i n

, ,

and P russia in particular more powerful than ever , ,

yet it cannot be said that the protestant interests in

general are stronger than formerly or so strong as they ,

were in 1 6 3 2 under the victorious arms of the Swede ;

,

on the other hand were it possible that the popish

,

p owers to wit of F rance Spa i n G ermany Italy an d

, , , , ,

P oland which are entirely p o p ish could heartily unite

, ,

thei r interests and should j o i n the i r powers to attack

,

the protestants the latter wo u ld nd it very di fcult

, ,

if not i mp ossible to defend themselves,

.

But as f atal as such an union of the popish powers

would be and as useful as it would be to the Devi l s
,

2 14 T HE MODE R N

cause at this time n ot the Devil with all his angels are
,

able to bring it to pass no not with a ll his craft and ,

cunning ; he divided them but he cannot unite them ; ,

s o that even j ust as it is with men so it is with devil s

, , ,

they may do in an hour what they c a nnot undo in an age .

This may comfort those faint he a rted Christians -

among us who cry ou t of the danger of a religious war

,

in E urope and what terrible things will happen when

,

F rance and Spain an d G e rmany and Italy and

, , , ,

P oland shall all unite ; let this an swer satisfy them

, ,

the Devil himself can n ever make F rance an d Spain ,

or F rance an d the emperor unite ; j arri n g humours

may be reconciled but j arring interests n ever can ,

they may unite so as to make a peace though that c an ,

hardly be long but n ever so as to make conquests

,

together ; they are too much afraid of on e another for ,

o n e to bear that any addition of strength should come

t o the other But this is a digression We shal l nd

;
. .

the Devil mistaken and disappointed too on several

other occasions as w e go along ,
.

I ret u rn to Satan s i nterest in the several govern
"

ments and n ations by virtue of his invisibility an d , ,

which he carrie s on by possession ; it is by this inv isil

b ility that he presides in all the councils of foreign
powers ( for w e never mean ou r ow n that we alway s
, ,

premise and what thou gh it is a lleged by the cr i tics

, ,

that he does not p reside because there is always a ,

president ? I say i f he i s n ot in the president s chair
, ,

yet if he be in the president himself the di fference is ,

n ot much ; and if he does n ot vo te as a councillor if ,

he votes in the counc i llor it is m u ch the same ; an d ,

here as it was in the story of A hab the king of Israel

, , ,

as he was a lying spirit in the mouths of all his pro

h ts so we nd him a spirit of some particular evil
p e ,

quality or other in all the tran sactions and transactors

,

o n that stage of life we call the state .

Thus h e was a dissembling S pirit in Charles IX a .

,

tu rbulent spiri t in Charles V emperors ; a bigoted .

,
2 16 T HE MODE RN

F rom m en of gure w e descend to the m ob and it , ,

is there the same thing ; possession l ike the plague is , ,

m or bu s p lebw i not a family but he i s a spirit of strife ,

an d contention a mo n g them ; n ot a m an but he has a ,

part in him ; he is a drunken devil in on e a wh oring ,

devil in an other a thieving devil in a third a l ying

, ,

devil in the fourt h and so on to a thousand and a , ,

h u ndred thousand a d in n itu m , .

Nay even the ladies have their share in the posses

,

sion ; and if they have n ot the Devil in their heads or

in their tails in the i r faces or their tongues it must
, ,

be some poor despicable sh e devi l that Satan did n ot -

,

think it worth his while to med dle with ; and the

number of those that are below his operation I doubt ,

is very small But that part I have much more to say

.

to in its p l ace .

F rom degrees of person s to profession s an d emp loy

m ents it i s the same we n d the Devil i s a true
,

posture master he assumes any dress appears in any

-
, ,

shape counterfeits every voice acts upon every stage

, ,

here he wears a gown there a long robe ; here he ,

wears the j ack boots there th e small sword ; is here

-
,
-

an enthusias t there a bu ff oon ; on th i s si de he acts the

,

mountebank on that side the merry andrew ; n oth i n g

,
-

comes amiss to him from the Great Mogul to the , ,

scaramo u ch ; the Devil is in them more or less an d , ,

plays his game so well that he makes sure work with ,

them all : he knows were th e common fo i bles lies ,

which i s u niversal passion wh at handle to take hold ,

Of ev ery man by and how to cultivate his interest so

, ,

a s n ot to fail of his end or m i stake the means , .

H ow then can it be denied but that his acting

, , ,

thus i n ten eb r is and keep i ng ou t of the sight o f th e

,

world is abundantl y his interest and that he could

, ,

do n othing comparatively speaki n g by a ny other

, ,

m ethod ?
What would hi s pu b lic appeara n ce have signied ?
who woul d have entertai n ed him i n his ow n prop er
 HIS T O R Y O F T HE DE V IL . 217

shape and person ? even B B himself though .

,

all the world kn ows h i m to have a foolish dev i l in him ,

would not have been fool enough to have taken him

i nto his service i f he had known him ; and my lord ,

Simpleton also who Satan has set up for a cun n ing fool
, , ,

s eems to h ave it sit much better u pon him n ow he ,

p asses for a fool of a rt than it wo u ld have don e if th e ,

n aked devil had com e an d challenged him for a fool in

n ature .

Innite variety illustrate the Devil s reign amo n g
the sons of men all wh i ch he m a n a ges w i th adm i rable
,

dexterity and a sleight p art i cular to himself by the

, ,

mere advantage of his p resent concealed s i tuatio n a n d ,

which had he been obl i ged to have a ppe a red in public

, ,

h a d been all lost an d he capable of just n othi n g at all

, ,

or at least of nothing m ore than the other ordinary

, ,

politicians of wickedness could have don e without him .

N ow authors a re much d i vided as to the m ann er

,

h ow the Devil manages h is pro p er instruments for mis

chief ; for Satan has a great many a gents in the dark ,

who n either have the Devil in them nor are they m uch ,

acquainted with him and yet he serves himself of them ; ,

whether of their folly or of that other frailty called ,

wit it is all on e he makes them do his work when they

, ,

think they are do i ng their ow n ; nay so c u nn i n g is he ,

in his guiding th e weak part of the world that even whe n ,

they think they are serving G od they are doi n g no ,

thing less or more than serving the Devil ; nay it i s ,

some of the nicest part of his operation to make them

believ e they are serving G od when they do his work .

Thus those w h o the Scripture foretold should per

,

sec u te Chr i st s church in the latter days were to th i nk ,

t hey did G od good service ; thus the In quisition for ,

exam ple it may be at this time in a ll the acts of

, , ,

Chr i st i an cruelty which they are so famou s for if a ny ,

of them are i gnorant enough n ot to know that they

are devils incarnate they may for aught w e know go , , ,

on for God s sake ; torture murder starve to death , , ,
 2 18 T H E M O DE RN

m angle , and m a cerate an d al l for God and God s , ,

catholic church an d it is certainly the Devil s m aster

piece to bring mankind to such a perfection of devilism

as that of the Inquisition is for if the Devil had not , ,

been in them could they christen such a hel l re j udi

,
-

c a tu re as the Inquisition is by the name o f the H oly

O fce ? And so in paganism ; h ow could S O many na

tions among the poor Indians O ff er h u man sacrices to
their idols and murder thousands of men women and
, , ,

children to ap pease this god of the air when he is

,

angry if the De v il did not act in them under the v isor

,

o f devotion

But w e need not go to America or to the Inquisition , ,

nor to paganism or to po p ery either to look for people

, ,

that are sacricing to the Devil or that give their ,

p eace o fferings to him while they are o ff ered upon

-

God s altar ; are n ot ou r churches ( aye and meeting ,

houses too as much as they pretend to be more sanc

, ,
?
ti ed than their neighbours ) full of De v il worshippers -

where do his devotees grat u late on e another and con ,

grat u late him more than at church ? where while they

, ,

hold up their hands and turn up their eyes towards ,

heaven they mak e all their vows to Satan or at least

, , , ,

to the fair devils his representatives w hich I shall

, ,

speak of in their place .

Do n ot the son s of God make assignations with the

daughters of men in the very house of worship ? do
f
they not talk to them in the l anguage o the eyes ?

and what is at the bottom of it wh i le on e eye is upon ,

the prayer book and the other adj usting their dress
- ?
,

a re they not sacricing to V enus and Mercury n ay , ,

and to the very Dev il they dress at

L et any man impartially survey the church gestures ,

the air the p ostures and the behav i our ; let him keep
, ,

an exact roll and if I do not show him tw o Devil w or

,
-

shippers for on e true saint then the word sa i n t must ,

have another signication than I ever yet u nderstood

it by .
2 20 T HE MODE RN

L adies ! said I I thought you cal led them devil s just

,

n ow .

Ay, devils sai d he little charming devils ; but I

a y, , ,

m ust not b e rude to them however , .

V ery wel l said I the n you would be rude to God

, ,

a m igh ty because you could not be rude to the Devil ?
,

Why that is true said b e ; but what can we do ?

, ,

there is n o going to ch urch as the case stands now , ,

if w e mu st not worship the Devil a little b etween

whiles .

This is the case indeed and Satan carries his point

, ,

on e very han d for if the fair speaking worl d an d the -

,

fair looking world are generally devils that i s to say

-
, , ,

are in his management we are sure the foul speaking ,

-

and the foul do i ng world are a ll on his s i de ; and you

-

have then only the fa i r doing part of the world that a re -

out of his class and when we speak of them 0 h ow

, , ,

f ew !

But I return to the Devil s managing ou r wicked
part for this he does with most exquisite subtlety a n d
,

this is on e part of it viz he thrusts our vices into ou r

, .
,

virtues by which h e mixes the clea n and the u n clean

, ,

and thus by the corruption of th e on e poisons and de

bauches the other ; so that the slave he govern s cannot
account for his ow n common action s an d is fain to be ,

obliged to his Maker to accept of the heart withou t the

hands and feet ; to take as we vulgarly express it the , ,

will for the deed and if heaven w a s n ot so good to

,

come into that half ih half service I do n ot see but the

- -
,

Devil would carry away all his servants H ere indeed .

, ,

I should enter into a long detail of inv oluntary wicked

n ess which in short is n either more or less than the
, , ,

Devil in everybody ay in every on e of you our go , , ,

~

vernors excepted take it a s you please ,

.

W hat is o u r language when w e look back with re

ection and reproach on past follies ? I think I w a s
bewitched I was possessed ; certainly ; the Devil was in
,

m e or else I had never been such a sot Devil in you

,
.

HIS T OR Y O F T HE DE V IL . 21
Sir ! ay who doubts it ? you may be sure the Devil was
,

in you and there he is still and n ext time he can catch

, ,

o u in the same snare you will be j ust the same s ot

y ,

that you say you were before .

In short the Dev i l is too cunning f or us and ma

, ,

nages us his ow n w ay ; he govern s the v i ces of men

by his ow n metho ds ; though every crime will n ot
make a man a devil yet it must be owned that every
,

crime puts the criminal in some measure into the

Devil s power gives him a title to the man and he
, ,

treats him magisterially ever after .

Some tell u s every s i ngle man every individual h a s a , ,

devil attending him to execute the orders of the ( gran d

,

seignior) devil of the whole clan ; that this attending evil

angel for so he is called sees every step you take is
, , ,

with you in every action prompts you to every m is ,

ch i ef and leaves you to do everyth i ng that i s perni

,

c i on s to yourself ; they also allege that there i s a good

spir i t wh i ch attends h i m too w h i ch latter is always a o ,

cessary to everyth i ng that we do that is good and re ,

lu ctan t to evil ; i f this is tru e h ow comes it to pass ,

that those two opposite S p irits do not quarrel about

it when they are pressing u s to contrary actions ,

on e good and the other ev i l ? and w h does the evil

y
tempting S p irit so often prevail ? Instead of answering
this di fc u lt question I shall only tell you as to th i s
, ,

story of good and ev i l angels attending every particular

person i t is a good allegory indeed to represent the
, , ,

struggle in the m ind of man between good and evil

i ncl i nations ; but as to the rest the best thing I can
say of it i s that I think i t i s a lo
,

, .

But to take things as they are and o n ly talk by way ,

of natural consequence for to argue from nature i s

( ,

certainly the best way to nd ou t the Devil s story) I f

,

there are good a n d evil S p irits attending u s that I S to ,

sa
y a good angel an d a devil then i t i s no unj ust re
, ,

proach upon anybody to say when they follow the ,

dictates of the latter the Devil 1 s in them ; or they are

,
 T HE MOD ER N
devils ; nay I must carry it further still nam ely that
, , ,

as the generality and greatest number of people do

follo w an d obey the evil spirit and not the good and ,

that the predominate power is allowed to be the n omi

nating power you must then allow that in short the
, , ,

greater par t of mankind has the Devil in them and so ,

I come to my text
To this p u rpose give me leave to borrow a few l ines

of a friend on this very part of the Devil s manage

ment .

T o places p ersons he su i ts hi s d i sgui ses

a nd ,

A nd dresses up a ll h i s b andi tti ,

Who as pi ckp ockets ock to a country ass i z es

, ,

C rowd up to the court and the c i ty .

They re at every elbo w

every ear
a nd ,

And ready at every call S i r ,

The v i gi l ant scout plants hi s a gents about ,

An d has so meth i ng to do wi th u s a ll S i r , .

In som e he has p art a n d i n so me he s the whole

,

,

A nd of so me ( l ike th e v i c a r of B addow ) ,

It c a n n e i ther b e s ai d they have bo dy or soul ,

B ut only a re devi ls in Shadow .

The pretty and wi tty are devi ls i n ma sk ,

The beauti es are mere appari ti ons

The ho mely alone by the i r faces are known ,

An d the g ood by the i r u gly condi ti ons .

The b eans walk about l i k e the sh a dows Of men ,

An d wherever h e lea ds em they follo w ,

B ut take em a n d shake em , there s n ot one

i n ten
B ut s as light as a feather a nd hollo w

, .

Thus all hi s affa irs he dri ves i n di sgui se

on ,

A nd he ti ckles m anki nd wi th a feather

C reep s i n at our ears a n d look s ou t at ou r eyes
, ,

A n d ju mbles our senses together .

2 24 T HE M O D ER N

C HAP V . .

th e D ev il s m a n a g em en t i n

Of p g h i e th e
r a r ch
y a an

by o m ens, en tr a i ls, a ug u r s, or a c les, a n d su ch lik e -

p a ea n try o
g f h ell ; a n d h ow th e
y w f
en t o t h e st a
g e

a t la st, by th e i n tr odu c tion (

f tr u e r eli io n
g .

I H A V E adj ourned not nished my account of the

,

Devil s secret management by possession and Sh all re ,

ass u me it in its place ; but I must take leav e to

,

m ention some other parts of his retired scheme by ,

which he has hitherto managed mankind and the r st ,

o f these is by that fraud of all frauds called oracle ,

.

H ere his tr u mpet yielded an uncertain sound for

some ages and l i ke what he was and according to
, ,

what he pract i sed fro m the beginning he delivered ou t ,

falsehood and delusion by retail : the priests of Apollo

acted th i s farce for him to a great nicety at Delphos
there were divers others at the same time and some , ,

which to give the Devil his due he had very little ,

hand in as w e shall see p resently

,
.

There were also some smaller some greater some , ,

more some le ss fa m ous places where those oracles

.

were seated an d a u dience given to the inquirers in

, ,

a ll which the Devil or somebo dy for him er m issu

, p ,

su er ior u m for either vind i ct i ve or other h i dden ends

p ,

and purposes w a s allowed to make at least a pretens i on

,

to the knowledge of things to come ; but as public ,

cheats gen erally do they acted i n masquerade and

, ,

gave such uncertain and inconsistent responses that ,

they were obliged to use the utmost art to reconc i le

e v ents to the predic tion even after things were come
,

to p ass .

H ere the Devil was a lying spirit in a particular ,

 HI S T OR Y O F T HE D E V IL . 225

a nd ext ra o r di nary man ner in the mouths of all the ,

prophets and yet he had the cunning to express him

self so that whatever happened the oracle w a s su p
, ,

posed to have meant as i t fell ou t ; and so all their

a ugu ries omens and voices by which the Devil amused
, , ,

the world not at that time only but since have been
, , ,

l ikewise interpreted .

Julian the Apostate deal t m ightily in these amuse

ments ; but the Devil w h o neither wished his fall or , ,

presaged it to him evi denced that he knew nothing of

,

Julian s fate ; for that as he sent almost to all the

,

o r acles of the E ast and summoned all the priests to

,

gether to inform him of the success of his P ersian ex

,

edition th ey all like Ahab s prophets having a lying
p , , ,

spirit in them encouraged him and p romised him success

,
.

Nay all the ill omens which disturbed him they

, ,

presa ged good from ; for example he w a s at a prod i ,

~

g ions expense when he was at Antioch to buy u

p ,

white beasts and white fowls for sacrices and for ,

predicting from the entrails ; from whence the An tio f

chians in contempt called him V ictim ariu s ; but

, ,

whenever the entrails foreboded evil the c u nning ,

Devil made the priests put a di ff erent constructio n

u pon them a n d promise him good : when he entered
,

into the tem ple of the Gen u to o ff er sacrice on e of , ,

th e p riests dropped down dead ; this had it had a ny sig ,

n i ca tiou more than a m a n falling dead of an a o lec

p p
tic would have signied something fata l to Julian
, , ,

w h o made himself a brother sacrist or priest ; whereas

the priests turned it presently to signify the death of
his colleague the consul Sallust which hap p ened j ust
, ,

at the same time thou gh eight h u ndred miles off S o

, "
.

in another case Julian thought it Ominous that he

, , ,

w h o was Augustus S hould be n amed with tw o other

,

n ames of persons both alr eady dead : the case wa s

,

thus ; the style of the emperor was J ul1 an u s F elix Au

gustus and two of hi s principal o ffi cers were J ulIanu S
, ,

a n d F el i x n ow bot h Julian us and F elix died withi n

,

H D
. .
Q
22 6 T HE MODE RN

a few d ay s of on e another, which disturbed him m uch ;

w h o was the third of the three names b ut his atterq
ing devil told him it all imported good to him , viz , .

that t hough Julianus and F elix should die Augustus ,

Shoul d be immortal .

Thus whatever happened and whateve r w as f ore ,

tol d an d h ow much soever they di ff ered from on e a n

,

Othe r the lyi ng spirit w as sure to reconcile th e predic

,

tion and the event and make them at leas t seem to

,

correspond in f avour of the person 1 n qu 1 r1 n g .

N ow w e are told oracles are ceased an d the Devil

, , ,

i s further limited for the good of mankind n ot being ,

a ll owed to vent his delusions by the mouths of the

priests and augurs as formerly I wil l n ot take u pon
, .

me to say how far they ar e really ceased more than ,

they were befor e ; I think it is much more reasonable

to bel ieve there w as n ever any r eality in them at all;
or that any oracle ever gave ou t any answers but
what were the inventio n of the priests a n d the delu ,

sions of the Devil I have a gr eat many ancient.

authors on my S ide in this Opinion as E usebius Ter , ,

tullian Aristotl e and others who as they lived so n ear

, , , ,

the pagan times and when even some of those rite s

,

were yet in u se they had much more reason to know

, ,

a n d could probably pass a better j u dgment u pon them ;

nay Cicero himsel f ridicules them in the openest

,

manner Again other authors descend to particu l ars

.
, ,

a n d S how h ow the cheat w a s managed by the heathe n

sacrists an d priests and in what enthusiastic manner
,

they spoke ; namely by going into the hollow images

, ,

such as the brazen b ull and the image of A p ollo ; and

,

h ow subtly they gave ou t dubious a n d amb i gu ous a n

sw ers that when the peopl e did n ot nd the i r expect
a tion s answered by the e vent they might be imposed ,

u pon by the priests and condently told they did not

,

rightly understand the oracle s meaning : howeve r I ,

cannot say b u t that indeed there are some a uthors of ,

ood cr e dit too wh o wi ll ha v e it that the r e w as a rea l

g ,
 "

228 T HE MOD E RN

e d e astwar d into L ibya and the des ert s of Afr ic a , ,

a n d th e othe r into Greec e n a mely to Dordona a nd , , ,

these communicated the divin e mysteries to on e a n

other and a fte rwards gave mystical solutions to th e de
,

v ont inquirers ; rst the Dordonia n pigeon perchi n

, g
upon an oak spoke audibly to the people there th at
, ,

the gods commanded them to buil d an oracle or ,

temple to J upiter in that pl ace which wa s accord

, ,

i n gly done : the othe r pigeon did the like on the hil l
in Africa where it commanded them to b u il d anothe r
,

to Jupiter Ammon or H ammon , .

Wise Cicero c ontemned all this and as authors tell , ,

us ridicu l ed the an swer which as I have hinted above

, , ,

the oracle gave to Croesus proving that the orac l e ,

itself was a lie ; that it could n ot come from Apollo ,

f or that Apollo neve r spoke L atin In a word Cicer o

.
,

rej ected them all ; and Demosthen es also mention s the

cheats of the oracl es when speaking of the oracle of
, ,

Apollo he said Pythia Philippized ; that is that whe n

, , ,

the priests wer e bribed with money they alway s ga v e ,

their answers in favour of P hilip of Macedon .

But that which is most str a nge to me is that in this ,

dispute about the real ity of oracles the heathen who ,

made u se of them are the people who expose them ,

and who insist most positively upon their being cheats

, ,

and impostors as in particula r those m entioned above ;

,

while the Christians w h o rej ect them yet believe they ,

did really foretell things answe r questions &c ; on ly , ,

.

with this di fference that the heathen authors who op

,

pose them insist that it is all delusion and cheat and

, ,

charge it upon the priests ; and the Chr i stian opposers

insist that it was real but that the Devil n ot the gods
, , ,

gave the answers and that he was permitted to do it

b y a superior power to magnify that po we r in th e total
,

silencing them at last .

But as I said be fore I am with the heathen here;

'

, ,

a gainst the Christian writers for I take it all to be a ,

, c heat a n d d el usion I must giv e my re ason for it or

. ,
 H I S T ORY O F T HE DE V I L . 2 29

I do nothing : my reason is this ; I insist Satan is as

blind in matters of futurity as we are and can t ell no ,

thing of what is to come These oracles o ften pre ,

tending to predict could be nothing else therefore

, , ,

but a cheat formed by the money getting priests to

,
-

amuse the world and bring grist to their mill

,
If I .

meet with anything in my way to open my eyes to a

b etter opinion of them I shall tell it you as I go on ,
.

O n the other h and whethe r the Devil r eally spake

,

in those oracles or set the cunning priests to speak for

,

h im ; whether they predicted or only made the peo ,

pl e believe they predicted ; whether they gave a n ~

sw ers which came to pass or prevailed u pon th e ,

people to bel ieve that what wa s sa i d did come to pass ,

i t was much at on e and fully answered the De v il s

,

end ; namely to amuse and delude the world ; and a s

,

to do or to cause to be done is the same part of s p eech

, , ,

so whoever did it the Devil s interest was carried o n
, ,

by it h is government preserved and all the mischie f

, ,

he could desire was e ff ectually brought to pass ; so that

every way they were the Devil s oracles that is ou t of ,

the question .

Indeed I have won dered sometimes why since by

, ,

this s orcery the Devi l performed such wonders that is , ,

p layed so many tricks in the world and had such ,

u niversal success he should set up n o more of them ;

,

b u t the r e might be a great many reasons given for that ,

too long to t i re you with at present It is true there .

,

were n ot many of them and yet considering what a ,

gr eat dea l of business they despatched it was enough , ,

f or six or eight oracles were more tha n suffi cient to

a muse all the world : the chief oracles we meet with

i n h i story are among the Greeks and the R omans v iz

, , .
,

That of Jupiter H ammon in L ibya as above , , .

The Dordon ia n in E pirus , .

Apollo Delph icu s in the count ry of Phocis in , ,

Greece .

Apo ll o Clav ius in Asi a Minor , .

2 30 T HE MODERN

Ser apis in Alexandria, in , E gypt .

T roph om is, in Bce otia .

Sybilla Gu m asa , in Italy .

Diana at E phesus ,
.

Apollo D aph n eu s at Antioch , .

Besides m any of lesser n ote in several othe r pl ac e s , ,

a s I have hinted before .

I have noth ing to do here with th e story mentione d

by Plutarch of a voice being he a rd at sea from som e
~

, ,

of th e islands call ed th e Ech in a des and c a lling u po n

'

on e T h a m u z an E gyptian w h o w a s o n bo a rd a ship ,
, ,

bidding him when he c a me to the P alo des other island s

, ,

i n the Ionian seas tell them there th a t the great god

, ,

P an was dead ; and when T h a m u z perform ed it great ,

groanings and howlings and lamentations were heard

, , ,

fr om the shore .

Th is tale tel ls but in di fferently though indeed it ,

l ook s more like a Christian fable than a p a gan becaus e ,

i t seems as if m ade to honour the Christ i an worship ,

a n d blast all the p a gan idolatry ; a n d for t h at reason I

r ej ect it the Christian professio n needing n o suc h

,

fabulous stu ff to conrm it .

Nor is it true in fa ct that the oracles did cease im

, ,

m ediately upon the death of Christ ; but as I n oted ,

before the su m of the matter is this ; the Christian

,

religion spreading itself universall y as well as mira ,

c u lou sly and that too by the foolishness of preaching

, ,

i nto all parts of the worl d the oracles ce a sed ; that is ,

t o say their trade ce a se d their rogueries were daily

, ,

detected ; the deluded peo p le bei n g better taught cam e ,

n o more after the m and being ashame d as well as

, ,

discouraged they sneaked ou t of the world as well a s

,

they could ; in short the customers fell off and th e , ,

pri ests w h o were the shopk ee p ers having n o business

, ,

to do shut up their shops broke an d went away ; the

, , ,

trade a n d th e tr a desmen were hissed off the st a ge

together ; so that the Devil who it must h e confessed , , ,

ot innitel y b y th e c heat beca me bankrupt, an d w a s

g ,
 232 T HE MODE RN

it is ce r tain and I must b e all owed to a ffirm that th e

, ,

Devil does not disdain to take into his se rv ice many

troops of good old women an d old women men too ,
-
,

w h o he nds it is for his service to keep in constant

pay ; to these he is f ound f requently to communicat e
his mind and oftentimes we nd them such procients
, ,

that they know much mo r e th a n the Devil can teach

them .

.
How fa r ou r ancient friend Merlin or the gra ve; ,

matr on his ( Satan s ) most trusty an d well beloved -

cousin and counsellor mothe r Shipton were commis

, ,

sion ed by him to give o u t th eir prophetic oracles and ,

what degree of possession he may have arrived to in

them upon their midnigh t excursions I wi ll n ot under ,

take to prove but that he might be a cquainted with

them both as well as with several of ou r modern
,

gentlemen I will n ot deny neither

, .

I confess it is n ot v ery incongr uous wit h the Devi l s
temper or with the n ature of his business to shift
, ,

hands possibl y b e found that he had tired the worl d

with oracular cheats ; that men began to be su rfeited
w ith them and grew sick of the frauds which were so
,

frequently detected that it was time to take n ew

measures and contrive some n ew tri ck to bite the world
, ,

that he m ight n ot be exposed to contempt or perhap s

he saw the approach of n ew light which the Christia n ,

doctrine bringing with it began to S pread in the minds

of men ; that it would outshine the dim burni n g ig n i -

a tu i with which b e had so long cheated mankind and

f
'

, ,

w a s afraid to stand it lest he shou l d be mobbed off th e

,

stage by his ow n peo p le when their eyes S hould begin

,

to ope n : that upon this foot he m i ght in policy with , ,

draw from those old retreats the oracles an d restrai n , .

those responses before the y l ost all thei r credit for w e

nd th e people seemed to be a t a mighty loss for som e
time for want of them so that it made them r un u p
, ,

and down to conj ur ers and man gossips to braze n,

-
,

h e ads sp e aking c alve s, an d in num er able si mp le thi n gs,

,
 HIS T OR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 2 33

so gr oss that they are scarce t to be n amed to s atisfy ,

the itch of having their fo rtunes told them as we call it , .

N ow as the Devi l is very seldom blind to his ow n

in terest and therefore tho u ght t to quit his old way
,

of im po sing upon the world by his oracles only becau s e ,

he found the world began to be too wise to be imposed

upon th at way ; so on the other hand ndin g there, ,

was still a possibility to delu de the world though by ,

othe r instruments he n o sooner l aid down his orac l es

, ,

a nd the solemn pageantry magnicent appearances , ,

and other frauds of his priests and votaries in thei r ,

temples and shrines b ut he set u p a new trade and , ,

having as I have said agents and instruments suffi cien t

, ,

fo r any busin ess that he could h ave to employ them in ,

he begins in corners as the l earned and merry D r , .

Brown says a n d exercises his mino r trumperies by

,

ways of his ow n contriving listing a great numbe r of ,

n ew f ound Operators
-
such as witches magicians di , , ,

v iners gure caste r s astrologers and suc h inferio r

,
-
, ,

N ow it i s t r ue as that doctor say s this was runni n g

, ,

into corners as if he had been expelled his mor e

,

t riumphant way of giving audience in form which for ,

so many a ges had been allowed him ; yet I must a dd ,

that a s it seemed to be the Devil s ow n doing from a ,

right j udgment of his a ff airs which had taken a n ew ,

turn in the world u pon the shining of new lights from

,

the Christian doctrine so it must b e ackn owledged th e ,

-

Devil made himself a mends u pon mankind by the ,

v a rious methods he took and the multitude of lustr a ,

~

ments b e employed and perhaps deluded mankind in ,

a more fatal a n d sensible manne r than he did befo r e ,

thou gh not so universally .

H e had indee d before m ore po m p and gure put

, ,

u pon it and he cheated mankind then in a w ay of

,

magnicence and splendour ; but this w as not in abov e

eight or ten principal places and n ot fty places in all , ,

public or p r iv ate ; where as now fty thousand of his ,

234 T HE MOD ER N

a n gel s an d instru m ent s visibl e and invisibl e hardly , ,

may be said to suffi ce for on e town or city ; but in

S hort as his invisible agents ll th e air and are at
, , .

hand for mischief on every em ergence so his v isible ,

f ools swarm in every vill age and you have scarce a ,

hamlet or a town but his emissaries are a t hand for.

busin ess ; and which is still worse in all pl aces he
, ,

nds business ; nay even where religion is planted an d

, ,

seems to ourish yet he keeps his ground and pushes

,

his interest accord i ng to what has been said elsewhere

upon the same subj ect that whereve r religion plants , ,

the Devils plants close by it .

Nor as I say does he fail of success ; delusion spread s

, ,

l ike a plague and the Devil is sure of votaries ; like a

,

true mountebank he can al ways bring a crowd about

,

his stage and that sometimes faster than other people

,
.

What I observe upon this subj ect is this that the ,

world is at a strange loss for wa nt of the Devil ; if it

w a s not so what is the reason that upon the silencing
, ,

the oracles and religio n tell i ng them that miracles a re

,

ceased and that God has done speaking by prophets

, ,

they never inquire whether heaven has established a ny

other or n ew way of revelation but away they ran with

their doubts and di fculties to these dreamers of dreams ,

t ellers of fortunes and personal oracles to be resolved ;

,

a s if when they acknowledge the Devil is dumb these

, ,

could S peak ; and as if the wicked spirit could do

more than the good the diabolical more than the ,

divine or that heaven having taking away the Dev i l s
,

voice had fu rnished him with an equivalent by allow

, ,

i n g sco l ds termagants and old weak and su p erannuated

, , , ,

wr etches to S peak for h im ; for these are the peop l e

,

we go to n ow in our doubts and emergencies .

While this bli ndness continues among us it is ,

non sense to say that oracles are silenced or the Devil ,

i s dumb for the Devil gives audi ence still by his

,

deputies ; only as J erob oa m made priests of the m ea n eSt

of th e peop l e, so he is gr o wn a l ittle h umb l e, and m ak e s
2 36 T HE MOD E RN

in othe r nations as it is with us I do not see that the ,

Devi l was ab l e to get any better people into his pay or ,

a t least v e ry rarely where have we seen anything

a bove a tinker t u rn wizard ? and where have we had a

witch Of q u ality among us mother Je gs excepted ?

,

a n d if she had not been more of something else than a

w itch it was thought sh e had ne v er got so much mone y

,

by he r pro fession .

Magicians southsayers devi l raise rs an d such pe op le

, ,
-
, ,

w e ha v e h eard much of but seldom above the degre e

,

of the meanest of the mean p eople the lowest of the ,

l o wes t rank : indeed the word w isemen which the ,

De v i l woul d fain have had his agents honoured with ,

w as us e d awhile in E gypt and i n P ersia among th e , ,

Chal d e ans but it continued but a littl e wh i le and

, ,

n ever r eached so far no r thward as ou r country ; nor ,

howeve r the Devil has managed it have many of ou r ,

gr eat men wh o have bee n most acquainted with him

, ,

ev e r been able to acq u ire the titl e of wise men .

I have heard that in o l der times I suppo se in good ,

quee n Bess s days or beyond ( fo r l ittle is to be said

, ,

here for anything on this side of her time ) there wer e ,

some council l ors a n d statesmen w h o merited the cha

racte r of wise i n the best sense ; that is to say good

, , ,

a n d wis e as they stand i n conj unction ; but as to wha t

,

has happened since that or as we may call it fro m

, , ,

th at queen s f u n era l to the l ate revol u tion I have little

to say ; but I wi ll tell you what honest Andrew Marve l

sa id of those times and by that you m ay if you p l ease
, , ,

mak e y ou r calculatio n or l et it alone it is a ll one ,

To white staff m aker a beggar a lord

see a -
, .
, ,

And scarce a wi se man at a long counc i l board -

.

But I may be tol d this rel ates to wise men in a n othe r

construction or wis e men as they are opposed to
,

f ools ; where a s we a r e talking of them n ow u nde r

a n o th er c la ss, n a m ely as w isem e
,n or magicians, south
 H I S T O R Y O F T HE D EV IL . 2 37

say e r s &c such as were in form er times ca ll ed by that

, .
,

name .

But to this I answer th at take them in which sense ,

ou please it may be the same ; for if I were to a sk

y ,

the Devil the character of the best statesmen he had

e mployed among u s for many years past I am apt to ,

t hink that tho u gh oracles are ceased he would h o ,

nestly according to the old ambigu ous way when I

, ,

asked if they were Christians answer they were (his ) ,

privy councillors
- .

It is but a little while a go that I happened in con , ,

versation to meet with a long list of the magistrates Of

,

that a ge in a n eighbouring country that is to say the

, , ,

men of fame among them ; and it was a very dive rtin g

thing to see the j u dgment wh ich was passed upon
them a mong a great deal of good company : it is n ot
for m e to tell you h ow many white staves golden keys , ,

m arshal s batons cordons blue gordon rouge an d

, ,

gordon blanc there were among them or by what

, ,

titles as dukes counts marquis abbot bishop or

, , , , , ,

j udge they were to be distinguished but the marginal

,

notes I found upon most of them were ( being marked

with an asterisk ) as follows
Such a duke such eminent o ffices added to his title s
,

in the m argin ) n o saint .

Such an arch with the titl e of nob l e added ,

n o archangel .

Such an eminent statesman an d prime ministe r ,

no witch .

Such a ribbon with a set of gr eat l etters a dde d ,

no conj urer .

It presently occu red to me that though oracles wer e

ceased and w e had n ow no more dou ble en tendr e in suc h
,

a degr ee as before yet that ambiguous answers were ,

not at an end ; and that whether those negatives wer e

meant so by the writers or n ot it was ce rtain custo m , ,

de the readers to conclude them to be satires that ,

they were to be ru ng backward lik e th e bells when ,

u
2 38 T HE MODE RN

th e town is on re ; though in shor t I durst n ot

.

, ,

r ead the m back w ard anywhere but as speaking of ,

foreign people for fear of raising the devil I am tal k

,

ing of .

But to return to the subj ect : to such m ean things

is the Devil n ow reduced in his ordinary way of carry
ing on his business i n the world that his oracles are de ,

livered n ow by the b ell m en and the chimney sweepers -

,

by the meanest of those that speak in the dark and if ,

he operates by them you may expect it accordingly

,

his agents seem to me as if the Devil had singled the m

o u t by their de form i ty or that there was someth i ng
,

particular required i n their aspect to qualify them for

their employ m ent ; w hence it is become proverbial ,

whe n ou r looks are very dismal and fr i ghtfu l to say I ,

l ook like a witch ; or in other cases to say as ugly as a ,

witch in another case to look a s envious as a witch
, .

N ow whether there is anything particularly required in

the l ooks of the De v il s modern agents which is assist

ing in the discharg e of their o fces and which make s ,

thei r answers appear more solemn this the Devil h a s ,

n ot yet revealed at least not to me ; and therefore,

, ,

why it is that he s i ngles ou t such creatures as are t

onl y to frighten the people that come to them with
their inquiries I do not take upon me to determine
, .

P erh aps it is n ecessary they should be thus extra

ordinary in their as p ect that they might strike an a we
,

into the minds of t h eir votaries as if they were Satan s ,

true and real representatives a n d that the said vota ,

ries may think w h en they s p eak to the witches they

are really talking to the Dev i l or perhaps i t is n eces
sary to the witches themselves that they should be so ,

exquisitely ugly that they m i ght n ot be surprised at

,

whatever gure the Devi l makes when he rst appears

to them being certai n they can see nothing uglier than
,

themselves . if

Some are of the Opinion that the communication with

the Devil or bet ween th e De vi l and those cr e atu res
,
 2 40 T HE M O D E RN

w e re a beauty to old age they seem to paint th em ou t ,

a s ugly an d frightfu l a s n ot they the painters but even

, , ,

a s the Devil himself could make the m ; not that I b e

l ieve there are any original pictures of them rea ll y

e xtant ; but it is not unlikely that the Italians might

have some traditional knowledge of them or some re ,

maining notions of them or particularly that ancient ,

sibyl named Anus who sold the fatal book to Tarquin ;

,

it is said Of her that Tarq u in suppos e d sh e doated with

a ge .

I had thoughts indeed here to have entered into a

, ,

l earned disquisition of the excellency of old women in

a ll diabo l ical operations and pa rticu larly of the n eces
,

s it o f ha v ing recourse to them for Satan s more ex
y
u i site administration which a l so may serve to solv e
q ,

the great di fficulty in th e natural philosophy of hell ;

n amely why it comes to pass that th e Devil is obliged
, ,

f or want of old women properly so called to t u rn so , ,

many ancient fathers grave counsellors both of law ,

a n d state and especially ci v ilians or doctors of the la w

, , ,

into Old women and h ow the extraord i nary operatio n

,

i s performed but this as a thing of great consequenc e ,

in Satan s management of human a ff airs an d par

,

ti c u la rly as it may lead us into the n ecessary history

a s well as characters of some of the most emin ent of
these sects among us I have purposel y reserved for a
,

work by itself to be published if Satan hinders not i n

, , ,

fteen volumes in folio wherein I shall in th e rst , ,

place dene in the most exact manner possible what

, ,

is to be understood by a male old woman of what hete ,

r o en eou s kind they are produced ; give you the m on

g
strous anatomy of the parts and especially those of the ,

head which being lled with innumerable globules of

,

a sublime nature and which being of a ne contexture

,

wi thout but particularly hol l ow in the cavity dene s

, ,

most philosophically that ancient paradoxical saying ,

v iz
.
,
being full of emptiness and makes it very con ,

sisten t with n ature a nd common sense .

 HIS T OR Y O F T HE DE V IL . 24 1

I shall likewise spend some time and it must be ,

labour too I ass u re you when it is done in determ in

, , ,

ing whether th i s new Species of w on derfu ls are not de

rived from that famous old woman Merlin wh i ch I ,

prove to be very reasonable for us to suppose because ,

of the many several j udicious authors w h o afrm the ,

said Merl i n as I h i nted before to have been b egotten

, ,

by the Devil .

As to the deriving his gift of pr ophecy from the Devil ,

by that pretended generation I shall omit that part

, ,

because as I have all al ong insisted upon it that Satan

, ,

h imself has no prOph etic or predicting powers o f his

own it is not very clear to me that he could convey it
,

to h is posterity n i l da t gu od n on h a bet
,
.

H owever in deriving this so much magnied pro

,

phet in a right lin e from the Devil much may be said ,

in favour Of his ugly face in which it was said he was

,

very remarkable for it is n o new thing for a child to

,

be like the father ; but all these we i ghty th i ngs 1 a d

j ourn for the present and proceed to the a ff a i r i n hand
, ,

namely the several branches of the Devil s manage
,

ment since his quitting h is temples and oracles .

242 T HE MODERN

C HAP VI . .

,
Of th e ex tra or di na r
pp y a
f ea r a n ce o the D ev il, an d
a r ticu la r l
p y of th e c lo v en f oo t .

S O ME
people wou ld fain have us treat this tale of the

Devil s appearin g with a c l oven foot with more solem -

n ity than I belie v e the De v i l himself does for Satan ,

w h o knows how much of a cheat it is must certainly ,

ridicule it in his own thoughts to the l a st degree ;

, ,

but as he is glad o f any way to hoodwink the under

standings and bubble the weak pa rt of the world so
,

if he sees men willing to take every scarec r ow for a

devil it is n ot h is business to u ndeceive them on the
,

othe r hand he nds it his interest to foster the cheat

, ,

and ser v e himself of the consequence : n or could I

doubt but the Devil if any mi rth be allowed him often, ,

laughs at the many frightful shapes and gures we dress

him up in and especi al ly to see how willing we are
,

rst to paint him as black and mak e him appear as ,

ugly as we can and then stare and start at the spec

,

trum of o ur own making .

The truth is that among a ll the ho rr ibles that we

,

dress up Satan in I cannot but think we S how th e

,

least of invention in this of a goat or a thing w ith a ,

goat s foot of al l the rest for though a goat is a crea
,

ture made use of by ou r Saviour in the allegory of the

day of j udgm ent and is said there to represent the
,

wicked rej ected party yet it seems to be only on a c ,

count of their s i militude to the sheep and so to rep t e ,

sent the j ust f ate of hypocrisy and hypocrites a n d i n .

,

partic u lar to form th e necessary a n tith esIS in the

,

story ; for else ou r whimsical fanc i es excepted a S heep

, ,

or a lamb h a s a cloven foot as wel l a s a oat n ay i f

g ; ,
244 T HE M O DER N

c loven foot about him b u t he i s obliged to Sho wit too ;

,

nay they will not allow him any dress whether it be a

, ,

pr i nce s robes a lord cha , r s gow n or a lady s ,

hoops and long petticoats but the cloven foot mu st ,

be showed from under them they wi ll not so much as

allow him an a rti ca l shoe or a j ack boot as we often ,
-
,

see contrived to conceal a club foot or a wooden l eg ; -

,
-

but that the Devil may be k n own wherever he goes he ,

is b ound to show his foot ; they m ight as well oblige

him to set a bill upon his cap as folks do upon a hous e ,

to be let an d have it written in capital letters I am

, ,

the Devil .

It must h e confessed this is very particular an d , ,

wou l d be very hard upon the Dev i l i f i t had not a n ,

other article in it which is some advantage to h im

, ,

and that is that the fact is not true but the belief of
,

this i s so universal that all the world run s away with

,

it ; by which mistak e the good people miss the Devil

ma n y times where they look for him and meet him as ,

o ften where they did not expect him an d when fo r , ,

w a nt of this cloven foot they do n ot know him ,

.

Upon this very account I have sometimes thought ,

n ot that th i s h a s been put upon him by m ere fancy ,

and the cheat of a heavy imagination propagated by ,

fable an d chimney corn er divinity b u t that i t has been

-
,

a contri v ance of his ow n ; an d that in short the , ,

Devil raised this scandal u pon himself that he might ,

keep h is disguise the better and might go a v isit i ng ,

among his friends without being known ; for were i t

really so that h e could go nowhere without this pa rti
,

c u lar bran d of in famy he could n ot come into com

,

pany could n ot dine with my lord mayor n or drink

, ,

tea with the ladies could n ot go to the drawing r

,
-

at could not have gone to F onta inb lea u to the

king of F rance s wedd i ng or to the Diet of P olan dto

,

prevent the grandees there coming to an agreement ;

na
y ,
which would be still worse than all he could n ot ,

go to the masquerade no r to any of o u r balls ; th e

,
 HIS T O R Y O F T HE D EV IL . 24 5

r eason is plain he would be always discovered ex

, ,

posed and forced to leave the good company or wh i ch

, , ,

would be as b ad the com p any would all cry ou t the

,
'
,

Devil and run o u t of the room as if they were

,

frightened ; nor could a ll the help of i nvention do him

any service n o dress he could put on would cover
,

h i m ; not all ou r fr i ends at Tavistock Corner could

furn i sh h im with a habit that would disguise or con
ceal h i m this unhap py foot would spoil it all N ow
,
.

this would be so great a loss to him th at I questio n ,

whether he could carry on any of his most i m portant

a ffairs in the world without it ; for though he has a c
cess to mankind in his complete disguise I mean that ,

o f his inv i sibil i ty yet the learned very much agree in

,

this that his corporal presence in the world is ab so

,

l a tely necessary upon many occasions to sup p ort his ,

i nterest and kee p up his corres p ondences and parti

, ,

c u la rly to encourage h i s friends when nu m bers are ,

requis i te to carry on his a ff airs ; but this part I shall

h ave occasion to speak of again when I come to con ,

s i der him as a gentleman of busin ess i n his locality ,

a n d under th e head of visible apparition but I return

to the foot .

AS I have thus suggested that the Devil himsel f

has politically spread about this notion concerning his
appearing with a cloven foot so I doubt not that he ,

has thought i t for his p urpose to paint this cloven foot

s o l i vely i n the imaginat i ons of many of ou r people ,

and es p ec i ally of those clear sighted folks who see the

-

Dev il when he is not to be seen that they would make ,

no scru p le to say nay and to make a ffi davit too even

, , ,

before Satan himself whenever he sat upon the bench

, ,

that they had seen his worship s foot at such and such
a time ; this I adv a nce the rather because it is very
much for his interest to do th i s for if w e had not many ,

witnesses v iv a v oc e to test i fy i t we should have had

, , ,

some obst i nate fellows always among us w h o woul d ,

have denied the fact or at least ha v e Spoken do ubtfully

,
246 THE MO DE RN

of it and so ha v e r aised disp u tes and Obj ections a gain st

,

it a s impossible or at l e a st as improbable ; buzzing

,

o n e ridic u lous notion or othe r into ou r e a rs a s if the ,

Devil was not SO black as he w a s painted that he had ,

n o more a cloven foot than a pope whose a postolical ,

toes have so often been reverentially kissed by king s

a n d emperors But n ow alas ! this
.
,

question not the m an in the moon

, ,

board n ot the speaking of friar Ba

,

n ot the inspiration of mother Sh

of Dr F anstus things as certain as i dea th and taxes \

.
, ,

can be more rmly believed : the Devil not have a

cloven foot ! I dou b t not but I could in a short time , ,

bring you a tho u sand old women together that would ,

as s oon believe there w a s no Devil at all n ay the y , ,

will tell you he cou l d n ot be a devil without i t an y

, ,

more than he could come into the r oom and the

candles n ot burn blue or go ou t and n ot leave a smel l
,

of brimston e behind him .

Since then the certainty Of the thing is so wel l

esta blished and there are so many good an d su b sta n
,

tial witnesses ready to testify that he has a cloven foot ,

and that they have seen it too n ay and that we hav e ,

antiquity on ou r si de for we hav e this truth conrmed

,

by the testimony of man y ages why should w e doubt

it any longer ? We can prove that many of ou r a u ces
tors have been of this Opinion and divers learn ed a u ,

thors have left it upon record as particularly that ,

l earned fa m iliari st mother H azel whose writings are ,

to be found in MS in the famous library at Pie C or

.
-

n er ; also the admired Joan of Amesbury the Hi story ,

of the L ancashire Witches an d the reverend exorcist ,

of the Devils of L ondon whose history is extant ,

among us to this day all these and many more may

be quoted a n d their writi n gs referred to for the con
,

rm a tion of the antiquity of this truth ; but there

seems to be n o occasion for further evidence it is ,

enough Satan h imself if h e did n ot r ais e the repo r t

, , ,
 248 T HE MODERN

to the Devi l in the form of a ram and others of a goat

, , ,

from which and that above of the calves a t H oreb I

, ,

doub t not the story of the cloven foot rst derived ;

and it is plain that the worship of that calf at H oreb
, ,

i s meant in the Scripture quoted above L ev xv 1 1 7 , . . .

T h ou sh a lt n o m or e q er sa cr i ces u n to dev i ls : the

p ri in a l is S eg h n i ri m ; that is rough and hairy goats
g ,

o r calves ; and some think also in this shape the Devil

most ordinarily appeared to the E gyptians and

Arabians from whence it was der i ved
, ,

A lso in the Old writings of the E gyptians I mean ,

their hieroglyphic writing before the use of letters was ,

known we are told th i s was the mark that he was

,

known by and the gur e of a goat was the h ierogly v

p h i c of the Devil ; some will a frm that t h e Devil w as ,

particularly pleased to be so represented ; how they came

by their information and whether they had it from hi s
,

ow n mouth or not authors have not yet determined

,
.

But be this as it will I do n ot see that Satan could

,

have been at a l oss for some extraordinary gure to

have bantered mankind with though this had not been ,

thought of ; but thinking of the cloven foot rst and ,

the matter being in di fferent this took place and easily , ,

rooted i tself in th e be wildered fancy of the people and ,

n ow it is riveted too fast for the Devil h i mself to r e

mo v e it if he w a s disposed to try but as I said above

, ,

it is n on e of his business to solve doubts or remove ,

di ffi culties ou t of our heads but to perplex us with ,

more as much as he can

, .

Some peo p le carry this matter a great deal higher

still and will have the cloven foot be l i ke the great
,

ston e which the Brazilian conjurers used to solve all

di fcult questions upon after having used a great ,

many monstrous and barbarous gestures and distortions

o f their bodies and cut certain marks or magical
,

gures upon the stone ; so I say they will have this , ,

clove n foo t be a kind of a conjuring stone and tell us ,

,
that m forme r tim e s when Satan drov e a gr eater t r ade
,
 HIS T OR Y O F T HE D EV IL . 24 9

with mankind in p ublic than h e has don e of late he ,

gave this cloven foot as a token to his particular

f avourites to work wonders w i th and to conjure by ; ,

and that w i tches fairies hobgobl i ns and such thi n gs

, , , ,

of which the ancients had several kinds at least in ,

their imag i nation had all a goat s leg with a cloven

,

foot to put on upon extraord i nary occasions : it seems

,

this method is of late grown o u t of practice and so , ,

l ike the melt i ng of marble and the pa i nting of glass it

, ,

is la i d aside among the various useful arts which

h i story tells us are lost to the world ; what may be
practised in the fa i ry world i f such a place there be, ,

we can gi v e no particular account at present .

Bu t neither is this all for other would b e wise peo

,
- -

p l e take u p on them to make fu rther an d more con

sidera b le improvements upon th i s doctrine of the

cloven foot and treat it as a most s i gnicant in stru

,

ment of Satan s pr i vate operat i on and that as Joseph ,

is said to d i vine that i s to say to conj ure by his

, , ,

golden cup wh i ch was put into Benjamin s sack SO the

,

Devil has managed several of his secret operations and ,

possessions and other hellish mechanisms upon the

, ,

spirits as well as bodies of men by the medium or in ,

stru m en ta lit of the cloven foot accordingly it had a

y ; ,

kind of a hellish i nspiration in it and a se p arate and ,

!
magical power by wh i ch he wrought h i s infernal
,

m iracles ; that the cloven foot had a superior S ign i

c ation and was not only emblematic and si n i c a tiv e
, g
of the conduct of men but really guided the i r conduct
,

tin the most important a ff a i rs of life ; and that the

agents the Devil employed to inuence mank i n d
and to delude them and draw them into all the snares
,

and tra p s that he lays continually for their destruction ,

!
were e q u ipp ed w i th this foot i n aid of their other
powers for mischie f
"

H ere they read us learned lectures u pon the sove

re i gn operat i ons which the Devil is a t present master
of i n th e government Of human a ff airs
; and h ow t h e
~
,
2 50 T HE MO DE RN

clo v en foot is an e mb l em of the true dou ble en tendre

o r divided aspect which the great men of the wor l d
,

general ly act with and by which all their a ff airs are

,

directed ; from whence it comes to pass that there is

n o such thing as a single hearted integrity or a n -
,

upright meaning to be foun d in the world ; that man

,

kind worse than the ravenous brutes preys upon h is

, ,

ow n kind and devours them by all the laudable

,

methods of attery whine cheat an d treache ry ; , ,

crocodile l ike weeping over those it wil l devour de

-
, ,

stroying those it smiles upon and in a word devour s , , ,

its ow n kind which the very beasts r efuse and that by

, ,

all the ways of fraud and allurement that he ll can

invent ; holding o u t a cloven divided hoof or hand , ,

pretending to save when the very pretence is made

,

use of to ensnare an d destroy .

Thus the divided hoof is th e representati v e of a

divided do uble tongue and heart a n emblem of the ,

most exquisite h ypocrisy the most fawning an d fatall y ,

deceiving attery ; and here they give u s very divert

ing histories though tragical in themsel ves of the
, ,

manner which some of the Devi l s inspired agents h a ve
managed themselves under th e especial inuence of the
cl oven foot ; h ow they have made war un der the pre
tence of peace m urdered garrisons under the most
,

sacred capitul ations massacred innocent mu l titud es

,

a fter surrenders to mercy .

Again they tell us the c l oven foot has been mad e

,

use of i n al l treasons plots assassinations a n d secret

, , ,

a s well as open murders and rebellions Thus Joab .

under the treason of an embrace sho wed h ow dexte r ,

o u sly he cou l d manage the cloven foot and struck ,

Abne r unde r the fth rib ; thus David pl ayed the

cloven f oot upon poor Uriah when he had a mind to ,

l ie with his wi fe ; thus Brutus played it upon C aesar ;

a n d to come nearer home we have had a great many
, ,

retrograde motions in this country by this magical ,

impl e me nt the f oot ; su ch as that of the earl Of E ssex s
2 52 T HE MODE RN

How cr uelly did Phil i p II Spain manage this foot . of

I n the murder of the nobility of the Spanish Nether

lands the assassination of the pr i nce of O range and
, , ,

at last in that of his ow n son Don Carlos infant Of

, , ,

Spain : and yet such w a s the Devil s craft an d s o ,

nicely did he bestir his cloven hoof that this monarch ,

died consolated though i mpenitent in the arms of the

. ,

church and wit h the benediction of the clergy too

, , ,

thos e s econ d best managers of the said hoof in the

world .

I must acknowledge I agree with this Opinion thus ,

f ar namely that the Devil acting by this cloven foot

, , ,

a s a mach i ne has don e great things in the world for

,

the propagating his dark empire among us ; and his

tory is full of examples besides the little low prized , ,
-

things done among u s for we are come to suc h a ki n d

of degeneracy in folly that we have even dishonoured ,

the Devil and put this glorious engine the cloven foot
, , ,

to such mean uses that the Devil himself seems to be ,

ashamed of us .

Bu t to return a little to foreign history besides

, ,

what has b een mentioned above we nd aming ex ,

amples Of most glorious m i sch i ef done by this weapon ,

when put into the hands of kings and men of fame in

th e world h ow many games have the kings of F rance
played with this cloven foot and that within a few ,

years Of one another ! F irst Charles IX played the

,
,
.

c loven foot u p on Gaspar Col i gni admiral of F rance , ,

When he caressed h i m complimented h i m invited him

.
, ,

to P aris to the wedd i ng of the king of Navarre called

, ,

h im father kissed him and when he was wounded

, , , ,

sent his ow n surgeons to take care of him and yet , ,

three days after ordered h i m to be assass i nated and

,

murdered used with a thousand indignities a n d at

, , ,

last thro w n out of the windo w into the street to be

, ,

i nsulted by the rabble .

L Did not H enry III in the same country play the .

, ,

cloven foot upon the duk e of Guise whe n he call ed ,

 HIS T OR Y OF T HE D EV IL . 2 53

h im to his council and caused him to be murdered as h e ,

went i n at the door Th e Gui ses a gain played the .

, ,

same game back upon the king when they sent ou t a ,

:

J a cob in friar to assassinate him in his tent as he lay at ,

the s i ege of Paris .

In a word this opera of the cloven foot has been

,

acted all over the Christian world ever S ince Judas ,

betrayed the S on of God w ith a kiss nay our Saviour ,

says expressly of him On e of you is a dev i l a n d the , ,

sacred text says in another pl a ce Th e D ev il en ter ed , ,

It would take up a great deal of time and paper , ,

too to give you a full account of the travels of this

,

cloven foot its progress i nto all the courts of E urope ;

,

and with what most accurate hypocr i sy Satan has m ade

u se o f i t upo n m any occasions and w i th what success ,

but as in the elaborate work of which I just n ow gave

,

you a specimen I design on e whole volume u pon this

subj ect and wh i ch I shall call The Complete H istory

,

of the Cloven F oot I sa for that reason and divers

y , , ,

others I shall say but very l i ttle more of i t in this

,

place .

It remain s to tell you that this merry story of the ,

cloven foot is very essential to the history wh i ch I am

n ow writing as it h a s been all along the great emblem
,

of the Devil s government in the world and by which

al l his most considerable engagements have been a n

sw ered and executed for a s he is said not to be able ,

to conceal this foot but that he carries it always with ,

him i t imports most plainly that the Dev i l would be

, ,

no dev i l i f he w a s n ot a dissembler a dece i ver and

, , ,

carried a dou ble en ten dr e in all he does or says ; that

he cannot b u t say on e thing and m ean another ; pro ,

mise one thing and do another ; engage and not per , ,

form ; declare and not intend ; and a ct like a true

, ,

dev i l as he is with a countenance that is n o in dex of

, ,

his heart .

I might indeed go back to originals and derive this

, , ,
2 54 T HE MO DERN

clov e n foot fr om Satan s primitive state as a cherubim , ,

or a ce l estial being which cherubims as Moses is said

, ,

to have seen them about the throne of God in mount

Sinai and as the same Moses fr om the original repre
, , ,

sented them afterwards co v ering the ark had the head

and face Of a man wings of an eagle body of a lion

, , ,

and legs and feet of a calf ; but this is not so much to

our present purpose for as we are to allow that whatev er
, ,

Satan had of heavenly beauty before the fall he lost it ,

al l when b e commen ced devil so to fetch his origi nal

s o far up would be only to say that he retain ed no
,

thing but the cloven foot and that all the rest of him
,

was altered and deformed become frightful and horrible

,

as the devil ; but his cloven foot as we n ow understand it , ,

i s rather mystical and emblematic and describes him ,

only as the fountain of mischief and treason and the ,

prince of hypocrites and as such we are now to sp e ak

,

of him .

It I S from this original al l the hypocritic worl d copy ;

he wears the foot on their account and from this ,

mode l they act ; this made ou r blessed L ord tell them ,

Th e w ork s of you r f a th er ye w i ll do meaning the ,

Devil as he h a d expressed it j ust before

,
.

N or does h e deny the use of the foot to the meane r

class of his disciples in the world but decently equip s ,

them all upon every occasion , with a n eedful propor

,

tion of hypocrisy and deceit that they may hand on ,

the power of promiscuous fraud thro u gh all his tem

poral dominions and wear the foot always about them
, ,

as a badge of their professed share in whatever i s don e

by that means .

Thus every dissembler e v ery false friend , ,

secret cheat e v ery bearskin j obber has a olov

,
-

and so far hands on the Devil s interest by t
ow eI f u l a enc y of art as the Devil himself us
p g ,

when he appears in person or would act if he ,

n ow upo n th e spot ; for this foot I S a machin e

2 56 T HE M O DE RN

them : hence the scape goat w a s to bear the sins of the - :

people and to go into the wilderness with all that

,

b u rthen upon him .

But we have a saying among u s in defence of which , ,

w e must inquire into the proper sphere of action which

may be ass i gned t o this cloven foot a s hitherto de ,

scribed : the prover b is this ; E very devil has not a

cloven foot This proverb instead of giving us some
.
,

more favou rable thoughts of the Devil conrms what ,

I have said already that the Devil raised th i s scandal

,

upon himself ; I mean the report that he cann ot conceal

,

or disguise his Devil s foot or hoof but that it must , ,

appear under whatever habit he shows himself ; and

the reason I gave holds good still namely that he may , ,
'

be more e ff ectually concealed when he goes abroad

without it : for if the people were fully persuaded that
the Devil could not appear without this badge of his
honour or mark of his infam y take it a s you will ; an d
, ,

that he w a s bound also to Show it upon all occasions it ,

would be natural to conclude that whatever frightful ,

appearances might be seen in the worl d if the cloven ,

foot did not also appear we had n o occasion to look for ,

the Devil or SO much a s to think of him much less to

, ,

apprehend he was n ear u s ; and as this m i ght be a

mistake and that the Devil m i ght be there while we
,

thought ourselves so secure it m i ght on many occa ,

sions be a mistake of very ill consequence and in par ,

tic u la r as it would give the Devil room to act in the

, ,

dark and n ot be discovered where it m i ght be most

, ,

n ee dful to know him .

F rom this short hint thus repeated I draw a n ew , ,

thesis namely that devil i s most dangerous that has

, ,
.

n o cloven foot ; or if you will have it in words more to

,
!

the common understanding the Devil seems to be ,

most dangerous whe n he goes without his cloven foot .

And here a learned speculation o ffers itself to ou r

debate and which indeed I o u ght to cal l a council of
, ;
 HIS T OR Y O F T HE D EV I L . 2 57

casuists and m en learned in the Devil s politics to de
, ,

term i ne
Whether is most hurtful to the world the Devil ,

walking about witho u t his cloven foot or the cloven ,

foot walking about W ithout the Devil ?

It is indeed a nice and di ffi cult question and merits
, , ,

to be well inquired into ; for which reason and divers ,

others I have referred it to be treated with some de

,

c en c and a s a dispute of dignity su fcient to take u

y , p
a chapter by itself .

H D
. .
2 58 T HE MOD E RN

C H A P V II . .

Wh eth er is m ost h u r tf u l to th e w or ld, th e D ev il w a lh

i ng a bou t w ith ou t h is c lov en f oot, or th e c lov en f oot
w a lk ing a bou t w i th ou t th e D ev i l ?

IN discussing this most critical distinction of Sata n s

private motions I must as the pulpit gentlemen direct

, ,

u s explain the text and l et you know what I mean by

, ,

several dark expressio n s in it that I may n ot be u n ,

derstood to talk ( as the Devil walks ) in the dark .

I As to the Devil s walking about

. .

2 H is walking without his cloven foot

. .

3 The cloven foot walking about without the Devil

. .

N ow as I study brevity and yet would be under ,

stood too you may please to understand m e a s I nu

,

dersta n d mysel f thus ,

1 That I must be allowed to suppose the Devil

.

really has a full intercourse in and through and , ,

about this globe with egress and regress for the

, ,

carrying on his special a ffairs when how and , , ,

where to his maj esty in his great wisdom it shal l , ,

seem meet ; that sometimes he appears and b e

comes visible and that like a masti ff without his
, ,

clog he does n ot always carry his cloven foot with

,

him This will n ecessarily bring m e to some de

.

bate u pon the most important question of appa

riti on s hauntings walkings & c whether of Satan in
, , ,
.
,

human S hape or of human creatures in the De v i l s

,

shape or in any other manner whatsoever

, .

2 I must also be allowed to tell you that Satan

.

has a great deal of wrong do n e him by the gene

ral embracing vulgar errors and that there is a ,

clo v en foot oft e ntimes wi thout a devil ; or in ,

2 60 T HE M OD E R N

Devi l is brought u pon the stage in p l ain a n d u n den i

able a pparition : the story of Samu el being raised by
the witch of E ndor I shall leave qu i te o u t of my l ist
, ,

because there are so many sc r u ples and obj ection s

against that story and as I shall not dispute with th e
S cripture so on the other hand I have so much
, , ,

deference for the dignity of the Devil as n ot to deter ,

m in e rashly how far it may b e in the power of every

old
( witch ) woman to call him up, whenever sh e

pleases and that he must come whate v er the pretence

, ,

i s or whatever b usin ess Of con sequen ce he may be en

,

a ged in as often as it i s n eedful for her to a w w a for

g , p
half a crown or perh a ps l ess than half the m on ey
, .

Nor will I u ndertake to tell you till I have talked ,

further with h i m about it how far the Devil is con ,

cerned to discover frauds detect murders revea l , ,

s ecrets and especially to tell where any mon ey is hid

, ,

and S how folks wh ere to n d it ; it is an Odd thi n g

that Satan should think it of consequence to come and
t ell u s where such a miser hid a strong bo x or wher e ,

such an Old woman b u ried her chambe rpot full o f

m oney the value of a ll which is perhaps but a tri e
, ,

w hen at the same time he lets so many vein s of gold so

, , ,

many unexhausted mines nay mountain s of silver ( a s , , ,

w e may depend upon it are hid in the bo wels of the

earth and wh i ch it would be so much to the good of
,

whole nation s to discov er ) li e still there an d n ever say

, ,

on e word of them to anybody Besides how does the .

,

Devil s doing things so foreign to himself and so ou t ,

of his way agree w i th the rest of his character ; namely

, ,

showing a kind of a friendly d i sposition to mankind or ,

doing b en e cen t things ? this i s so ben eath Satan s
qual i ty and looks so little that I scarce know what to
, ,

sa
y to it ; but that which is still more pungent in the
case is these thin g s are so out of his road and so foreign
, ,

to his calling that it S hocks ou r faith in them an d

, ,

seems to clash wit h all the j ust n otions w e have of him ,

a n d of his busin ess in the world The l ike is to b e .

 H I S T OR Y or T HE D EV IL . 261

said of tho se l ittle merry turn s w e b r ing h im in actin g

with us and upon us upon triing and simple occa
, ,

S IOn s such as t u mbling chairs and stools about house

, ,

s etting pots an d vessels bottom upward tossing the ,

g l ass and crockery ware about without breaking ; an d

such like mea n fool ish things beneath the dignity of
-
,

the Devil w h o in my Opinion is rather e mployed in

, , ,

setting the world wit h the bottom upward tumbling ,

kings and crowns about and dashing the nations on e ,

aga i nst another ; raising tempests an d storms whether ,

at sea or on shore ; and in a word doing capital mis

, , ,

chiefs suitable to hi s natur e and agreeable to his name

, , ,

Devil ; and suited to that circumstance Of his condi

ti on which I have ful ly represented in the primitive
,

part of his exiled state .

But to bring in the Devil playing at push pin with -

the world or like Domitian catching ies that i s to say

, , , , ,

doing nothing to the purpose this is not only deludin g ,

ourselves but putting a slur u pon the Dev i l himself ;

,

and I say I Shal l not dishonour Satan SO much as to

, ,

suppose anything in it ; however as I must have a ,

care too how I take away the proper materials of winte r

evening frippery and l eave the good wives nothing of
,

the Devil to frighten the children with I Shall carry the ,

weighty point no furthe r No doubt the Devil and .

Dr F anstus were very intimate ; I should rob you Of a

' '

very S IgniE i ii t if I Should so much as doubt

it ; no doubt the Devil showed himself in the gla ss to
that fair lady who looked in it to see where to place
he r patches ; b u t then it should follow too that the

Devil is an enemy to the l adies wearing patches and ,

that h a s some di fcul ties in it which w e cannot so easily

reconcile ; but w e must tel l the story a n d leave ou t ,

the consequences .

Bu t to come to more remarkable things and in which ,

b<t As reat as th e D ev i l a nd D o ctor Faustus V ul g D r

g . .

F oster .
2 62 T HE MOD ER N
the Devil has thought t to act in a gu r e mo r e suitab le
to his dignity an d on occasions consistent with himself ;
,

take the story of the appearance of Julius C w sar or th e ,

Devi l assuming that murdered emperor to the gr eat ,

Marcus Brut u s who n otwithstanding all the good

, ,

things said to j ustify it was no less than a king k il le r

.

,
-

and an assassinator which we in our language cal l by

,

a very good name and peculiar to the E nglis h tongue

, ,

a ru ffian .

The spectre had certain l y the appearan ce of C aesar ,

with his wounds b l eeding fresh as if he had j ust re ,

c ei v ed the fatal blo w : he had reproached h im wi th his

ingratitud e with a T u B r u te tu guoqu e m i li

, ,

W h at thou B r u tus ! thou my adopted son ! N ow history

, ,

s eems to agree universally n ot only in the story itself , ;

but in th e circumstances of it we have only to obse r v e

that the Devil b a d certainl y power to ass u me not a ,
'

h uman shape only but the shape of Julius C aesar in

,

particul ar .

H ad Brutus bee n a timorous conscience ha rr ied ,

-
,

weak headed wretch had he been under the horror of

-
,

the gui l t and terried with th e dangers that were b e

,

fore h im at that time we might suggest that he was ,

overrun with the vapour s that the terrors which were ,

upon his mind disordered him that his head was d el i ,

rio n s and prepossessed and that his fancy on ly placed ,

C aesar so contin u ally i n his eye that it realized h im to ,

his i magination and he believed he saw him : with

,

many other suggested di ffi culties to invalidate the

story and render the reality of it doubtful
,
.

Bu t the contrary to an extreme w a s the case of

, ,

Brutus his known character placed him above the

powe r of all hypochondriacs or fancifu l delusions ,

Brutus was of a true R oman spirit a bold hero of an , ,

intrepid courage ; on e that scorned to fear even the

Devil as the story allows ; besides he gloried in the
, ,

action there co u ld be n o terror of mind upon him b e

, ,

valued himself upon it as done in the ser v ice of l ib e rty

, ,
2 64 T HE MOD E RN

traitor ? This must be the Old Gentleman embl em ,

a tic ally so called ; or who must it be ? nay w h o else ,

could it be ? H is ugliness is n ot the c a se though ,

u g ly a s th e D ev i l is a proverb in his favour ; but

vanishing out of sight is an essential to a spirit and to ,

a n evil S pirit in ou r tim es especially

,
.

These are some of the Devil s extraordinaries and it , ,

must h e confessed they are not the most a greeable t o

,

m ankind for sometimes he takes upon h im to disorder

,

his friends very much on these o ccasions as in the ,

abo v e case of Charles V I of F rance ; the king they

.
,

sa
y
, was really demented ever after that is as we vul , ,

garly but n ot always improperly ex p ress it he w a s

, , ,

really frightened ou t of his wits Whether the mali .

cions Devi l intended it so or n ot is n ot certain ; ,

though it was n ot so foreign to his particular dispositio n

if he did .

But where he is more intimate we are told b e a p , ,

pears in a manner less disagreeable ; a n d there he i s

more properly a familiar spirit that is in short a devil, , ,

o f their acquaintan ce ; i t is true the ancients under ,

stood the word a f a m i lia r spi r i t to be on e of the kinds

, ,

o f possession ; but if it serves o u r turn as well unde r

the denomination of an inti m ate devil or a devil visit ,

ant it must be acknowledged to be as n ear in th e

, ,

literal sense and acceptat i on of the word as the other ; ,

n ay it must be allowed it is a very great piece of

, ,

fam i liarity i n the Devil to make visits a n d S how n one ,

O f his disagreeables n ot appear formidable or in the

, ,

shape of what he is respectfully withholding his d i s

,

mal part in compassion to the in rm ities of h i s frien ds

,
.

It is true Satan may be obliged to make di ff erent

,

appearances as the several circumstances of things call

,

for it ; in some cases he makes his p u blic entry and ,

then he must S how himself I n his habit of ceremony

i n othe r cases he comes upon private business and ,

then he ap p ears in disguise ; in some public c a ses he

may think t to b e incog and then he appears dressed
.
,
 HIS T ORY O F T HE D EV IL . 2 65

a la m a squ e they say he appeared at the f amou s

so, ,

St Bartholomew wedd i ng at P aris where he came in

.
,

dressed up like a trumpeter danced in his habit , ,

sounded a levet and then went out and rung the

,

alarm bell ( which was the signal to beg i n the massacre )

-

half an hour before the time appo i nted lest the king s ,

min d should alter and h i s heart fa i l him

,
.

If the story h e n ot made upon him (for we should ,

n ot slander the Devil ) it should see m he was n ot ,

thoroughly satised in k i ng Charles I! S steadiness in .

his cause ; for the king it seems had relaxed a little , ,

o nce be fore and Satan might be afra i d he would fall

,

O ff aga i n and so prevent the execution ; others say

, ,

the king did relent immediately after the ring i ng

the alarm bell but that th en it was too late the work
-
, ,

w a s begun and the rage of blood having been let loose

,

a mong the people there w a s n o recalling the order

, .

If the Devil was thus brought to the necessity of a

s ecret management it must be owned he did i t dex ,

t er ou sly ; but I have not authority enough for the

story to charge him wit h the particulars so I leave it ,

a n c r oc .

I have much better vouchers for the story following ,

which I had so solemnly conrmed by on e that l i ved

i n th e family that I never doubted the truth of it
, .

There lived in the parish of St Bennet F ynk near the .

,

R oyal E xchange an honest poor widow woman who

, , , , ,

her husband be i ng lately dead took lodgers i nto her ,

house that is she let o u t some of her rooms in order

, ,

to lessen her ow n charge of rent among the rest sh e ,

let her garrets to a working w a tch w h eel maker or on e ,

so m e way concerned i n mak i ng the movements of

watches and who worked to those sho p keepers who
,

sell watches as i s usual ,

.

It ha pp ened that a m a n and woman went up to

speak w i t h this movement maker upon some business -

which r elated to his trade an d wh en they were near ,

2 66 T HE M O DE RN

the top of the stairs the garret door where he usual ly

,
-

worked being wide open they saw the poor man ( the ,

watchmaker or wheelmaker ) had hanged himself

,

upon a beam which was left open in the room a littl e ,

l ower than the plaster or ceiling ; surprised at th e ,

sight the woman stopped and cried ou t to th e man

, ,

who w a s behind her on the stairs that he should run ,

u
p an d cut the poor creature down .

At that very m oment comes a m an hastily from a n

other part of the room which they upon the stairs
co ul d not see bringing a j oint stool in his hand a s if
,
-
,

in great haste an d sets it down just by the wretch that

,

was hanged and getti n g up as hastily upon it pulls a

, ,

knife out of his pocket a n d taki n g ho l d of the rope ,

with on e of his hands beckoned to the woman an d th e

,

man behind her with his head as if to stop and n ot ,

come u p showing them the knife in his other hand as

, ,

if he was j ust going to cut the poor man down .

Upon this the woman stopped a while but the m an

, ,

who stood on the j oint stool continued with his han d -

a n d knife as if fumbli n g at the knot but did n ot yet ,

cut th e man down ; at which the woman cried ou t

again and the man behind her called to her Go u p
, , ,

says he a n d help the m a n upon the stool ! supposin g

,

something hindered But the man upon the stool made

.

sign s to them again to be quiet and not come on as , ,

if saying I shall do it immediately then he made two

,

strokes with his knife as if c u ttin g th e rope and then

, '
,

stopped again ; an d st i ll the poor man was hanging ,

and con sequently dying : u pon this the woman on the ,

stairs cried ou t to h im What ails you ? w h y don t you
,

c ut the poor man down ? And the m an behind he r ,

havi n g n o more patience thrusts her by and said to , ,

her L et m e come I ll warrant yo u I l l do it ; and with
, ,

that runs up and forward into the room to the man ;

but when he cam e there behold the poor man was , ,

the re hanging : but no man wi th a knife or j oint stoo l, ,

-
2 68 THE M O DE RN

well meant though weak fraud to represent the Devi l

-
, ,

t o the old wom en and children of the age with some ,

addition suitable to the weakness of their intellects ,

a n d s u ited to making them afraid Of him .

/ I have another account of a person who travelled

u pwards of four years with the Devil i n his com p any ,

n d conversed most intimately with him all the while

na ,y if I may bel i eve the story he kne w most part of ,

the time that he w a s the Devil a n d yet conversed with ,

him and that very protably for he performed many

, ,

very useful services for him an d cons tantly preserved ,

h i m from the danger O f wolves an d wild beasts which the ,

c ountry he travelled through was intolerably full of :

where by the way you are to u nderstan d that th e

, ,

wolves an d bears i n those countries kn ew the Devil ,

whatever disguis e he went in ; or th a t the Devil

h a s some way to fright bears and such creatures more , ,

than w e kno w of : n or could this devil ever be pre

vailed upon to hurt him or any of his company This .

account has an innumerable number Of diverting inci

dents attending it ; but they are equal to all the rest
in bulk and therefore too long for this book
, , ,
.

I nd too upon some more ordinary occasions the

, , ,

Devi l has appeared to several peo p le at their call .

This indeed shows abundance of good humour in him

, , ,

conside ring him as a devil and that he was mighty ,

compla i sant : nay some they tell us have a powe r to

, , ,

ra i se the Dev i l whenever they th i nk t this I cannot

bring the Devil to a level with un less I should allow ,

h i m to b e ser ou s ser v or u m as another dev i l in d i s ,

guise calls himself subj ected to every old W izard s call ;
,

or that he is under a n ecess i ty of a p pearing on such

o r s uch particular occasions whoever i t is that calls ,

him ; which would bring the Devil s circumst a nces
to a pitch of slavery which I see no reason to believe
of them .

H ere also I must take notice again that though I

, , ,

say the Devi l when I speak of all th e s e apparit i ons

, ,
 H ISTO R Y O F T HE D EV IL . 2 69

whethe r ofa greater or l esser kind yet I a m n ot ,

obl i ged to suppose Satan himself i n person is con , ,

cerned to show himself but that som e of his agents , ,

deputies and servants are sent to that purpose and

, , ,

d i rected what disguise of esh and blood to pu t on as ,

may be suitable to the occasion .

This seems to be the only way to reconcile all those

simple and ridiculous appearances which n ot Satan , ,

but his emissaries ( which we Old women call i mps )

, ,

s omet i mes make and the mean and sorry employ

,

ment they are put to Thus fame tells us of a cer .

4

tain witch of quality who called the Devil once to ,

carry her over a brook where the water was swelled

with a hasty rain and lashed h i m soundly with her
,

whip for letting her ladysh i p fall into the water before
s h e was q uite over Thus also as fame tells u s sh e
.
, ,

set the Devil to work and made him build C roila n d ,

abbey where there was no fou n dation to be found

, ,

o nly for disturbing the workmen a l i ttle w h o were rst

s et about it So it seems another laborious dev i l

.
, ,

w a s obliged to d i g the great d i tch a cross the country

from the fen country to the edge of Su ffolk and E ssex ;
wh i ch however he has preserved the reputation of
, , ,

and where it crosses Newmarket heath i t is called

, ,

Devil s Ditch to th i s day .

Another p iece of pun i shment n o doubt it was when , ,

the Devil was obl i ged to br i ng the stones ou t of Wales

i nto Wi ltsh i re to build Stonehenge How this w a s .

ordered in those days when it seems they kept Satan ,

to hard labour I know not ; I believe it must be r e

,

g is t er ed among the ancient pieces of art which are

lost i n the world such as melting of stones p ainting
, ,

of glass 8 m Certainly they had the Devil under

, .

correction in those days that is to say those lesser , ,

sorts Of dev i ls ; but I cannot think that the

muckle

thief Devil as they call him in the N orth the gra n d
, ,

s e i gnior Devil of all was ever reduced to disc i pline

, .

!
What devil it was that Dunstan took by the nose with
2 70 T HE MODER N
his red hot tongs I have n ot yet examined anti quity ,

enough to be certain of any more than I can what ,

d evil it was that St F rancis played so many war m .

tricks with an d made him run away from him so

,

Often H owever this I take u pon me to say in the

.
,

Devil s behalf, that it could n ot be o u r Satan the a rch

devil Of all devils Of who m I have bee n talking so ,

s o lon g .

Nor is it unworthy the occasion to take n otice that ,

w e really wrong the Devil and spea k Of h i m ve r y ,

m uch to his disadvantage when w e say of such a great ,

l ord or of s u ch a lady Of quality I think the Devil is

, ,

in your grace N 0 n o Satan has other business ; he

.
, ,

v ery rarely possesses f ls : besides some are so far ,

from having the Devil in them that they are really ,

tran smigrated into the very essen ce of the Dev i l

themselves ; and others again not transmigrated or , ,

assimilated but in deed and in tr u th show u s that they

,

are or have mere native devils in every part an d parcel

, ,

o f them and that the rest is only mask a n d disgu i se

,
.

Thus if rage envy pride an d revenge can constitute

, , , , ,

the parts o f a devil why should n ot a la dy of such qual i ty

, ,

in whom all those extraordinaries abo u nd have a right ,

to the title of being a devil really and substantially ,

and to all intents and purposes in the m ost perfect ,

and absolute sense accord i ng to the most exqu i site ,

descr ip tion s of devi ls already given by me or anybody

else ; and even j ust a s Joan of Arc or Joan queen of , ,

Naples were w h o were both sent home to their native

, ,

country a s soon as it was discovered that they were

,

real devils and that Satan ackn owledged them i n that

,

quality .

N or does my lady d ss s wearing sometim es a ,

case of human i ty about her called esh and blood at , ,

all alter the case : for so it is evident accord i ng to ou r ,

present hypothesis Satan has been al w ays allowed to ,

do upon urgent occasions ; ay and to make his per

, ,

son al appearance as such among e v en th e sons a nd ,

2 72 T HE MOD ER N
act the Old woma n as old wom en are vulgarl y under
,
-3

stood in m atters Of council and politics ; but i f at any

,

tim e they have occasion for the Devil in person they ,

are obl i ged to c all h i m to their aid in such shape as he

pleases to make use of p r o [l a c m c e an d of all thos e

shapes the most agreeable to him seems to be that of

,

a female Of quality i n which he has innite Opportuni ty

,

t o a ct to perfection what part soever he is called in

for.

How happy are those people who they say have the
particular quality or acquired habit called the second
, ,

sight ; one sort Of whom they tell us are able to dis

t i ngu ish the Devil in whatever case or o u tside of esh
,

and blood he is pleased to p ut on and consequently ,

could kn ow th e Devil wherever they met him Were

I blessed with this excellent and useful accomplishment,
how pleasant would it be a n d h ow would i t pa rticu ,

la rly gratify my spleen and all that whic h I in common

, ,

with my fellow creatures carry about me called ill ,

n at u re to stand in the Mall or at the entrance to any

, ,

o f o u r assemblies of b e auties and point them ou t as ,

they pass by with this particular mark That s a devil ;
, ,

that ne young toast is a devil there s a devil dressed

in a n ew habit for the ball there s a devil in a coach
and six c u m a liis In short it would make a merry
,
.
,

world a mong u s if w e could but enter upon some

proper method of such discrimination s : but La wr d , ,

what a hurricane would it raise if l i ke who , ,

they say scourged the Devil so often that he durst n ot

com e n ear him in any shape whatever we could nd ,

som e n ew method o u t to make the Dev i l unmask ; like

the angel Uriel w h o Mr Milton says had an en
, ,
.
,

chanted spear with wh i ch if he did but tou ch the

,

Devil in whatever disguise he had p ut on i t obl iged

, ,

him immediately to start up and show hims elf in h is ,

true original shape mere devil as he was

,
.

This would do nicel y and as I who am original ,

proj ector have spent some time upon th i s study

, ,
 H ISTOR Y O F T HE D EV IL 2 73 .

doubt not in a l ittle time to nish my engine which I

a m contriving to screw the Devi l ou t of everybody or

, ,

a nybody ; I question not when I have brought i t to ,

pe rfection but I shall make most excel l ent d i scover ies

,

by it an d besides the many extraordina ry advantage s

Of it to human society I doubt not but it will make ,

g ood sport in the world too ; wher e fore when I pub ,

l ish my proposals and divide it into shares as other

, ,

l ess useful proj ects have been done I question n ot for , ,

all the severe act lately passed against b u bb les but I ,

shall get subscribers enough 8 m ,

.

In a word a secret power of d i scovering what devils

,

we have among us and where and what business they ,

a re doing would b e a vast advantage to u s all ; that

,

w e might know among the crowd Of devils that walk

about streets who are apparitions and who are not
, , .

N ow I you must know at certain intervals when

, , ,

the Old gentleman s illuminations are upon me and

when I have something of an eclaircissement with him ,

have some degr ees Of this discriminating second sight ,

and therefore it is n o strange th i ng for me to tell a

great m any Of my acquaintance that they are really
devils when they themselves know nothing Of the mat
,

te r : sometimes indeed I nd it pretty hard to con

, ,

vince them Of it or at least they are v ery unwilling to

,

own it but it is n ot the less so for that

, .

I had a lon g discourse u p on this subj ect on e day ,

with a young beautiful lady of my acquaintance who m ,

the world very much admired ; and as the world

j udges no further than they can see ( and how should ,

they you would say ) they took her to be as sh e

?
, ,

r eally was a m ost charming creature

, .

i To me indeed sh e discovered herself m any ways

, , ,

besides the advantage I had of my extraordinary pen e

tr ation by the mag i c powers which I am vested with
. to me I say sh e appeared a fury a satyr a ery littl e
, , , ,

en d as could possibly be dressed up in esh ; i n

,

sho rt sh e appeared t o me what r eally sh e was a v e r

y
~

, ,

H D
. . T
 2 74 T HE M OD ER N
d e vi l It is natu r a l to h uman c r eatu r es to d e s ire to
.

discove r any extraordinary powers they are possessed

Of superior to others a nd this itch prevailing in m e , ,

among the rest I wa s impatient to let this lady know

,
!
that I understood he r composition perfectly we ll nay , ,

as well as sh e did hersel f .

In order to this happening to be in the fami ly onc e

-
,

for some days and having the honour to be very inti

,

mate with her and her husband too I took an oppor ,

tu n ity on a n extraordinary occasion when sh e was in ,

the height of good humour to talk with her You , .

must note th at as I said the l ady w a s in an ex traor

, ,

din a ry good humour and there had been a gr eat dea l ,

of mirth in the family for some days but on e evening ,

sir E d he r husband upon some very sharp turn ,

sh e ga v e to another gentleman which made all the ,

company pleasant r an to her and with a passio n of, ,

g ood humour takes he r i n his arms

, an d turning to ,

m e says he Jack this w ife of min e is full Of wit an d

, , ,

good h um our but when sh e h a s a mind to be smar t

, ,

sh e is the keenest l ittle devi l in the world : tl i \ s w as

a lluding to the quick turn sh e had given the b th er

gentleman .

Is that the best language you can give your wife ?

says my l ady O madam says I such devils as you
.
, , ,

are all angels Ay a y says my lady I know that he

.
, , , ,

has only let a truth y ou t that he does not unde r

stand L ook ye there now say s sir E dward could any
.
, , ,

thing but such a dea r dev il as this have said a thing

so pointed ? Well w ell adds he devil to a lady in a
, , ,

man s arms is a word of divers interpretations Thus

,
.

they rallied for a good while he holding her fast al l ,

the whi l e in his arms and frequently kissing he r ; and ,

at last it went off all in sun shine and mirth,

.

But the next day (fo r I had the honour to l odge in

,

the l ady s father s house where it all happened I say

, ,

the next day my l ady begins with me upon the su b

j cet and th at v ery sma r tly, so that at r st I did not
,
 2 76 T HE MOD ER N
into all v isiona ry or imagin ary appea r an c e s in a di ff er ?
ent manne r tha n othe r people did .

V e ry w el l say s sh e suppos e you can what s that to
, , ,

me
I to l d he r it was nothing to her any f u rther than tha t
as sh e knew he r self to be o r iginally n ot the same crea
t ure sh e seemed to be but was of a sublime angelic
~

o r igin al so by the help of m y recited art I knew it

, ,

too and so far it might relate to her

, .

V ery ne says sh e ; so y ou would make a devi l of me

, ,

I nd e ed .

I took that occasion to tel l her I wou l d make no

thing of her but what sh e was ; that I supposed sh e
kn ew w ell enough God Al mighty n ever thought t to
make an y huma n creature so perfect and completely
b eaut iful as sh e was but that such were only reserved
,

f or gures to be as sumed by angels of one kind or an

other .

She r al lied m e upon that and tol d me that wou l d ,

n ot bring m e off fo r I had not determined her for any

,

thing angelic but a mere dev il ; and how could I at

,

ter he r with being handsome an d a devil both at th e

same time ?
I told her as Satan whom we abusively called
, ,

Devil was an immortal seraph an d of an origin al a n

, ,

g elic n ature so abstracted

, from anything
, wicked h e ,

w a s a most glorious being ; that when he thought t to

i ncase h imself with esh an d walk about in disguise , ,

it was in his po w er equally with the othe r angels to

, ,

m ak e the form he took upo n himself b e as he though t ,

t beautiful or deform ed
,
.

H ere she disputed the possibility of that and afte r ,

charging me faintl y with attering her face told m e ,

t h e D e vil co ul d not be rep r esented by anything hand

som e alleging ou r constant picturing the Devi l m all
,

the fr ightf ul appea rances imagina ble .

I told her we wr onged him very much I n that and ,

quote d St Fr a ncis to who m the De v i l frequently ap

.
,
 H IS T OR Y OF T HE D EV IL . 2 7 7;

peared in the form of the most incompar ably b eautiful

naked woman to allure him and what means he use d
, ,

to tu r n the appearance into a devi l again and how h e ,

eff ected it .

She put by the discourse and r etur ned to that of ,

angels and insisted that angels did not always assum e

,

beautiful appearances ; that sometimes they appeared

in terrible shapes but that when they did n ot it w as
, ,

at best only amiable faces not exquisite ; and that ,

therefo r e it would not hold that to be handsom e ,

should always render them suspected .

I told he r the Devil had more occasio n to form

beauties than other angels had his business being ,

princ i pally to deceive and ensnare m ankin d And .

then I gave her some examples upon the whole .

I found by her d i scou r se sh e was wi lling enough to

, ,

pass for an angel but it was the hardest thing in th e

,

world to convince her that sh e was a devil and sh e ,

would not come into that by any means ; sh e argue d

that I knew her father and that her mother was a very
,

good woman and was delivered of her in the o r dinary

,

w ay and that there were such and such ladies w h o

,

were present in the room when sh e was born an d that ,

ha d O ften told her so .

I told her that was nothing i n such a case as hers

that when the Old gentleman had occasion to transfor m
himself into a ne lady h e could easily dispose of a
, .

child and place himself i n the cradle instead of it

, ,

When th e nurse or mother were asleep ; n ay or whe n ,

they were broad awake eithe r it was the same thing ,

to him ; and I quoted L uther to her upon that occasion ,

who afrms that it had been so H owever I said to .

, ,

convince her that I knew it (for I would have it that ,

sh e knew it already
) if sh e pleased
, I would go to my
chamber and fetc h her my magic looking glass where -
,

sh e should see her ow n picture not only as it was an ,

ang elic pictu re for th e wo rld to admi r e but a devil ,

2 78 T HE MODER N
al so f right fu lenough to any body b ut h e r s el f an d m e

that u nderstood it .

No n o said sh e I wi ll look in non e of your conju r

, , ,

I ng gl asses ; I know myself wel l enough and I desi re ,

to look no otherwise than I am .

N O madam says I I know that very we ll ; nor do

, , ,

y ou n e ed any be tter shape than that y o u appear in i t ,

i s most exquisitely ne ; all the world knows you are

a com lete beauty and that is a c l ea r evidence what
p

ou woul d be if your present a ppearing form was t e

y ,

du c ed to its proper personality .

Appearin g fo r m ! says sh e wh y what ! wou l d you , ,

m ake an apparition of me ?
An apparition madam ! sai d I ; yes to be sure : wh y
, ,

you know you are n othing else but an apparition ;

a n d what else would you be when it i s so innite ly to ,

y our advantage ?
With that she turned pal e and angr y and then r ose
, ,

u
p hastily and l
, ooked i nto the g l ass ( a large p ier ,

glass being l n the r oom ) where S he stood surv ey i n g ,

1 erself from head to foot with vanity not a littl e , .

I took that time to slip away and running up into ,

my apartment I fetched m y magic glass a s I

, ,

called it in which I had a hollow case so framed

, , ,

behind a lookin g glass that in the rst sh e woul d

-
,

see her ow n face only ; in the second she woul d ,

see the Devil s face u gly an d frightful enough , ,

but dressed u p with a lady s head clothes in a -

circle the D ev il s fa ce in th e c en tre and as it

,

.
~

, ,

were at a little distance behind

,
.

I came down a gai n so soon that sh e did n ot think

the time l ong especially havin g spent it in survey i ng
,

her fair self ; when I return ed I said Come madam , , , ,

do not trouble yourself to look there that is n ot a glass ,

capable of showing you anythi n g ; come t ake thi s ,

gl ass .

It will show m e as much of myself; say s sh e a l ittle ,

2 80 T HE MOD ER N
F irst sh e cried told m e I came to a ffr ont he r that
, ,

I wou l d n ot talk so if sir E d was by and that sh e ,

ought n ot to be used so I endeavoured to pacify her .

,

an d told her I had no t treated he r with any indecency ,

n or I would n ot ; b ecause while sh e thought t to

walk abroad incog it was none of my business to dis .

c over her ; that if sh e thought t to tell sir E d

anything of the discourse sh e w a s very welcome or to , ,

conceal it ( which I tho u ght the wisest course ) sh e

, ,

should do j ust as sh e pleased ; but I made n o questio n

I shoul d convince sir E d her husband that what ,

I said was j ust an d that it was really so ; whether it

,

w as for her service or n o for him to know it was f or ,

h er to conside r .

This calmed h er a littl e an d sh e looked hard at ,

m e a minute without speaking a word when , on a

, ,

s udden sh e broke ou t thus : An d you will u ndertak e

, ,

s ays sh e to con v ince sir E d

, that he has m a rried
a devil wil l ye ? a ne story indeed ! an d what f OI
,
v

l ow s ? why then it must follo w that th e child I go with ,

?
( f or she was big with child
) will be a devil too wi l l it

,

a ne story for sir E d indeed ! isn t it

I don t know that madam said I that s as you , , ,

o rder it ; by the father s side said I I know it wil l , ,

n ot but what it m ay by the mother s side
, that s a ,

doubt I can t resolve till the Devil and I talk furthe r

a bout it .

Y ou and the Devil talk together ! s ays sh e and l ooks ,

r ue fully at m e ; w h y do you talk with the Devil then ?

, ,

Ay madam says I as sure as ever you did yourself ;

, , ,

besides said I can you question that ? pray who am

, ,

I talking to n ow ?
I think you are mad says sh e ; w h y you w ill m ak e ,

devils of a ll the family it may be an d pa rticul ar ly I , ,

must be with child of a devil that s certa i n ,
.

NO madam said I tis n ot certain ; as I said b e fo r e
, , , ,

I question i t .

Wh y y ou say I am the Devil ; the chi l d you kno w

, , ,
 H ISTOR Y OF T HE D EV IL 28 1 .

has a lways m ost of the mother in it then that must be ,

a dev il too I think ; what else can i t ?

be says sh e .
,

I can t tel l that m adam said I ; that s as you

, ,

a gree among yourselves : this kind does not go by

generation ; that s a dispute foreign to the present
purpose .

Then I entered into a discourse with her of the end s

and purposes for which the Devil takes up such beau
tiful form s as hers and w h y it always gave me a su s
,

i c ion when I sa w a l ady handsome r than ordinary,

p
and set m e u pon the search to be satised whether ,

sh e was really a woman or an apparition ; a lady or a ,

devil ; allowing all along that her being a devi l was

quite out of the question .

Upon that very foot sh e took me up again rou ndly ;

An d so says sh e you are very civil to me through all
, ,

your discourse for I see it ends al l in that and you

, ,

take it as a thing confessed that I am a devil ! a very ,

pretty piece of good usage indeed says sh e ; I thank ,

o u for it
y .

Nay madam says I do n ot take it ill of me for I

, , , ,

Only discover to you that I knew it ; I do n ot te ll it

y o u as a secret for y o u are satised
, of that anothe r .

w ay.

Satised of what ? says she ; that I am a devil ? I

think the Devil s in you : and so began to be hot .

A devil ! yes madam says I without doubt a mer e

, , ,

d evil ; take it as you p lease I can t hel p that : and ,

so I began to take it ill that sh e S hould be disgu sted

at Opening such a well known truth to her -

.

With that sh e discovered it all at once for sh e ,

turne d fury in the very letter of it ; ew ou t in a

,

passion railed at me cursed me most heartily and

, , ,

immediately disappeared ; which you know is the pa r , ,

ticu la r mark of a spirit or a pparit i on .

We had a great deal of discourse besides this re ,

lating to several other young ladies of her acquaint

ance som e Of which I said were mer e appa r itions l ik e
, , ,
2 82 T HE MODER N
her sel f ; and told her which were so an d which n ot ; ,

a n d the r eason wh y they were so and for what uses ,

an d purposes some to delude the world on e way and

, ,

s ome another ; and she was

pretty well please d to hear
that but sh e could n ot bear to hear h er own tru e
,

character which however as cunning as sh e w a s m ad e

, , , ,

her act the devil at last as you ha v e heard ; and then

,

v a nished ou t of my sight .

I have seen her in miniat u re several times since but ,

she proves herself stil l to be the devil of a lady for sh e ,

b e ar s malice and wi l l n ever forgive me that I would

,

n ot l et her h e an angel ; but like a very devil as sh e

i s sh e endeavours to kill me at a distance ; and indeed
,

the poison of her eyes ( basilisk like ) is very strong -

,

an d sh e has a strange inuence upon me ; but I that ,

know her to be a devil strive very hard with myself ,

to drive the memo r y of her ou t of my t h oughts .

I have had t w o or three eng a gements since this ,

with other apparitions of the same sex and I nd they ,

a r e all alike they are wil ling enough to be thought

,

a nge l s but the word dev il does n ot go down at all with

,

them ; but it is all on e whenever we see an apparition

, ,

it is so n atural to say w e have seen the Devil that ,

there is n o prevailing with mankind to tal k any other

l an guage A gentleman of my acquaintance the other
.
,

day that had courted a l ady a l ong time had the mis
, ,

f ortun e to come a little suddenly upon he r when sh e ,

did n ot expect him and found her in such a rage at

,

some of her servants that it quite disordered her

, ,

especially a footman ; the fellow had don e something

that was indeed provoking but not su fcient to put ,

h er into such a passion and so ou t of herself ; nor was

,

sh e ab l e to restrain herself when sh e saw he r love r

co me in but damned the fell o w and raged l ike a fu ry

, ,

a t him .

My fr iend did his best to compose her and begged ,

th e f ellow s pardon of her but it would n ot do ; nay

,

th e poo r f ell ow ma de a ll th e sub m issions t ha t co ul d b e

2 84 T HE MOD ER N
than to ad v e r tise you of it that you m ay shun th e D evi l ,

in wh a tever shape you m e et with him .

Again there are some half devils they say l ike th e

, ,

S agitta ru hal f man h alf horse ; or rather like the Satyr

, , , ,

who they say is half devil half man ; or l ike my lord

, , , ,

b ishop w h o they say was half h eaded : whether they

, , ,
-

m ean half witted or n o I do n ot nd authors agr eed

-
,

about it ; but if they had voted him such it had bee n ,

as kind a thing as any they cou l d say of him because ,

it would have cleared him fro m the scandal of being a

devi l or half a devil fo r w e don t nd th e Devil makes
,

any alliance with f ls .

Then a s to merry devils there I S m y master G ,

h e may indeed have the Devil I n him but it must b e ,

sai d to the credit of possession in gen eral that Sata n

, ,

would have scorned to have en teredin to a soul so narro w

that there was n ot room to hold him or to take up wit h ,

so discording a creature S O abj ect so scoundrel as , , ,

n ever made a gu re amo n g m ankind greater than tha t

O f a thief a maraude r moulded up in to quality and a

, , ,

rapparee dressed up a la m a squ e with a r obe and a ,

- -
,

coronet .

Some littl e dog kennel devil may indeed tak e up his

-
, ,

quarters i n or near him an d so run into and ou t of him ,

a s his drum beats a call : but to him that was born a

devil Satan that n eve r acts to n o purpose could not

, , ,

think him worth being possessed by anything bette r

than a devil of a dirty quality ; that is to say a ,

m ean to wear the name of devil without so ,

or addition of infamy an d meanness to distinguish

by
Th u s what devil of quality would be conned to a
P n w h o inheriting all the pride and insolence of
, ,

his ancestors without on e of their good qualities the

,

bully the Billingsgate and all the h ered1 tary1 11 language

, ,

of his family without an ounce of their courage ; that

,

has been rescued ve or six times from the scandal of

a cowa r d b y th e b r avery, a n d at the h a z ard of friends
, , ,
 H IS T ORY O F T HE D EVIL 2 85 .

and n ever failed to be ungr ateful ; tha t if ever he com

mitted a murder did it in cold blood because nobody
, ,

c ould prove he ever had any h ot ; who possessed wit h ,

a poltroon devil was al ways wickeder in the dark than

,

he d u rst be by daylight ; and who a fter innumerabl e ,

passive su fferings has been turn ed ou t Of human society

, ,

because he could n ot be kicked or cu ffed eithe r into

good manners or good humo u r .

To say this was a devil an apparition or even a , ,

half devil would be unkind to Satan himself sinc e

, ,

t hough he ( the Devil ) has so many millions of inferior

devils under his command not on e could be foun d ,

base enough to match him nor on e devi l found but ,

what would think hi mself dishonoured to be employed

a bout him .

Some merry good fo r nothing devil s w e have indeed

, , ,

w hich we might if we had room speak of at large and

, , ,

divert you too with the rel ation ; such as my ladyHatt s

, ,

devil in E ssex who upon laying a j oiner s mallet in the
, ,

window of a certain chamber would come very orderl y ,

and knock with it all night upon the window or against ,

the wainscoat and disturb the neighbourhood and then

, ,

go away in the morning as well satised as may be ;

,

whereas if the mallet was not l eft he would think hi m

, ,

self a ffronted and be as unsu fferable and terrifying as

,

p ossible, breaking the windows splitting the wainscoat , ,

committing all the disorders and doing all the damage ,

t hat he was able to the house and to the goods in it , .

And a ga i n such as the drumming devil in the well at

, ,

O undle in N orth am pton shire and such like ,

-
.

A great many antic devils have been seen also who

seemed to have little or nothing to do but only to as ,

sure u s that they can appear if they please and that ,

the r e is a reality in the thing called apparition .

As to shadows of devils and imaginary appearances

, ,

such as appear and yet are invisible at the same tim e ,

I had thought to have bestowed a chapter upon them

by themselves, but it may be a s much to the purpose
2 86 T HE MODER N
to l et them al one as to medd l e with them ; it is said
O u r Ol d friend L uther us ed to be exceedingly troub l ed
with such invisibl e apparitio n s an d he tells us much of ,

the m in what they cal l his Tabl e tal k but with -

,

m aste r L uther s l eave though the Devi l passes f or a ,

v ery great liar I could swallow many things of his own

,

proper making as soon as some of those I nd in a book

,

that goes by his name ; pa rticul arly the story of th e

Devil in a basket the ch ild ying ou t of the cr ad l e and
'

,

.

the like .

In a word the walking devils that we have gene r ally

,

a mong us are of the female sex ; whethe r it be that the

Devil nds less di fcu l ty to man a ge them or that h e ,

l ives quieter with them or that they are tter fo r h is ,

business than the men I shall n ot n ow enter into a ,

dispute about that ; perhaps he goes better disguised

i n the fair sex than othe r wise Antiquity gives u s ma n y .

histories of sh e devils such as we can very sel dom

-
,

match for wickedness among the men ; such now as , ,

in the text L ot s daughters Joseph s mistress Sam
, , ,

s on s Deli l ah H erod s H erodias
, these were certainl y ,

devils or played the devil su fciently in their turn ;

,

on e male apparition indeed the Scripture furnishes , ,

y ou with an d that is Judas ; for his master says ex

,

pressl y of him On e of you is a dev i l n ot has the Devil

,

,

,

o r is possessed of the Devil ; but r eally is a de v il or ,

i s a real devil .

H ow happy is it that this gr eat secret com e s thus to

,

be discovered to mankind ! ce rtainly the world has

gone on in i gnorance a l ong time and at a strange r ate , ,

that we should have so many devils continually walk

i ng about amo n g us i n huma n shape and we know it ,

n ot .

Philosophe r s te ll us that there i s a worl d of spi r its ,

and many lea r ned pieces of guess work they make at it -

,

representing the worl d to be so near u s that the air , ,

a s they describe it must be fu ll of dragon s an d devils

, ,

enough to f rig ht en our im aginations with the v ery

288 T HE MOD ER N
I suppos e if they get the Devil they wil l not compl ai n
, ,

fo r wan t of a fortune ; and there is dange r e nough I ,

as sure you for the world is full of apparitions n on r osa

, ,

si n e s in is not a beauty without a devil ; the old wome n

p ,

spect r es and the young women apparitions the u gly

, ,

ones witch e s and the handsome on es devi l s ; L ord

,

ha mercy ! and a may b e set on th e man s doo r
that go e s a cou r t ing
-
.
 H ISTORY OR T HE D EV IL . 2 89

C HA P V III . .

Of th e clov en f oot w a lk ing a bou t th e w or ld w ith ou t the

D ev il ; v iz , qf w itch es m a k ing ba rg a insf or th e D ev il,
.

s elli ng th e sou l to th e D ev il
a nd
p f
a r ti c u la r ly o .

I H AVE dwelt long upon the Devil in mask as he goes ,

about the world incog and especially without his

.
,

cloven foot and have touched upon some of his di s

,

guises in the management of his interest in the world

I must say some of his disguises only for who can give a ,

full account of all his tricks and arts in so narrow a

compass as I am prescribed to ?
But as I said that every devil has not a cl oven foot ,

so I must add now for the present purpose that ever y

, ,

cloven foot is not the Dev i l .

Not but that wherever I should meet the cloven

,

hoof I should expect that the Devil was not far off
, ,

and should be apt to raise the posse against him to a p ,

prehend him yet it may happen otherwise that s cer ,

tain : every coin has its counterfeit every art its pre ,

tender every whore her admirer every error its patron

, , ,

and every day has its devil .

I have had some thought Of making a full and complete

discovery here of that great doubt which has so long
puzzled the world namely whether there is any such
, ,

thing as secret making bargains with the Devil ; an d

the rst positive assurance I can gi v e you in the case ,

is that if there is n ot it is not his fault it is n ot for

, , ,

want of his endeavour ; it is plain if you will pardon ,

me for taking so mean a step a s that of quoting Scrip

ture I say i t is evident he would fain have made a
, ,

contract with our Saviour ; and he bid boldly give him ,

his due namely all the kingdoms Of the world for on e

, ,

bend of his knee Impudent seraph ! to think thy

'

U
2 90 T HE MODER N
L or d shoul d pay thee homage How many woul d agr ee
with him here for a less price ! They say O live r
Cromwell struck a bargain with him and that he gave ,

O liver the protectorship but would not l et him call

,

himself king which st u ck so close to that furioso tha t

, ,

the m ortication spread into his soul an d it is said he ,

died of a gangren e in the spleen But take n otice an d .

,

d o O liver j ustice ; I do n ot vouch the story n eithe r ,

d oes the bishop say on e word of it .

F ame u sed to say that the Old famous duke of L ux

,

em b u rg made a magic compact of this kind ; nay I ,

have heard many an ( Old woman ) o fcer of the troops ,

who never cared to see his face declare that he carried ,

the Devi l at his back I remember a certain author

.

Of a n ewspaper in L ondon was once taken up a n d ,

they say it cost him 5 0 l for printing in his n ews that

.
,

L uxemburg was humpbacked Now if I have solved .

the di fculty namely that he w a s not humped only

, , ,

carried the Dev i l at his back I think the p oor m a n ,

should have his 5 0 l again or I should have it for th e

.
,

discovery .

I confess I do n ot well understand this compacting

,

with such a fellow as can neither write n or read ; n or

do I know who is the scrivener between them or h ow ,

the indenture can be executed ; but that which is wors e

than all the rest is that in the rst place the D ev il
, ,

n ever keeps articles ; he w i ll contrac t perhaps and ,

they say he is mi ghty forward to make conditions ; but

who shall bind h i m to the performance an d where is ,

the penalty if he fails ? if w e agree with him he will ,

b e apt enough to claim his barga i n and demand pay

ment ; nay perhaps before it is due ; but who shall
,

make him stan d to his word ?

Besides he is a knave in his dealing for he really

, ,

p ro m i ses what he cannot perform ; witness his i m pu -

t

dent proposal to ou r L ord mentioned above A ll th ese, ,

k ing doms w ill I g iv e th ee Ly i ng spirit ! why they were

non e of thine to gi v e n o not on e of t hem ; for th e
,
2 92 T HE MOD ER N
make h im give s e cu r ity fo r the perfo r mance of co ve
n ants an d who the devil woul d get to be bound for
,

him I cann ot tell they must l ook to that who make the
, ,

ba r gain : besid e s if he had n ot had a mind to cheat or

,

b ale the poor man what need he have taken a c ow so

,

n ea r hom e ? If he ha d such and such powers as we tal k

of, and as fanc y and fab l e furnish for him could n ot h e ,

have ca rr ied a cow in the air upon a broomstick as ,

well as an Old woman ? could he n ot have stole a c ow

f or him in L incolnshir e and set it down in H ere ford ,

shire and so have perf ormed his bargain saved his

, ,

credit and kept the poor m a n ou t of trouble ? so that

,

if th e story is true as I really believe it is either it is

, ,

n ot the Devil that m akes those bargains or the Devi l ,

has not such power as we bestow on him except on ,

special occasions he gets a permit and is bid go as , ,

in the case of Job the Gadaren e hogs and the like

, , .

We have another example of a man s sel l ing himsel f
to the Devil that is very r emarkab l e and that is in th e
, ,

Bible too ; and even in that I do not nd what th e ,

De vil did for him in payment of the purchase price

,
.

The person selling was Ahab of whom the text says ,

expressly th er e w a s none lik e h im w h o did sell h i mself

, ,

to w ork w ick edn ess i n th e sigh t of th e L or d 1 K ings xxi ,

.

2 0 and the 2 5th I th ink it might have been rendered if

, .
,

n ot translated in spite Of the L ord or in deance of
,

,

,

G od for ce rtainly that is the meaning of it ; and n ow

a ll owing me to preach a little upon this text m y sermon ,

shall be very short Ahab sold hi mself ; who did he sell

.

himself to ? I answer that question by a question ; w h o

woul d buy him ? who as w e say would give anything , ,

f or him ? an d the answer to that is plain also you may ,

j udge of the purcha ser by the work h e was to do ; he

that buys a sla v e in th e mar ket buys him to work for ,

him and to do such business as he has for him to do

,

Ahab was bought to work wickedness and who would ,

buy him for that b u t the De vi l ?

I think there i s no r oo m to doubt but Ah ab sol d him
 H ISTO RY O F T HE D EV IL . 2 93

self to the Devil ; the text is plain that h e sol d himself ,

and the work he was sold to do points out the maste r

that bought him : what price he agr eed with th e
Devil for that indeed the text is silent in so we may
, ,

l et it alone nor is it much to ou r purpose unless it be to

, ,

inquire whether the Devil stoo d to his bargain or n ot ,

and whether he paid the money according to agr eement ,

or cheated him as he did the farmer at H ereford .

This buyi ng and selling between the Devil and us ,

I s I must confess an Odd kind of stock j obbing and

, ,
-
, ,

indeed the Devil may be said to s ell the bear skin

,
-
,

whatever he buys ; but the strangest pa rt is when h e

c omes to demand the transfer ; for as I hinted before , ,

whether h e perf orms or no he expects his bargain to a ,

t ittle ; there is indeed some di fculty in reso l ving h ow

, ,

and in what manner payment is made The sto r ies we .

meet with i n ou r chimney corner histories and wh ich -

,

are so many ways made u se of to make the D e vil

fr i ghtful to us a n d ou r heirs for ever a r e generally so ,

foolish and rid i culous as i f true or not true they hav e

, , ,

nothing material in them are Of n o signication or , ,

else so i mpossible in their nature that they make n o ,

impression upon anybody above twelve years Old and

under seventy ; or else are so tragic al that antiquity
has fabled them down to ou r taste that we might b e ,

able to hear the m and r epeat them with le ss horro r

than is due to them .

Th i s variety has taken off ou r relish of the thing in

general and m ade the trade of soul sell ing like ou r
,
-
,

l ate more eminent bubbles be taken to be a cheat and , ,

to have little in it .

H owever to speak a little more gravely to it I

, ,

cannot say but that s i nce by the two eminent instances

,

of it above l n Ahab and In Christ himself the fact 1 s

, ,

evidently ascertained and that th e Devil has a ttempted

,

to make such a bargain on on e and actually did make ,

it with the other the poss i bility of i t is n ot to be dis

,

p a t e d ; but then I mu st explain the m ahn er of 1 t a l ittl e,

294 T HE MODER N
and br ing it down nearer to ou r understandi n g that it ,

may be more intelligible than it is ; for as for thi s

sel ling the soul and making a bargain to give the ,

Devil possession by livery and seisin on the day ap

pointed that I cannot come into by any means ; no,
,

nor into the othe r part namely Of the Devil coming to , ,

c laim his bargain and to demand the soul according to ,

a greement and u pon defa u lt of a fair delivery taking

, ,

it a w ay b y v iolence case and all of which we have m any

'

, ,

h istorical r e l ations pretty current among us ; some of

which fo r aught I know we might have hoped h a d
, ,

been true if we had not been sure they were fal se and
, ,

others we had reason to fear were false because it w as ,

impossible they should be true .

The bargain s of this kind according to the best a c ,

counts we have of them used to consist of two mai n ,

articles accor ding to the ordinary stipul ations in all

,

co v enants n amely ,

1 . Something to b e perfo r med on

the Devi l s pa r t ,

buying .

2 . Something to be pe rf or med on the man s part

,

se ll ing .

I The Devil s part : this was gen erally some poo r
.

trie for the Devil gen erally bought good penny

,

worths and o ftentimes like a complete sharper agreed

, , ,

to give what he was n ot able to procure ; that is to say ,

would bargain for a price he could not pay as in the ,

case Of the H ereford man and the c ow ; for example ,

1 L ong life : this though the deluded cha p man has

.
,

Ofte n had folly enough to contract for the Devil n eve r ,

had power to make good ; and we have a famous story ,

how true I know not of a wretch that sold himself to ,

th e D ev il o n condition he Satan should assure him

, ,

( )
I .That he should n ever want victuals ; That
he sho u ld neve r be a cold ; That he should al ways -

com e to h im when he calle d him ; and Th at h e

2 96 T HE MOD ER N
Whethe r this story were true or n ot (for you must ,

n ot expect we historians should answer for the discourse

between the Devi l and his chaps because we were not ,

privy to the bargain I say whether it was true or ,

n ot the in ference is to ou r purpose severa l ways

, .

1 . It conrms what I have said of the knavery of

the Devil in his deal ings and that when he has ,

stock j obbed with us on the best conditions h e

-

can get he very seldom performs his bargain

, .

2 . It conrms what I have likewise sai d that th e ,

Devil s power i s limited with this addition that ,

h e n ot only cannot destroy the l i fe of man but ,

that he cannot preserve it ; in short he can ,

neither pr event o r bring on our destruction .

I m ay be all owed I h Ope for the sake of the present

, ,

discourse to suppose that th e Devil would have bee n

,

so j ust to this wicked tho u gh foolish creatu r e as to

, ,

hav e saved him from the gallo w s if he could ; but it

seems h e at l ast acknowledged that it was n ot in his
,

powe r nay he could not keep him from being take n

,

a n d carried to prison after he was gotten into th e

,

hands of a bold fellow or tw o that were not to be ,

scared with his bluster a s some foolish creatures had

,

been before .

And h ow simpl e h ow weak h ow unlike anything of

, ,

a n angelic n ature was it to attempt to save the poo r

,

w r etc h only by little noises an d sham appearances ,

putting ou t the can dles rushing and j ostl i ng in th e

,

dark and the like

,
If th e Devil w a s that mighty
.

seraph which we have heard of if he is a god of thi s ,

world a prince of the air a spirit able to destroy cities

, ,

a n d mak e havoc in the world ; if he can raise tempest s

an d storms thro w re about the worl d an d do won

, ,
~
.

derf ul things as an unchained devi l n o doubt could

,

do ; what n eed a ll this frippery ? and what need he try '

so many r idicul ous ways by the emptiness nay the , , , .

 HIS T OR Y or T HE D EV IL . 2 97

silly nonsensical manner of which he shows that h e , ,

i s able to do no better and that his power is ex ,

tingu ish ed ? In a word he would certainly act other

,

wise if he could S ed c a r et p edibus he wants power

,
.
,
.

How weak a thing is it then for any man to expect ,

performance from the Devil if he has n ot power to do ,

mischief which is his element his very nature an d on

, , ,

many accounts is the very su m of his desires ! How

,

should he have power to do good ? how power to delive r

from danger or from death ? which del i verance would
be in itself a good and we know it is n ot in his natu r e
,

to do good to or for any man .

In a word the Devil is strangely impudent to think

, ,

that any man should depend upon him for the per
f orm an c e of an a greement of any kind whatever when ,

he knows himself that he is n ot able if he was honest ,

enough to be as good as his word

, .

Come w e next to h is expecting ou r p e rformance to

him ; though he is not so j ust to u s yet it seems h e , , ,

never fails to come and demand payment of us at th e

v ery day appointed H e wa s but a weak trader in
.

things of this n ature wh o having sold his sou l to th e

,

Devil ( so ou r old women s tales call the thing ) a nd

,

,

when the Devil ca me to demand his bargain put it off ,

a s a thing of no force f or that it was done so long a go

, ,

he thought he ( the Devil ) had forgot it It w a s a .

better answer which they tell us a L utheran divin e

,

gave the Dev i l in the name of a poor wretch who had

sold himself to the Devil and w h o w a s in a terrible ,

fr ight about his coming for his bargain as he might ,

well be indeed if th e Devil has such a power as really

,

to come and take it by force The s tory if you ca n .

,

bear a serious on e is this ,

The man was in great horror of mind and the family ,

feared he would destroy himself ; at len gth they sent

for a L utheran minister to talk with him and wh o , ,

after some labour with him got ou t the truth viz , ,

.
,

that he had sold himself to th e De v i l an d tha t th e ,

2 98 T HE MOD ER N
tim e was a l most expired when he expected the Devi l
would come and fetch him away and he was sure he ,

would not fail coming to the time to a minute The .

m inister rst endeavoured to co nvince hi m of the

horrid crime and to bring him to a true penitence f or
,

t hat part ; and having as he thought made him a sin , ,

ce r e pen itent he then began to encour a ge him a n d

, ,

partic ul arl y desired of him that when the time was

, ,

come that the Devi l should fetch him away he the , ,

minister should be in the hous e with him accordingly

, ,

to mak e the story short the time came the Devi l , ,

came an d the minister was present when the Devil

,

came ; what shape he w a s in the story does n ot say ; ,

the man said he sa w him and cried ou t the ministe r ,

could not see h im but the man affirming he was in th e

,

room the minister said aloud In the name of the

, ,

l iving God Satan what comest thou here for ? T h e

, ,

Devil answered I come for my ow n ; the ministe r

,

a nswere d H e is n ot thy o wn for Jesus Christ has

, ,

re deemed him and in his name I charge thee to a void

,

a n d touch h im n ot at which says the story the Devil , ,

gave a furious stamp ( with his cloven foot I suppose )

and went away and was never known to moles t him
,

a fte r wards .

Another story though it be in itself a l ong on e

, ,

I shall abridge ( for your reading with the l ess u n ea si

ness ) as follows :
A young gentleman of berg in the e l ector of ,

Bra n denb u rgh s ( n ow the king of P russia s ) dominions

,

being deeply in lo ve with a beautiful lady but some ,

thing above his fortune and whom he could by n o ,

m eans bring to l o ve applied himself to a n

h jfer her assistance and pro
ol d thing called a v c
g

,
i t
m ised her gr eat th i ngs 1 f sh e could bring the lady to
/
,

l ove him or any h ow compass her so as he m i ght

,

have his will of her ; nay at last he told her he would ,

give up his sou l to her if she would answer his desire. ,

The ol d b ag it se e ms ha ving had som e of his mo ney,

, ,
30 0 T HE MOD ER N
to l d him whoever he saw he must speak to nobody
, ,

but her till sh e gave him leave and that he should not
, ,

b e sur p rised whatever happen ed for n o hurt shou l d

, ,

befall him all which he a greed to and the Old woman ,

going out he followed her .

Being upon this led into another room where there

, , ,

w a s but very little light yet enough to l et him see that ,

there was nobody in it but himself and the woman he ,

Wa s desire d to sit down in a chai r n ext to a table and ,

the Old woman c l apping the door to after her he asked ,

her why she shut the door and where was the perso n ,

sh e told him of At which sh e answered There he is

.
, ,

pointing to a chair at a little distance : the young

gentleman turning his head saw a gr ave kind of a ,

m an sitting in an elbow chair though he said h e

-
, ,

could have sworn the r e was nobody in the chair when

the old woman shut the door ; however having pro ,

m ised not to speak to anybody but the Old woman h e ,

said n ot a word .

By and by the woman making abundance of str ange

g estures an d motions and mumb l ing over several ,

things which he could n ot u nderstand ,

l arge Wicker st o od by the

inoves t o t en d p f
th e table which he sat by w
,

b otfy in th e chair ; in about tw o

w

nd
" l '

but
minutes after that the chair removed there ap p eared a ,

person sitting in that too who th e room being as is , , ,

said almost dark could n ot be so distinguished by the

, ,

eye as to see his countenan ce .

After some while the rst man and the chai r he , ,

s at in moved as if they had been on e body to the

, , ,

table also ; and the Old woman and the two men
seemed to talk together b u t the young man could n ot ,

u nderstand anythi ng they said ; after so m e time the

old witch turned to the young gentleman told him his ,

r equest was granted but not for marriage but the 1 , ,

should love and receive him .

The witch th e n gav e hi m a stick dipped i

 H IS TORY O F T HE D EV IL . 30 1

ends an d bid him hold it to a candle which h e did

, , ,

and instead of burn i ng like a stick it burnt ou t like a ,

torch then sh e bid h i m break it O ff in the middle and ,

light the other en d he did that too and all the room ,

seemed to be in a l i ght ame ; then sh e sa i d Delive r ,

on e piece here pointing to on e only of the perso n s ; so

,

he gave the rst re stick to the rst m a n or appari -

tion N ow says sh e del i ver the other here ; so he gave

, ,

the other piece to the other a pparition at which they ,

both rose u p and spoke to him words which he said ,

he u nderstood n ot and could n ot repeat and imm edi

, ,

ately vanished with the re sticks and all leaving the -

,

room full of smoke I do n ot remember that the story

.

says anything of brimston e or the smell of it but it , ,

says the door continued fast locked and nobody was ,

left in the room b u t the young gentle m an and the witch .

N ow the ceremony being over he asked the witch ,

if the busin ess w a s done She said Y es Well but .

, .
,

l
says he have I sold my so to the Devil
,
u ? Y es says ,

she y ou have and you gave him possess i on when you

, ,

delivered the two re sticks to him T o him ! says -

.

he ; why was that the Devil ? Yes says the Old hag
, , .

At which the young man was in a terribl e fright for a

while but it went off again
, .

And what s next ? says he ; when shall I see the l ady
fo r whose sake I have done all this ? You sh all know
that p r esently said sh e ; and opening the door in the
, ,

next room sh e presents him with a most beautiful

lady but had charged him not to speak a word to her
,

sh e was exactly dressed like an d he presently knew ,

her to be the lady he desired ; u pon wh i ch he ew to

her and clasped he r in his arms but that moment he
, ,

h ad her fast as he thought in his arms sh e vanished

, , ,

ou t Of his sight .

F inding himself thus disappointed he upbraids the ,

old woman with betraying hi m and ew ou t with ill ,

language at her in a great rage The Devil Often de

, .

lu ded h im thus afte r this with shows and appearanc e s

, , ,
30 2 T HE MODER N
but sti ll n o per formance after a while h e gets an op
o rtu n it to S peak wi th the l ady herself in reality but
p y ,

sh e was as positive in her denial as ever and eve n ,

took away all hopes of his ever obtaining her which ,

put h im into despair for n ow he thought he had give n

,

himself up to the Devil for n othing ; and this brought

-
him to himself so that he m ade a penitent confession
,

of his crime to some friends who took great care Of ,

him and encouraged him and at last furnished him

, ,

with such an answer as put the Devil into a fright ,

when he came for the ba r ga i n .

F or S atan it seems as the story says had the im

, , ,

u den ce to demand his agreement notwithstand i ng he

p ,

had failed in the performance on his part ; what the

answer was I do n ot pretend to have seen but i t seems
, ,

it was something l ike what is mentioned above viz ,

.
,

that he was in better hands and that he durst not ,

to uch him .

I have heard of another person that had actually

sig n ed a contract with the Devil ; and upon a fast kept
by some p rotestant or Christian divines wh i le they ,

were praying for the poor man the Devil was obliged ,

to come and thro w the contract i n at the window .

But I vouc h none of these stories ; there may be

much in them and muc h use made of them even
, ,

whether exactly such i n fact as they are related or , ,

n o : the best use I can make of them is this ; if any ,

wicked desperat e wretches have made bargain and sale

with Satan their only way is to repent i f they know
, ,

h ow and that before he comes to clai m them ; then

,

batter him with his own guns ; p lay religion against

devilism and perhaps they may drive the Devil ou t of
,

their reach ; at least he wi ll not come at them which ,

i s as well .

O n the other hand how many stor i es have we

,

handed about Of the Devil s really coming with a ter
rible a p pearance at the time appointed a n d powerfully

, ,

or by violence ca r rying away those that have given

,
30 4 T HE MODER N
It is true ou r old mothers and nu r ses have told us
,

other th i ngs but they only told us wha t their mothers

,

a n d nurses to l d them and so the tale has been handed

,

down from on e generation of old women to another ; '

but we have no vouchers for the fact other tha n oral ,

tradition the credit O f which I confess goes but a very

, , ,

l i ttle w ay with me ; n or do I believe it on e j ot the

more for all the frightful ad denda which they generally
j oi n to the tale for it n ever wants a gr e a t variety of
,

that kind .
W

T h us they tell us the Devil carried away D r .

F austus and took a piece of the wa ll of his garde n)

,

a l ong wit h them : thus at Salisbury the Devil as it is , ,

said and publicly printed carried away two fellows

, ,

that had given themse l ves u p to him and carried away ,

the roof of the house with them and the like all which , ,

I believe my share of Besi des if these stories we r e

.
,

r eally true they are all against the Devil s true
,

interest Satan mus t be a fool which is indeed what I

, ,

n ever took him to be i n the main ; this would be th e

w ay n ot to increase the number of desperadoes who ,

should thus put thems elves into his hand but to make ,

himself a terror to them ; and this is one of the most

powerfu l obj ections I have against the thing for the ,

Devil I say is no fool that mus t be acknowledged

, , ,

he kn ows h i s own game and generally plays it sure , .

I might before I qu it this point seriously reect

, ,

here upon ou r bea u m on dc viz the gay part Of man ,

.
,

kind especi al ly those of the times we live in who walk

, ,

a b out in a c omposure and tranquillity inexpressible ,

and y et as we all know must certainly have all sold

, ,

themselves to the Devil fo r the power Of acting the ,

foolishest things with the greater applause it is true ,

to be a fool is the most pleasant l i fe in the world if ,

th e fool has but the particular felicity which few fools ,

want viz to think themse l ves wise : the learned say

, .
, ,

it is the dignity and perfection Of fools that they n ever ,

fai l t r usting themselves ; they bel ie v e themselves su i

 H ISTORY O F T HE DEV IL . 30 5

cient and abl e for everything ; and hence thei r want

or waste of brains is no grie v ance to them but they ,

hug themselves in the sat i ety of their ow n wit ; but to .

br i ng other people to have the same notion of them ,

which they have of themselves and to have their apish ,

and ridiculous conduct make the same impression on

the minds of others as it does on their ow n ; this re
,

qui r es a general infatuation and must either be a ,

j udgment fr om heaven or a mist of hell ; nothing but

,

the Devil can make all the men Of brains applaud a

fool ; and can any m a n believe that the Devil will do
this for nothing ? no no he will be well paid for it
, , ,

and I know no other way they have to compound with

him but this of bargain and sale
,
.

It is the same th i ng with rakes and bullies as it is ,

with fools and beaus and this brings me to the subj ect
of buying and selling itself and to examine what i s ,

understood by it in the world what people mean by ,

such and suc h a man selling himself to the Devil : I

know the common acceptation of it is that they make ,

some capitulation for some indulgence in wickedness ,

on condit i on s of safety and impunity which the Devil ,

promises the m ; though as I said above he is a bite , ,

in that too for he cannot perform the conditions ;

,

however I say he prom i ses boldly and they believe

, , ,

him and for th i s priv i lege in wickedness they consent

, ,

that he shall come and fetch them for his ow n at such ,

or such a time .

This i s the state of the case in the general accepta

tio n Of it ; I do not say it is really so nay it is even , ,

an incons i stency in itself for one would think they ,

need n ot capitulate with the Devil to be so and so

superlatively wicked and give him such a pr i ce for i t
, ,

seeing unless we have a wrong not i on of him he i s

, ,

na turally inclined as well as avowedly will i ng to hav e

, ,

all men be as superlat i vely w i cked a s poss i bly they

can and must necessarily be always ready to issue ou t
,

his licenses gratis as far as his authority will go in th e

,

H D . . x
30 6 T HE MODER N
ca se ; and th erefo r e I do n ot see wh y the wr e tch es that

deal with him shoul d artic l e with him for a price ; b u t

,

suppose f or argument sake that it is so then the next

, , ,

thing is some capital crime foll ows the contract an d

, ,

then the wr etch is forsaken for the Devi l cannot pro ,

teet him as he p r omised so h e is trussed up and like

, , , ,

Coleman at the gall ows he exclaims that ther e is n o ,

truth in devils .

It may be true howeve r that u nder the powe rfu l , ,

guard and protection of the Devil men do sometimes ,

g o a great w a
y in crime and that perhaps fu r ther i n , , ,

these our days of boasted morals than was know n ,

among ou r fathe r s ; the only di ff erence that I meet

with between the sons of Belial in former days and

those of ou r ages seems to be in the Devil s manage
,

ment not in theirs ; the su m Of which amounts to this

, ,

that Satan seems to act with more cunning and they ,

with less ; for in the former ages of Satan s dominion
, ,

he had much business upon his han ds ; all his art an d

engines and engineers also were kept fully emp l oy ed
, , ,

to wheedle al l ure betray and circumvent people an d

, , , ,

draw them into crimes and they found him as we , ,

may say a full employment I doubt not he was

, .
,

called the Tempter on that very a ccount ; but the case

seems quite altered n ow the tables are turned ; then ,

the Devil tempted men to sin but n ow in short they , , ,

tempt the Devil ; men push into crimes before he

pushes them ; they outshoot him in his ow n b ow ,

outrun him on his ow n ground and as we say Of some , ,

hotspurs who ride post they whip the postboy ; in a ,

.

word the Devil seems to have n o business now but to

,

sit sti ll and l ook on .

This I must confess seems to intimate some secret

, ,

compact between th e Devil and them ; b u t then it

looks not as if they had contracted with the Devil for
,

l eave to sin but that the Devil had contracted with

,

them that they should sin so and so up to s u ch a ,

degre e and that without giving him the troubl e of

,
30 8 T HE MODER N
f or that ; I can n ever doubt a sec r et compact if th er e ,

i s such a thing in nature ; when I see a head where

there was n o head sense in p osse where there is n o
,

sense in esse wit without brains and sight w ithout

, ,

eyes it is all devil work : could G

,
-
write satires ,

that could neither read L atin or spel l E nglish ; like Old

sir Wi ll iam R ead who wrote a book of optics whic h
, ,

when it w a s printed he did n ot know which was the

,

right S ide uppermost an d which the wro n g ? Could

,

this eminent u ninformed beau turn atheist and make ,

wise speeches against that Being which m ade him a

fool if the Devil had not sold him some w it in ex
,

change for that trie of his called soul ? H ad he n ot ,

bartered his inside with that son Of the morni n g to ,

have his tongue t i pped with blasphemy he that knew ,

nothing of a God but only to swear by him coul d never

, ,

have set u p for a wit to burlesqu e his providence and

ridicul e his government of the world .

But the Devil as he is god of the world has on e

, ,

partic u lar advantage an d that is that when he has

, ,

work to do he very seldom wants instruments ; with

this circumstance also that the degeneracy of human ,

nature supplies him As the late king Of F rance said

.

of himself when they told him what a calamity w a s

,

like to befall his kingdom by the famine : Well says ,

the king then I shall n ot want soldiers ; and it w a s so ;

,

want of bread suppli ed his army with recruits so want ,

of grace supplies the Devi l with reprobates for h i s work .

A nother reason w h y I think the Devil has ma de

more bargain s of that kin d w e s p eak of in this age is , , ,

because he seems to have laid by his cloven foot ; all

his Old em i ssaries the tools of h i s trade the engi n eers
, ,

which he employed in his mines such as witches , ,

warlocks magicians conj urers astrologers and all the

, , , ,

hellish train or rabble of human devils w h o did h is ,

drudgery in former days seem to be out of work : I ,

shall give you a fuller enumeration of them in the next

chapter .
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 3 09

Th e se I say seem to be l aid aside ; not that h is

, ,

work is abated or that his business with mankind fo r

, ,

thei r delusion and destru ction is not the same or per , ,

haps more than ever ; but the Devil seems to have

changed hands ; the temper and genius of mankind is
a ltered ,
and they are not to be taken by fright and
horror as they were then : the gures of those crea
,

tures were always dismal and horrible and that is it ,

which I mean by the cloven foot ; but now wit beauty , ,

a n d gay things are the su m of his craft ; he manages

,

by the soft and the smooth the fair and the artful the , ,

kind and the cunning not by the fr ightfu l and terrible

, ,

the ugly and the odious .

When the D ev il for we ighty des p atche s, ,

Wanted messengers cunning a n d bold ,

H e pass d by the beautiful faces

An d pick d out the ugl y a n d Old

.

Of these he made warlock s and witches ,

T o run of hi s errands by ni ght

T ill the over wrought h a g ri dden wretches
- -
,

W ere as t as the D evi l to fright .

B ut whoever h as been hi s advi ser ,

A s hi s kingdo m i ncreases in growth ;

H e n ow takes hi s measures much wi ser ,

A nd tra ics w i th beauty and youth .

D i sgu i sed i n the wanton a nd wi tty,

H e haunts both the church a nd the court ;
And so meti mes he v i s i ts the c i ty ,

Where a ll the best C hri sti ans resort .

Thus dress d up i n fu ll mas quera de ,

He the h older ca n range u p a nd do wn ;

For b e better ca n dri ve on hi s trade ,
In a ny one s name tha n hi s own

.
3 10 T HE M O DER N

C HA P . IX .

-
Of th e tools tire D ev il w ork s w ith v i z , iz a rds.

or w a r lo ck s, c on u r ers, m a ic ia ns,
j g
ers, i n ter r eters o
g p f dr ea ms ,
te ller s
ff
o or tu n es a n d,

a bov e a ll th e r est, h is a r ti cu la r moder n i

p p r vy
cou nc illors c a lled w its a n d ools
f .

TH O U G H as I hav e advanced in the foregoing chapt er

, ,

the Devil has very much changed hands in his modern

m anagement of th e wor l d and that instead of the rab
, ,

bl e and l ong tr a in of implements reckoned u p above ,

he n ow wal ks about in beaus beauties wits and fool s ;

, , ,

y et I must n ot O mit to te ll yo u that he has not dis

missed his former regiments but like O fcers in tim e
, ,

of peace he k e eps them al l in half pay ; or l ike extra

,
-
,

or din ar y m en a t the c u stom house they are kept at a

-
,

call to be ready to l l u p vacancies or to employ when

, ,

he is more than ordinarily full of business and there

f ore it may n ot be amiss to give some brief account of

them from Satan s ow n memoirs their pe rformance ,

being n o inconsiderable part of his history .

N or will it be an unprotable di gression to go back

a l ittle to the primitive institution of all these o r ders ,

f or they are very ancient an d I assu r e you it r equires

,

gr e at knowl edge of antiquity to give a pa rticular of

their origina l I Shall be very brief in it .

In order then to this inquiry you must know that

,

i t w a s not for want of servants that Satan took this

s ort of peop l e into his pay he had as I have Observed
,

i n its place mi ll ions of diligent devils at his call what

, ,

ev e r business an d h owever di fcult he had for them

, ,

t o do ; but as I have said above that O ur modern peo

,

ple a r e f o rwa r d er tha n e v en the Devi l hims el f can de

3 12 T HE MODER N
were n ot conjurers or magicians on ly phi l osopher s and ,

studiers of natu r e wise sober an d studious men at , , ,

rst ; and w e have an extraordinary account of them ;

and if we may believe some of ou r best writers of fame ,

Abraham was himsel f famous among them for such

magic as sir Walter R al eigh expresses it Qu i contem
, ,

p la tion e cr ea tu r a r u m c o n ov i t Cr ea torem
g .

N ow gr anting this , it is all to my purpose , namel y .

t hat th e Devil drew these wise men in , to search afte r

more knowledge than nature could instruct them in ;
and the knowledge of the true God bei n g at that time
sunk very low he debauched them all with dreams
, ,

apparitions conj urers &c till h e r uined the j ust

, , .
,

notions they had and mad e devi l s of them a ll like

, ,

himsel f .

The learned S en en sis speaking Of this Chaldean ,

kind of learning gives u s a n account of ve so rts of

,

t hem u wi l l pardon me f or being so grave a s to o

yo g
this length back .

1 . C h a scedin or Chal deans properly ,

so ca ll ed bei ng
,

astronomers .

2 . A saphim magicians such was Zoroa stres and

or ,

Balaam the son of Beor .

3 . C h atu m im or interpreters of dreams and har d

s p eeches enchanters, ,

4 . M eca sph im or witches called at rst proph e ts , ,

afterwards m a leci or v enec i poisoners ,

.

5 . G a z arim or a u ru spic es and diviners such as di , ,

vined by the entrails of beasts the liver I n par ,

ticu la r ; mentioned I n E zek or as others call ed .

, ,

augurs .

N ow as to al l these I suppose I may do them n o ,

wrong if I say however j ustiable they were in the

, ,

beginning the Devil got them all into his serv i ce at

,

last ; an d that brings me to my text again from which ,

the rest was a digression .

 H IS T OR Y O F T HE DEV IL 313 .

1 . The Ch asc edin or Chaldean astronomers turned , ,

astrologers fortune tellers calculators of nativi

,
-
,

ties and vile deluders of the people as if the wis

, ,

dom of the holy God was i n them as N eb u ch a d ,

n ez z ar said of Daniel on that v ery account .

2 . The Asaphim or magi or magicians ; Sixtu s , ,

S en en sis says they were such a s wrought by co

,

venants with devils but turned to it from their ,

wisdom which was to study the practical part of

,

natural philosophy working admirable e ffects by ,

the m utual application of natural causes .

3 . The C h atum im from being reasoners or dis ,

puters upon dii cu lt points in philosophy became ,

enchanters and conj urers So .

,

4 . The Meca sph im or prophets they turned to be , ,

sorcerers raisers of Spirits s u ch as wounded by

, ,

an evil eye and by bitter curses and were after

, ,

wards famed for having familiar converse with the

Devil and were called w i tches
,
.

5 . The G a z arim from the bare observi n g of the ,

good and bad omens by the entrails of beasts , ,

ying of birds &c were turned to sacrists or ,

.
, ,

priests of the heathen idols and sa cricers , .

Thus I say r st or last the Devil engr ossed all the

, , ,

wise men of the E ast ( for so they are cal led ) m ade , ,

them all his ow n and by them he worked wonders ,

that is he lled the world with lying wonders as if

, ,

wr ought by these men when indeed it was all his , , ,

ow n from beginning to the end and set on foot ,

merely to propagate delusion and impose upon blinded ,

and ignorant men : the god of this world bl i nded their

m i nds and they were led away by the subtlety of the
,

Devil to say no worse of it till they became devil s

, ,

themselves as to mankind ; for they carried on the

,

Dev il s work u pon all occasions and the race of them ,

still continue in other nations a n d some of th em ,

a mong ou r se l ves a s w e shall see p re se nt ly

, .
314 T HE MODER N
Th e A r abians foll owed the Chal deans in this stu dy ,

whi l e it w a s kept within its due bounds and afte r ,

t h e m the E gyptians ; and among the l atter w e nd , ,

that Jannes and Jambres were famous for thei r leading

P haraoh by their pretended magic performances to
, ,

r ej ect the r eal miracles of Moses and history tells us

o f strange pranks the wise men the magicians and , ,

the southsayers played to del ude the people i n th e

,

most early ages of the world .

But as I say n ow the Devil has improved himself,so

, ,

he did then ; for the Grecia n and R oman heathen rites

coming on they outdid all the magicians and southsay
,

ers by establishing the Devi l s lying orac l es which as a
, , ,

masterpiece of hell did the Devi l mor e honour and , ,

b r ought more ho mage to him than ever he had before , ,

or cou l d arrive to since .

Again as by the setting up the oracl es all the ma

, ,

g ic ia n s and s outhsayers g r e w ou t of credit so at the ,

ceasing of those oracles the Devi l wa s fain to go back ,

t o the old game again and take up with the agency of ,

witch e s divinations enchantments and conj urings as

, , , ,

I hint ed be fore ans w erable to the four so rts men

,
-

tion ed in the story of Nebucha dnezzar viz magi , .

,

c ia n s astro l ogers the Chaldeans and the southsayers

, , , .

How these bega n to b e ou t of r equest I have men ,

tion ed a l ready ; but as th e Devil has n ot quite give n

,

them over only laid the m asid e a l ittl e for the present

, ,

w e may venture to ask what they were and what u se ,

h e made of the m whe n he did employ them .

Th e truth is I think as it was a very mean emp l oy

, ,

m ent for anything that wears a human countenance t o

take up so I must acknowledge I think it w a s a
, ,

mean low prized business for Satan to take up w ith ;

-

belo w the very Devil ; bel o w his dignity as a n angelic ,

th ough condemned creature ; bel o w him even a s 3

Devil to go to talk to a pa r cel of ugly deformed
, , ,

spiteful malicious Old women ; to give them power to

,

do m isch ie w h o n e v e r had a will afte r they e nte r ed

-
,
3 16 T HE MODER N
a bil ity suitable to the horrid wil l they a re v es ted with ,

remains to be desc r ibed .

These witches it is said are fu rnished with power

, ,

s uitable to the occasion that 1 s before them and par ,

tic u larly that which deserves to be considered as pre

diction and foretelling events which I in sist the a u
, , , ,

t hor of witchcraft is n ot accomplished with himself ,

n o r ca n he communicate it to any other H ow then .

witches come to be able to foretell things to come ,

which it is said the Devil himself cannot know an d

, , ,

which as I have shown it is evident he does n ot know

, ,

himse lf 1 s yet to be determined ; tha t witches do fore

m
,

tell, is ce rtain, from wrtch of En dor ad

thing s to Saul w m
, h
v .

hich he k n e efore namely that

, , ,

h e sho ul d b e slain I n battle the next day which a o ,

c ordin gl came to pass

y .

There are however and notwithstanding this par

, ,

ticu la r case man y instances wherei n the Devil h as

,

n ot been abl e to foretell approaching events and that ,

in things of the utmost consequence and he h as ,

gi v e n certain foolish or false answers in such cases ;

the Devil s priests which were summoned in by the ,

prophet E lij ah to decide the dispute between G od and

,

Baal had the Devil been abl e to have informed them

,

of I t , wou l d certainly have received notice from him ,

of what was intended against them by E lij ah ; that I s

to say that they would be all cut in pieces for Sata n

,

w as n ot such a fool as n ot to kno w that Baal w a s a .

nonentity a noth i ng at best a dead man perished and

, , ,

rotting in his grave ; for Baal was Bel or Belus ,

an a ncient king of the Assyrian monarchy and h e ,

cou l d no more answer by re to consume the sacrice ,

than he could raise himself from the dead .

But the priests of Baal were left of their master to

their j u st fate ; namely to be a sacrice to the fury of ,

a deluded peop l e ; hence I in f er his inability for it ,

w o u l d have b ee n v ery unkind and ungr ateful in him

 HISTO R Y
O F T HE D EV IL 3 17 .

not to have answered them if he had been able There , .

i s another arg u ment raised here most j ustly against th e

Devil wit h relation to his being under restraint and
, ,

that of greater eminence than we imagine and it is ,

drawn from this very passage thus : i t is not to b e ,

doubted but that Satan w h o has much of the element ,

put into his hands as prince of the air had a power or

, , ,

w a s able potentially S p eaking to h ave answered Baal s

, ,

priests by re re be i ng i n virtue of his airy princi

, ,

alit a pa r t of his dominion ; but he was certainly

p y ,

withheld by the superior hand which gave him that

dominion I mean w i thheld for the occasion only S O
,
.
,

in another case it was plain that Balaa m w h o was on e of

, ,

those sorts of Ch al deans mentioned above who dealt i n

divinations and enchantments was withheld from ,

cursing Israel .

Some are of Opinion that Balaam w a s not a witch or ,

a dealer w i th the Devil because it is said of him , or ,

rather he says it of himself; that he saw the vision s of

G od Numb xxiv 1 6 ; H e h a th sa id w h o h ea rd th e
, . .
,

w or ds o f G o d a n d k n ew th e k n ow led e o
, g f th e M o s t
H igh w h ic h sa w th e v isions of th e A lmigh ty f a lling
, ,

i n to a tr a n ce bu t h a v ing h is eyes open

,
H ence they .

allege he was on e of those magi which St Augustine .

speaks of de D iv in a tion e who by the study of nature

, , , ,

and by the contemplation of created beings came to ,

the knowledge Of the creature ; and that Bala am s faul t

w a s that be i ng tempted by the rewards and hon ours

,

that the king promised him he intended to have ,

cursed Israel ; but when his eyes were Opened an d ,

that he sa w they were G od s ow n people he durst n ot ,

do it They will have it therefore that except a s

.
, , ,

above Balaam was a good man or at le a st that he

, , , ,

had the knowledge of the true Go d a n d the fear of ,

that God u p on h im and that he h onestly declares this

, ,

N umb xxi i 1 8 If B a la k w ou ld g iv e m e h is h onse f u ll

. .
,

e o n d th e w ord
f
o silv er a n d
g ol d I c a nn ot
g o b ,y f
o th e

L o rd my G od ; where though he is cal led a false pro

,
3 18 T HE MOD ER N
ph e t by som e h e e vidently owns G od and assumes a
, ,

p r operty in him as other prophets did , m y God an d ,

I cannot go beyond his orders

. But that which gives .

me a better Opinion of Balaam than all this is his p l ai n ,

prophecy of Christ chap xxiv 1 7 where he calls h im

, . .
,

the star of Jacob and declares I sh a ll see h im bu t n ot

, , ,

n ow I sh a ll
beh old h im, b u t n ot n igh th er e sh a ll c ome
f
a sta r ou t o Ja cob, a n d a sc e tre sh a ll r ise ou t o I s
p f
r a el, a nd sh a ll s m ite th e cor ner s o M oa b, a nd destr o
f y
a ll th e ch i ldren o
f S eth ; al l which express n ot a k n ow

ledge only but a faith in Christ : but I have don e

,

preaching this is all b y the by ; I return to my busi

,
- -

n ess which is the history

, .

There is another piece of dark practice here which

l ies bet ween Satan a n d his particular agents and whic h ,

they may give u s an answer to when they can which I , ,

think will not be in haste ; and that is about the oh

,

s e u iou s Devil submitting to be called up into visi

q
b ility whenever an old woman has her hand crossed
with a white S ixpence as they call it O n e would ,
.

think that instead of these vile th i ngs called witche s

being sold to the Devil the Devi l w a s really sol d for a ,

slave to them for h ow far soeve r Satan s residence is

o ff of this state of l ife they have power it seems to , , ,

fetch him from hom e and oblige h im to come at th e i r ,

c all .

I can give l ittle account of this onl y that indeed so ,

it is N or is the thing so strange in itself as the

.
,

methods to do it are mean foolish and ridiculous ; as , ,

making a circle and dancing in it pronouncing such ,

and such words saying the L ord s prayer backward
, ,

a n d the like N ow is this agreeable to the dignity of

.

the prince of the air or atmosphere that he should b e ,

comman ded forth w i th n o more pomp or ceremony

than that of muttering a f ew words such as the old ,

witches and he agree about ? or is there something else

in it which none of us or themselves understand ?
,

P e rhaps inde e d he is al ways with those peopl e

, ,
3 20 T HE MODER N
her breasts ! h ow sweet her voice ! add to a ll h ow ,

heaven ly divinely good her temper ! h ow inimitable

, ,

her behaviour ! how spotless her v irtue ! h ow perfect

he r innocence and to su m up her character we may , ,

add the lady H

, is n o witch Sure none of ou r .
,

bea u critics will be so unkind n ow as to censure me in ,

those honest descriptions as if I meant that my good ,

fr iend W G esq or my adored angel the .

, ,

bright the charming lady H

, were fools ; but
what will not those savages called critics do whose ,

barbarous nature incl i nes them to trample on the

brightest characters and to cavil at the clearest ex ,

pressions
It might be expected of me however i n j ustice to , ,

my friends and to the bright characters of abundance

,

of gentlemen of this age who by the depth of thei r , ,

po l itics and the height of their elevations might be

, ,

suspected and might give us room to charge them

,

with subterranean intelligence ; I say it might be ex ,

p ec ted that I should clear up thei r f ame and assure ,

the world concerning them even by name, that they ,

are n o conj urers that they do not deal with the Devil
, ,

at least not by w av of witchcraft and divination such

, ,

as sir T k E B esq , my lord H omily

, .
,

col Swagge r Geo ff ry V ellw ith esq capt H arry G o

.
,
V

, .
, .

deeper Mr Wellcome Woollen citizen and merchant

,
.
,

tailor of L ondon H enry Cadaver esq the d , Of ,

.
,

C a er lly the marquis of S illyh oo sir E dward Thro
, ,

and Thro bart and a world Of ne gentlemen more
-
,
.
, ,

whose great heads and we i ghty understandings have

gi v en the world such occasion to challenge them with
being at least descended fro m the magi and perhaps ,

engaged with old Satan in his polit i cs and ex peri

ments ; but I that have such good intelligence among
,

Satan s ministers of state as is necessary to the pre

s ent u ndertaking am thereby well able to clear u p ,

their characters ; and I doubt not but they will

value themsel v es upon it and acknowledge their obli ,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 32 1

ga ti on me for l etting the worl d know the Devil

to ,

does n ot pretend to have had any business with them ,

or to have enro ll ed them in the list of his operators ;

in a word that non e of them are co njurers Upon

, .

which testimony of mine I expect they be n o l onger

,

charged with or S O much as suspected of having a n

, ,

unlawf ul quantity of wit or having any so rts of it

,

abou t them that ar e contraband or prohibited b u t ,

that for the future they pass unmolest e d and be take n ,

for nothing but what they ar e viz very honest w or , .

,

thy gentl emen .

H . D .
3 22 T HE MOD ER N

C HA P X . .

Of th e v a ri ou s m ethods th e D ev il ta k es to con v erse w ith

m a nk i n d .

H A V IN G spoken som e thing of persons and p a rticularl y ,

of such as the Devil thinks t to employ in his a ff airs

in the worl d it comes next of course to say something
,

of the manner h ow he communicates his mind to them ,

and by them to the rest of his acquaintance in the

world .

I take the Devil to be u nder great dii cu lties in his

a ffairs on his part especially occasioned by the bounds
,

which are set him or which policy obliges him to set

,

to himself in his ac c es s to the conversing with man

,

kind ; i t is evident he is n ot pe r mitted to fall u pon

the m with force and arms that is to say to muster up , ,

his infernal troop s and attack them with re and

,

sword if he w a s let loose to act in this mann er as he ,

was able by his ow n seraphic po wer to have destroye d

, ,

the whole race and eve n the earth they dwelt upon
, ,

s o he would certainl y and long ago have e ff ectually

done it ; his particular inte r ests and inclinations are

well enough known .

But in th e n ext place as he is thu s restrained from

, ,

v iolence so prudentials restrain him in all h i s other

,

actings with mankind ; and being conned to strata

gem and soft still methods such as persuasion allure
, , ,

m ent feeding the appetite prompting and then grat i
, , ,

fyin g corrupt desires and the like he nds it for his

, ,

p urpose n ot to appe a r in person except very rarely , ,

an d then in disgu i s e ; but to act all the rest in the

dark u nder the visor of art and cra ft maki ng u se of
, ,
324 T HE MODER N
if I r emember right he had this quarter of the worl d , ,

which we call Christendom j ust under his eye an d as ,

the motion is n ot so swift but that his piercing optics ,

can take a str i ct view of it en p a ssa n t for the circum

ference of it being but twenty one thousand miles an d -
,

its circular motion being full twenty four hours per -

formi n g he has something m ore than an hour to view

,

every thousand miles which to h is supernatural pen e , ,

tra ti on is n ot worth naming

, .

As he takes thus a daily view of all the circl e an d ,

a n hourly view of the parts he is fu ll y master of al l ,

transaction s at least such as are don e above board

, ,

by al l mankind and then he despatches his emissaries ,

or a id du c a m s to every part with his orders and i n

p ,

str u ction s Now these emissaries you are to understand

.
, ,

a re not the witches and diviners who I S poke of ,

above for I call them also emissaries ; but they ar e a ll

,

devils or ( as you know they are called ) devi l s angels

an d these may perhaps com e and converse pe r sonally

, ,

with the su b emissaries I mentioned to be ready for

-
,

their support an d assistan ce on all occasion s of busi

ness : these are those devils which the witch e s are
said to raise ; for we ca n hardly suppose the maste r
devil comes himself at the s u mmons of every u gly old
woman .

These run about into every nook and corner where ,

ever Satan s business calls them and are n ever want ,

ing to him but a re the most dil i gent devils im a

g in able ; like the Turkish c h a iu sc they n o sooner re ,

cei v e their errand but they execute it with the utmost

,

alacrity ; and as to their S peed it may be truly writte n ,

as a motto upon the head of every individual devil

, ,

N on in dig et l
c a ca r i u s . b
These are those who they tell us ou r wi tches , , ,

sorcerers wizards and such sorts of folks

, , ,

freely with an d are therefore called

,

and as they tell u s come to them in

, ,
 H I ST O RY OF T HE D EV IL . 3 25

tal k to them with articulate plain voices as if men

, ,

and th at yet the said witches 8 m know them to be ,

dev i ls .

H istory has not yet enlighten ed u s in this part of

usefu l knowledge or at least not su f ciently for a de ,

scription of the persons or habits of these sorts of a p

eara n ces ; as what shapes they take u p what lan
p ,

guage they S peak an d what part i cular works they per ,

form so we must refer it to further inquiry ; but if we

,

may credit h i story we are told many famous stories of ,

these appearances ; for example the fa mous mother ,

L ak lan d who w a s burnt for a witch at Ipswich a n no

, ,

1 6 4 5 confessed at the time of her execution or a little

, , ,

before it that sh e had frequent conversations with the

,

Devil himself ; that sh e being very poor an d withal ,

of a devilish pass i onate cruel and revengeful disposi

, ,

tion before used to wish Sh e had it in her power to do

,

such an d such m i schievous th i ngs to some that she

hated and that the Devil himself w h o it seems kn e w
, , , ,

her temper came to her on e night as she lay in h er

,

bed and w a s between sleeping and waking and speak

, ,

ing in a deep hollow vo i ce told her if sh e would , ,

serve him in some things he would employ her to do ,

sh e should have her will of all her enemies a nd S hould ,

want for nothing : that sh e was much a fra i d at rst ,

but that he soliciting her very Often bade her not be ,

afraid of him and st i ll urged her to yield and as sh e

, , ,

says struck his claw into her han d and though it did
, ,

n ot hurt her made it bleed and with the blood wrote

, ,

the coven ants that i s to say the bargain betwee n

, ,

them Be i ng a sked what w a s i n them and whether b e

.
,

required her to curse or deny God or Christ she ,

said N O
,
.

N B I do not nd sh e told them whether the

. .

Dev i l wrote it with a p en or whether on paper or ,

parchment nor whether sh e s i gned it or no but , ,

it seems he carried it away with him I suppose , .

 T HE MODER N

if Satan s register were examine d it might b e ,

found among the archives of hell the rolls of his ,

a c ta u bli ca and when his historiographer royal

p
publishes them we may look for it among them
, .

Then he furnished her with three devils to wait ,

u pon her
( I suppose ) for sh e confessed they were to be
employed in her service ; they attended in the shapes
of two little dogs and a mole The rst sh e bewitched.

w a s her ow n husband by which he la y awhile in

,

great misery and died ; then sh e sent to on e captain

Beal and burnt a n ew ship of his j ust built which
, ,

h a d n ever been at sea ; these and many other horrid ,

things sh e did and confessed and having been twenty ,

years a witch at last the Devil left her and sh e was

, ,

b urnt as sh e deserved .

That some extraor dinary occasions may bring these

agents of the De v il nay sometimes the Devil himself
, , ,

to assum e h u m an S hapes an d appear to other people , ,

w e cannot doubt ; he did thus in the case of o u r

Saviour as a tempter an d some think he did so to
,

Manasses as a familiar who the Scripture charges with

,

sorcery and having a familiar or devil F ame tell s u s

, .

that St Dunstan frequently conversed with him and

.
,

nally took him by the n ose and so of others

,
.

But in these modern ages of the world he nds it ,

much more to his p urpose to work under ground as I ,

have observed and to keep upon the reserve so that

,

we have n o authentic account of his personal appear

ance but what are very ancient or very remote from
,

o u r faith as well as o u r in quiry

,
.

It seems to be a question that would h ea r some de

bating whether all apparitions are not dev i ls or fro m
, ,

the Dev i l ; but there being so many of those appari

t i ons which w e call spirits which really assume shapes
,

and make appearances in the world upon such a o ,

counts as we know Satan himself scorns to be employed

in that I must dismiss the question in favou r of the
,
328 T HE MODER N
he has no hand in it ; if it comes of a wicked and de
v ilish errand you may e en take him up upon su S i

, p
cion tis ten to on e but you nd him at the bottom
,

of it.

Next to apparitions we nd mankind disturbed by ,

abundance of litt l e Odd reserved ways whic h the Devil

is shrewdly suspected of having a hand in such a s
.
,

dr eams nois e s voices &c smel ls of brimstone cand l es

, , , .
, ,

b u rning blue and the like

, .

As to dreams I have nothing to say in Satan s p r e
,

j udice at all there I make no queston but he deals very

much in that kind of intelligence and why should he o n t ?
,

We know H eaven itself formerl y conversed very often

with the greatest of men by the same m ethod and the ,

Devi l is known to mimic the methods as well as th e ,

actio ns of his Maker ; whether H eaven has not quite

,

l eft o that w ay of working we ar e n ot ce rtain ; but ,

w e pretty wel l know the Devil has n ot left it and I ,

bel ieve some instances may be given whe r e his worship

has been really seen and talk e d to in s l eep as much as ,

i f the person had been awake with his eyes open .

These are to be distinguish ed too pretty much by ,

the goodness or badness of the subj ect ; h ow o ften

have men committed murder robbery and adulte ry in , ,

a dream and at the same time except an extraordinary

,

agitation of the soul and exp r essed by extraordinary

,

n oises in the Slee b violent sweating and other such

'

p y , ,

ways the head has n ever been removed from the

,

pillow or the body so much as turned in the bed

,
.

Whether in such cases the soul with all the passions , ,

and affections being agitated and gi v ing their full

, ,

assent to the facts of whatever kind soever the man

, ,

is n ot as guil ty as if the sins so dreamed of his com

mitting had been actually committed ; though it be
,

n o doubt to me but that it is so yet as it is foreign to

, ,

th e present a ffair an d n ot at all relating to the Devil s
,

history I leave it to the reverend doctors of the ch u r ch

, ,

as properly belo n ging to th e m to decide .

 H IS T O RY OF T HE D EV IL . 3 29

I kn ew a person wh o the Devil so haunted with

naked women ne beautifu l ladies i n bed with him
, ,

and ladies of his acqua i ntance too o ff ering their favours ,

to him and all in his sleep so that he seldom slept

, ,

without some such enterta i n m ent ; the particulars are

too gross for my story but he gave me several long a o
,

counts of his nights a mours and being a man of a

vir tuous l i fe an d good morals it was the greatest su r ,

prise to him imaginable ; for you cannot doubt but

that the cunning Devil made everything he acted to
the life with him and in a manner the most wicked ;
,

he owned with grief to me that the very rst attack .

the Devil made upon him w a s with a v ery beautiful ,

lady of his acquaintance who he had been really some ,

thing freer than ordinary with in their common con

versation This la dy he brought to him in a posture
.

for wickedness and wrough t up h i s inclination so high

,

in his s l eep that he as he thought actually went about

, , ,

to debauch her sh e n ot at all resisting ; but that he

,

waked in the very moment to his particul ar satis ,

faction .

H e w a s gr eatly concerned a t this part namely that , ,

he really gave the consent of his will to the fact an d ,

wanted to kn o w if he was not as guilty of adultery as

if he had lain with her ; indeed h e decided the ques
tion against himself so forci bly that I who was of the , ,

same Opinion before had nothing to say a gain st it ;

,

however I conrmed him in it by aski n g him these

, ,

question s

1 . Whether he did n ot think the Devil had the chief

hand in such a dream ? H e answered it could cer ,

t a in ly be nobody else it must be the Devil , .

2 . I then asked him what reason the Dev i l cou l d

have for it if h i s consent to the fact in sleep had
,

n ot bee n criminal ? That s tr u e indeed says he

, ,

I am answered But then he a sked another

.

question which I confess i s n ot so easy to an

, , ,
'
3 30 T HE MODER N
swer name ly how he should p r e v ent being se rv ed
, ,

so again ?

N or could all my divinity or his own keep the Devil

from attacking him again ; on the other hand as I ,

have said he worried him to that degree that he in

, ,

j ured his health bringing naked women

, to him some ,

ti m es on e sometimes an other sometimes in on e pos

, ,

t ure of lewdness sometimes in another sometimes into

, ,

his very arms sometimes with such addition s as I am

,

not merry enough and sometimes such as I am not ,

wicked enough to put into your heads ; the man i n ,

deed could n ot help it and so the Devi l w a s m ore

, ,

fa u lty than he ; but as I hinted to him he m i ght bring ,

his mind to such a stated habit of virtue as to prevent ,

its assenting to any wicked m otion even in sleep and , ,

that would be the way to pu t an end to the attempt ;

and this advice he relished very well and practised I , ,

b elieve with success

,
.

By this same method the same devil inj ects power ,

f u l incentives to other crimes provokes avarice by ,

laying a great quantity of gold in your View and no ,

body present giving you an Opportun ity to steal it or

, ,

some of it at the same time perhaps kn owing your

, , ,

circumstances to be such as that yo u are at that tim e

in a great want of the money .

I kne w another who bei n g a tradesman an d in

'

, , ,

great distress for money in his busin ess dreamed that ,

he w a s walking all alone in a great wood and that he ,

met a l ittle child with a bag of gold in its hand an d a ,

n e necklace of diamonds on its n eck ; upon the sight ,

his wants presently dictated to him to rob the child ;

the littl e innocent creature ( j ust so he dreame d ) n ot , ,

being able to resist or to tell w h o it w a s ; accordingly

, ,

h e c on sented to take the money from the child and

then to take the diamond necklace from it too and ,

did so .

But the Devil ( a ful l testimony as I told him that

, , ,
 3 32 T HE MOD ER N
l a dv a n ta ges
the Devil has over mankind ; the rst I ,

s uppose you all know viz

, the treachery of the garri , .
,

son within ; by dreams he may be said to get into the

inside of us witho u t opposit i on ; here he opens an d
l ocks without a key and like an enemy laying s i ege to
,

a fortied city reason and nature the governor of the

, ,

city keep h im o u t by day an d keep the garrison tru e

, ,

to their duty ; b u t in the dark he gets in and parleys

with the g a rrison ( the a ffections and passions ) de
, ,

bauches their loyalty stirring up them to disloy alty ,

a n d rebellion so they betray their trust revo l t mutiny

, , , ,

and go over to the b esieger .

Thus he m a nages his i nterest I say and insinuates , ,

himself I nto the inside of u s without ou r consent nay , , ,

without o ur knowledge ; for whatever specu l ation may

do it is evident demonstration does n ot assist u s to
,

discover which way he gets access to the soul while ,

the organ tied u p and dozed wit h sleep has l ocked it

, ,

up from action ; that it is so is clear but how he does

.
,

it i s a s ecret which I do n ot nd the ancients or

moderns have yet made a discovery of .

That devi l of a creature mother L ak la n d whose , ,

story I mentioned above acknowle dged that the rs t ,

time the De v il attempted to draw he r in to be a witch

w a s in a dream and even when sh e consented she
, ,

said she w a s between sleeping and waking ; that is

, ,

she d i d not know whether she was awake or asleep ,

an d the cunn ing devil it seems was satised with her

a ssent given so when sh e w a s asleep or n either asleep
, ,

o r awake so taking advantage of her incapacity to act

,

rational ly .

The sto r ies of her bewitching several people an d ,

the mann er in which they died are so form i dable an d ,

extravagant that I care not to put any one s faith to
,

the stretch about them though published by authority , ,

a n d testied by abundance of witnesses ; but this is re

c orded in particular and to my p urpose whether from , ,

he r own mouth or not I do n ot say nam ely th e d e , , ,

 H I STORY O F T HE D EV IL . 3 33

scription of a witch a n d the di ff erence between

,

witches and those other of Satan s acquaintance w h o
a ct in h is name .

I . They have consu l ted and coven anted with a S pirit

or devil .

2 . They have a deputy devil sometimes several to , ,

serve and assist them .

3 . These they employ as they please call them by ,

name and command their appearance in whatever

,

shape they think t .

4 . They sen d them abroad to or into the persons ,

who they design to b ew itch w h o they always tor ,

ment and often murder them as mother Lak lan d

, ,

did several .

As to the di ff erence between the several devils

that a ppear it relates to the oi ce of the persons
,

who employ them ; as conj urers who seem to c om ,

mand the particular dev i l that waits u pon them

with more authority and raise them an d lay them
,

at pleasure drawing circles casting gures and the

, , ,

like ; but the witch in a more famil i ar m anner wh is

, ,

pers with the Devil keeps the Devil in a b ag or a s a ck

, ,

sometimes in her pocket and the like and like Mr , , .

F aux Shows tricks with h i m .

But all these kinds deal m uch in dreams talk with ,

the Devi l in their sleep and make other people talk

,

with him in their sleep too ; an d it i s on this occasion I

mention it here in short the Devil may well take this
,

opportunity with mankind for n ot half the world that ,

came into his measures would comply if they were

awake but of that hereafter .

An d yet his thus insinuating h i mself by dre am does ,

no t seem su fcient in my Opin i on to answer th e Devil s

, ,

end and to carry on h i s bus i ness ; and therefore w e

,

must be forced to allow him a kind of actual possess i on ,

in pa rticular cases and that in the souls of some people

,
3 34 T HE M O D ER N
by di ff erent methods from others L uthe r is of the .

Opinion that the Devi l gets a famil iarity with some

souls j ust at or rather before their being embodied ;
, ,

as to the manner and method how he gets in that is ,

another question an d may be spoken of by itself ; b e

,

sides why may not H e that at Satan s request to enter
, ,

into the herd of swine said G o give the same com , ,

mission to possess a sort of creatures so many degrees

below the dignity of the G a da ren ian swine and Open ,

the door too ? But as for that when our L ord said G o , ,

the Devil n ever inquired which way he should get in .

When I see nations or indeed herds of nations set , ,

o n re of hell and as I may say inamed by the

, ,

Devil ; when I see towns par ties factions and rabbles , ,

o f people visibly possessed ; it is enough to me that

the great Master of the devils has sa i d to him G o ,

there is n o need to inquire which way he nds open ,

or at what poster n gate he gets in ; as to his appear

ing it is plain he often gets i n without appearing and

, ,

therefore the question about his appearing still remain s

a do ubt and is n ot very easy to be resolved
,
.

In the Scripture we have some light into it and ,

that is all the help I nd from ant i quity a n d it goes a ,

great way to solve th e phenomen a of Satan s appear
i ng ; what I mea n by the Scripture giving some light
to it is this it is said in several places and of several
, ,

persons G od came to them in a dream ; Gen xx 3

,
. .
,

G od c a m e to A bim elech i n a dr ea m by n igh t Gen . .

xxxi 2 4 An d G od c a me to L a ba n th e Syri a n i n a
.
,

dr ea m Matt ii 1 3
. T h e a ng el of th e L o r d app ea r ed
. .
,

to Joseph i n a dr ea m short comments are su f cient

to plain texts applying this to my friend when he
,

wanted to be satised about the h ow relating to his ,

dream v i z how he should come to dream such w i cked

,
.
,

thin gs ? I told him in short the case w a s plain the

, , ,

Dev i l came to him i n a dream by night How and i n .

what manner he formed the w i cked representations ,

and spread debau ched appearances before h i s fancy by , .
3 36 T HE MOD ERN
w e h ad been eating ) the fol l owing interl ude h appen e d
,

for ou r entertainment when the cloth was taken away ,

two large candles were brought upon the table and

p l aced there with some bottles and glasses for the
,

gentl emen wh o it seems were intendi n g to drink an d

, , ,

be ve ry merry ; two large wax candles were also set

o n another table the ladies being going to cards ; also
,

the r e were two large candl es i n sconces over or n ear

the chimney a n d on e more in a looking glass sconce
,
-

o n a pier by the window .

With all this apparatus the compan y separating , , ,

sa t down the gentlemen at their table a n d the ladies

, ,

at theirs to play as a b ove ; when after some time the

, , ,

gentleman of the house said hastily to a se r vant What ,

a p ails the candl es ; and tu r ning to the se r va nt , ,

raps ou t an oath or two a n d bids him snu ff the can ,

dles for they burned as if the Devi l was in the room

, .

The fel l ow going to sn u one of the c andles snu ff s ,

it ou t at which his maste r being in a passio n the

, ,

fe ll ow l ights it agai n immediately at the other c a ndle ,

an d then being in a l ittle hurry going to snuff the

, ,

other candle snu ffed that ou t too

,
.

The rst candl e that was relighted ( as is u sual in

such cases ) burned dim an d dull for a good while and ,

the other being ou t the room was muc h darker than ,

before and a wench that stood by the ladies table
, ,

bawls ou t to her mistress L aw madam ! the can dles , ,

burn blue An old lady that sa t by says Ay Betty ! so , ,

they do : upon this on e of the ladies starts up Merc y ,

upon u s says she what is the matter ? In this unlucky

, ,

moment another se rvant without orders went to the , ,

gr eat pier sconce an d because as he thought he , , ,

wo u ld be sure to snu ff the can dle well h e Off ers to ,

tak e it down but very unhappily I say the hook

, , , ,

came ou t down fal ls th e sconce candle and all

, , ,

and the looking glass broke all to pieces with a h or

-
,

ribl e noise ; however the cand l e fa lling ou t of the ,

s conce did n ot o ou t but lay on the fl oo r bu r ni n g

g .
,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV I L . 337

du l ly and as it is usual on such cases al l on on e side

, , , .

Betty cries out again L aw madam that candle burn s , , ,

blue too The very moment Sh e said this the footman

.
, ,

that had thrown down the sconce says to h is fellow ,

servant that came to his assistance I think the Devi l ,

i s in the candles to night and away he run ou t of the -

,

r oom for fear Of his master .

The old lady who u pon the maid Betty s notion , ,

of the candles burning blue had her head j ust full of ,

that old chimney corner story the candles burn blue -
,

when spirits are in the room heard the footman say ,

the word devil but heard nothing else of what he said ;

,

upon this sh e rises u p in a terrible fright and cries ou t ,

that the footman sa i d the Devil w a s in the room ; as

she was indeed frightened ou t of her wits sh e fright
, , ,

ened the la dies most terribly and they all start i ng up ,

together down goes the card table and put the wax
, ,

candles ou t .

Mrs Betty that had frightened them all runs to the

.
, ,

sconce next the chimney but that having a long snu ff , ,

sh e cried ou t it burnt blue too and sh e durst n ot ,

touch it ; in S hort though there were three candles ,

left still burning in the room yet the ladies were all so ,

f rightened that they and the maids too run ou t of the

,

parlour screaming like mad folks The master in a .

r a ge kicked his rst man ou t of the room and the ,

second man w a s run ou t to avoid as I said before the , ,

like S O that n o servant was to be had but all was in

, ,

confusion .

The two other gentlemen who were S itting at the ,

rst table kept their seats composed and easy enough

, , ,

only concerned to see all the house in such a fright ;

it w a s true they said the candles burnt dim and very
, , ,

od dl y but they could not perceive they burnt blue

, ,

except on e of t h ose over the chimney and that on the ,

table which was rel i ghted after the fello w had sn u ed

,

i t out .

H oweve r the maid the ol d lady and the footma n

, , ,

H D . . z
3 38 T HE MODER N
that pu ll ed down the sconce all insist that the candles,

burnt blue and all pretend that the Devil w a s cer

,

t a inly in the room and was the occasion of it ; and

,

they n ow came to me with the story to desire my Opi ,

nion of it .

This put m e upon inquiry into th e notion of can

dles burning blue when S pirits are in a room which , ,

u pon all the search into things that I a m able to ,

make amounts to n o more than this ; that upon any

,

extraord i nary emission of sulphuro u s or of nitrous par

ti cles either in a close room or in any n ot very Open
, ,

place if the quantity be great a can dle or lamp or

, , ,

a n y su ch little blaze o f re will seem to be or t o burn

, ,

blue ; an d if then they can prove that any such ei u

via attends or is emitted from a S pirit then when
, ,
.

Sat a n is at hand it may be so

, .

But then it i s begging the question grossly b e

, ,

cause no m a n can a ssure u s that the Devil has any

such sulphurous particles about him .

It is true the candles burn thus in min es an d va u lts

, ,

and damp places an d it is a s true that they w i ll do so

upon occasion of very damp stormy and moist air , , ,

when an extraord i nary quantity of vapours are su p

posed to b e dispersed abroad as w a s the case when ,

this happened ; and if there w a s anything of that in it

on that Monday night the candles m i ght perhaps
, , ,

burn blue upon that occasion ; but that the Dev il w a s

abroad upon any extraord i nary business that n ight ,

that I cannot grant unless I have some better test i

,

mony than the Old lady that heard the footman s out

cry but by halves or than Mrs Betty who rst fan

, .
,

c ied the candles burnt blue ; so I must suspend my

j u dgment till I hear further .

This story however may solve a great many of those

, ,

things which pass for apparition s in the world and ,

which are laid to the Devil s charge though h e really

,

may know nothing of th e m atter and th i s would bring .

me to defend Satan in ma ny things wherein he may truly

340 T HE MOD ER N
ca ll him this way an d send h im that as they pl ease , ,

raise him an d lay him when a n d h ow and as often as

, , ,

they nd for their purpose ; I say whatever boasts they ,

make of this kin d they rea lly have n othing of truth in

,

them .

N ow the inj uries and inj ustice done to the Devil in

these cases are manifest namely that they entitl e the ,

Devil to all the mischief they are pleased to do in the

world an d if they commit a murder or a robbery re ,

a hou se or do any act of violence in the world they

, ,

presently are said to do it by the agency of the Devil ,

and the Devil hel ps them ; so Satan bears the reproach ,

and they h ave all the guilt This is 1 a grand cheat .

, ,

u pon the world an d 2 a n otorious slander u pon the

, ,

Devi l ; and it would be a public benet to mankind to

have such would b e devils a s these turned inside ou t
-
,

that we migh t kn ow when the Dev il w a s really at

work among u s an d when n ot ; what mischiefs were
,

of his doing and which were not ; an d that these fe l

,

lows might n ot slip their n ecks ou t of the halter by

continually l aying the blame of their wickedness u pon
the Devil .

Not that the Devil i s n ot very willi n g to have his

han d in a ny mischief or in all the mischief that is don e
,

i n the world but there are som e low prized rogueries -

that are too little for him beneath th e dignity of his ,

operation and which it i s really a scandal to the Devil

,

to charge upon him I remember the Devil had such

.

a cheat put upon him in E ast S m ith eld once where ,

a person pretended to converse with the Devil face to

face and that in open day too an d to cause him to
, , ,

tell fortunes foretell good and evil &c discover stol en

, , .
,

goods tell where they were who stole them and how
, ,

to nd them a gain nay and even to n d ou t the

, ,

thieves ; but Satan was really slandered in the case ,

the fellow h a d no more to do with the Devil than other

people and perhaps not so much neither this was on e
,

of those they called cunning men or at least he en , , ,
 H ISTORY or T HE D EV IL . 34 1

dea v ou red to pass for such a but it was all

'

on e ; a

cheat .

Besides what had the Devi l to do to detect thieves

,

and restore stolen goods ? Thieving and robbing ,

trick and cheat are part of the craft of his agency an d

, ,

of the employ m ents which it is his business to en cou

rage : they greatly mistake him who think he wil l as ,

sist anybody in suppressing and detecting such laudable

arts and such dil i gent servants .

I will not say b u t the Devil to draw these peopl e

, ,

w e call cunning men into a snare and to push on his ,

fu rther des i gns may encourage them privately and in

, ,

a man ner t h at they themselves kno w nothing of to ,

make use of his name and ab u se the world about him ;

,

till at last they may really believe that they do deal

with th e Devil when indeed it is only he deals with
, , ,

them and they kno w n othing of the matter

,
.

In other cases he may encourage them i n these l ittle

frauds and cheats and gi v e them leave as above to
, , ,

make use of his name to b ring them after w ards and

, ,

by degrees to have a real acquaintance with him ; so

,

bring i ng the j est of their trade into earnest till at , ,

length prompting them to commit some great villany

, ,

he secures the m to be his ow n by their very fear of h i s

l eaving them to be exposed to the world thus he puts
a Jonathan Wild upo n them an d makes them be the ,

very wretches they only pretended to be before so old

P arson s of C lithroe as fame tells was t w enty v e years
, ,
-

a c u nning man and t w enty two years a witch ; that is

,
-

to say for v e a nd twenty years he was only pretend

,
- -

ing to deal with the Devil when Satan and he had no ,

manner of acquaintance a nd he only put his legerde

,

main upon the people in the Devil s na m e without his

,

l eave ; but at length the Devil s patience being tired
, ,

quite ou t he told the old co u nterfeit that in short he

, , ,

had been his stalking horse long enough and that n ow

-
, ,

if he thought t to enter himself and take a commis

sion well and good and he should have a leas e to
, ,
 342 T HE M OD ER N

carry on his trade for so many y ears more to h is ,

heart s content but if not he would expose his ,

knavery to the world for that he should tak e away his ,

people s trade n o longer but that he ( Satan ) would set

,

up another in his room that should make a mere fool Of

him and carry away all his customers
,
.

Upon this the old man considered of it took th e ,

Devil s counsel and l isted in his pay ; so he that had
, ,

pl ayed his pranks twenty v e years as a co nj urer when -

he was no conj urer was then forced really to deal with,

the Devil for fear the people should know he did not :
ti l l n ow he had a m bo dex ter cheated the Devil on ,

o n e hand an d the people on the other ; but the

,

Devil gained his point at last and so h e w a s a rea l ,

wizard ever after .

But th i s is n ot the on l y way the Devil is inj ured

n either for we have often foun d people pretend u pon
,

him in other cases and of n earer con cern to him a ,

great deal an d in a rticles more weighty ; as in parti

, ,

c u la r in the great busin ess of possession

,
It i s true .
,

this point is not thoroughly understood among m en ,

n either has the Devil thought t to g ive us thos e illu

m in a ti on s about it as I believe he m i ght do ; partic a
, , ,

larly that great and important article is n ot for aught ,

I can see rightly explained namely whether there are

, , ,

n ot two several kinds of possession ; viz some wherein .

,

the Devil possesses us an d some in which w e really ,

possess the Devil ; the nicety of which I doubt this , ,

age with all its penetration is n ot qualied to ex

, ,

plain ; and a dissertation upon it being too long for

this work especially so near its conclusion I am
, ,

obliged to om i t as I am also all the pract i cal discourses

,

upon the usefulness and advantages of real possession ,

whether considered on e way or other to mankind all ,

which I must leave to hereafter .

But to come back to the point in hand and to con ,

sider the inj ustice done to the Dev i l in the various ,

turn s and tricks which men put upon him very often
34 4 T HE MOD ER N
the murdering part so fa r that when they confess e d ,

themselves to be witches and possessed and that they

, ,

had correspon dence with the Devil Satan n ot appear ,

ing to vouch for them n o j ury would condemn them

,

u pon their own evidence and they could n ot get them

,

selves hanged whate v er pains they took to bring it to

,

a ss
p .

Thus you see the Devil may be wronged and fal sel y ,

a ccused i n many particulars an d Often has been so ; ,

there are likewise some othe r sorts of counterf eit devils

in the world such as gipseys fortun e tellers foretellers
, ,
-
,

of good and bad l uck sellers of winds raisers of

, ,

storms an d many more some practised among u s

, , ,

some in foreign parts too many almost to reckon up ;

,

n ay I almost doubt whethe r the Devil himself knows

,

a ll the so rts of them ; for it is evident h e has l ittle or

n othing to do with them I mean not in the way of ,

their craft .

These I take to be interl opers or with the Guine a , ,

merchants l eave separate traders and who act u nder
, ,

the screen and protection of Satan s power but without ,

his licen se or authority ; n o doubt these carry away a

great deal of his trade that is to say the trade which
, ,

otherwise th e Devil might have carried on by age n ts

of his own ; I cannot but sa y that while these peop l e ,

would fain be though t devils though they really are ,

n ot it is but j ust they shoul d be real l y m ade as much

,

devils as they pretended to be or that Satan shoul d ,

do himself j ust i ce upon them as he threatened to do ,

upon old P arsons of Clith roe abo ve mentioned and ,

let the wo rl d know them .

 H ISTOR Y OF T HE D EV IL . 34 5

C H AP XI . .

Of div ina tion, sorc ery, th e b la ck a rt, p a w a w ing, a n d

su ch lik e p reten ders to dev lis m, a n d h ow f a r th e
i
D ev i l i s o r is n ot c on cer n ed i n th em .

TH O U G H I am writing the history of the Devil I have ,

n ot undertaken to do the like of all the kinds of peo

p l e male or female w h o set up for devils in th e world
, ,

this would be a task for the Dev i l indeed and t only ,

for him to undertake for their number is an d has been

,

prodigious great and may with his other legions be

, , ,

ranked among the innumerable .

What a world do we inhab i t ! where there is n ot

only with us a great roaring lion devi l daily seeking -

whom of us he may devour and innumerable m i llions ,

of lesser devils hover i ng in the whole atmosphere over

us nay and for aught we kno w other million s always

, , ,

invisibly mo v ing about us and perhaps in us or at , ,

l east in many of us ; but that have besides all these a , ,

vast many counterfeit hocus pocus devils ; human -

devils w h o are visible among u s of our ow n species

, ,

and fraternity convers i ng w i th us upon all occasions ;

,

who like mountebanks set up their stages i n every

, ,

town chat with us at every tea table converse w i th

,
-
,

us in every co ffee house and impudently tell us to ou r

-
,

f aces that they are devils boast of it and u se a thou , ,

sand tricks and arts to make us bel ieve it too and that ,

too often with success .

P It must h e confessed there 1 s a strong propensity in

!

man s nature espec i ally the more ignorant part of

,

mankind to resolve every strange thing o r whether

, ,

r eal ly strange or no if it be but strange to u s into

, ,
3 46 T HE MODER N
devilism and to say everythi n g is the Devi l that they
, ,

can give n o account of .

Thus the famous doctors of th e faculty at Paris ,

when John F a u stu s brought the rst printed books

that had then been s e en in the world or at l east seen ,

there into the city and sold them for m an uscripts :

, ,

they were surprised at the performance and question ed ,

F austus about it ; but he a frming they were man u

scripts and that he kept a great many clerks employed
,

t o write them they were satised for awhile

,
.

But looking fu rther into the work they observed the ,

exact agreement of every book one with another th at , ,

every line stood in the same place every page a l ike ,

number of lines every line a like number of words ; if

,

a word w a s mis spelt in on e it was mis spelt also in all

-
,
-
,

nay th at if there w a s a bl ot in on e it was alike in al l ;

, ,

they began again to muse h ow this should be ; in a ,

word the learned divines not being able to compre

,

hend the thing ( and that was always su f cient ) con

, ,

c luded it must be the Devil that it was done by magic ,

and witchcraft and that in short poor F austus ( who

, , ,

was indeed nothing but a mere printer ) dealt with the ,

Dev i l .

N B John F a n stus was servant or j ourneyman or

. .
, ,

com p ositor or what you p lease to call it to K oster

, ,

of H arlem the rst inventor of printing an d

, ,

having p rinted the P salter sold them at Paris a s ,

manuscripts ; because as such they yie l ded a bet

ter price .

But the learn ed doctors n ot being able to under

stand h ow the work w a s performed concluded as above ,

it was all the Devil and that the man was a witch ; ,

acc ordingly they took him up for a magician a n d a

conj urer and on e that worked by the black art that is
,
.

to say by the hel p of the Devi l ; and in a word they

, , ,

thr eatened to hang him for a witch a n d in order to , ,

348 T HE MOD ER N
interpret dreams fo r etell events &c and that use eu i
, ,
.
,
-

c h a ntm en ts and sorceries by all which we understand ,

the same thing ; which now in a more Vulgar w ay w e , ,

e xpress by on e general coarse expression dealing ,

with the Devil .

The Scripture speaks of a spirit of divination Acts ,

xv i 1 6 and a wenc h that was possessed by this spirit

.
,

b rough t h er m a ster m u ch g a in by sou th sa ying that i s ,

to s ay according to the learned by oracling or answer

, ,

ing questions whence you will see in the margin that ,

th i s southsaying devil is there called Python that is , ,

Apollo w h o is often called Python and who at the orac l e

, ,

of Delp h os gave out such answers and dou ble en ten dr es ,

as this wenc h p ossibly did ; and hence all those spirits

which were called S pirits of divination were in anothe r ,

sen se called Pythons .

Now when the apostle St P aul came to see this .

c r eature this S pirit takes upon it to declare that th ose

,

m en meaning St P aul and Timotheus w er e th e ser

,
.
,

e m ost h i h G o d w h ich sh ew ed u n to th em
f
v a n ts o t h g ,

th e w a y of s a lv a tion ; this w a s a good turn of th e

Devil to p reserve his authority in the possessed girl ;
,

S he brought them gain by southsaying that is to say , ,

resolving di fcult questions answering doubts inter , ,

p reti n
g dreams 8 m Among th,
ese doubts he
. makes ,

her give test i mony to P aul and Timotheus to wheedle ,

in with the n e w C h ristians and p erhaps ( though very ,

ignorantly ) even with P au l an d Timotheus themselves ,

so to g ive a kind of credit and respect to her fo r

speaking .

But the Devil w h o n ever speaks truth but with

, ,

s ome sinister end was discovered here and detected ;

, ,

his atter i ng recognition n ot accepted and he himself ,

unkennel led as he deser v ed there the Devi l was ove r

sho t in his ow n b ow again .

H ere n ow w a s a real possession and the evil spirits ,

wh o possessed her did S toop to sun dry little ac ts of

,

servitude that we could giv e lit tle or no r eason for

, ,
 H ISTORY O F T HE D EVI L . 3 49

only that the girl s master might get m oney by her ;

but perhaps this was a particular case and prepared to ,

honour the authority and power the apostles had over

evil S pirits .

But we nd these things carried a great way furthe r

in many cases that is to say where the parties are
, ,

thus really possessed ; namely the Devil makes agents ,

of the possessed parties to do many th i ngs for the pro

a ga tin g his interest and kingdom and particularly for

p ,

the carryi n g on his dominion in the world : but I am

f or the present n ot so much u pon the real possession
as the pretended and particularly we have had m any
,

that have believed themselves possessed when the ,

Devil n ever believed it of them and perhaps knew ,

them better ; some of these are really poor devils to be

pitied and are what I call dia bles im a g in a ir e ; these
,

h a v e n otw ith sta n din g done the Devil goo d service and
, , ,

brought their masters good gain by southsayin g .

We nd possession s ackn owledged in Scr ip t u re to

be really and personal ly the Devil or according to the , ,

text legion s of devils in the plural The devil or

, , .
,

devils rather wh i ch possessed the man among the

, ,

tombs is posit i vely a frmed to be the Dev i l in the

,

Scripture all the evangelists agr ee in call i ng him so ,

a n d his very works show it ; namely the m ischief he ,

did as well to the poor creature amo n g the tombs

, ,

w h o was made so erce that he was the terror of all the

country as to the herd of swine and to th e country in
,

the loss of them .

I might preach you a lecture here of the Devil s

terror upon the approach of ou r Sav i our the dread of ,

his government and how he acknowledged that there

,

was a time for his torment wh i ch wa s not yet come,

A r t th ou com e to tor m en t u s be f o r e o u r ti m e It is
evident the De v il apprehended that Christ would chain
them u p before the day of j udgment ; an d therefore
some think the Devil here being as it were caught , , ,

ou t of his due bounds possessi n g the poor man in such

,
 3 50 T HE MODER N
a fu riou s manner was afraid and petitioned Christ not
, ,

to chain him up for it and as the text says Th ey besough t

, ,

h im to s af er th em to g o a w a y 30 that is to say whe n , ( .

,

they say Art thou come to torment us before the time ?

,

the meaning is they begged he would not cast them

,

into torment before the time which was already xed ,

but that if he would cast them o ut of the man he ,

would let them go away &c , .

The evangelist St L uke says Th e D ev il besough t

.
,

h im th a t h e w ou ld n ot comm a n d th em to g o ou t i n to
th e deep our learned annotators think that part is n ot
rightly rendered adding that they do not believe the ,

Devil fears drowning ; but with submission I believe ,

the meaning is that they would not be conned to th e

,

vast ocean where n o inhabitants being to be seen they

, , ,

would be e ffectually imprisoned and tied down from

doing mischief; which would be a hell to them As to .

their going into the swine that might a fford us some ,

all egory ; but I am not disposed to j est with the Scrip

ture no nor with the Devil n eithe r fu rther than needs
, , ,

must .

It is evident the Devil makes u se of very mean in

str u m en ts someti m es such as the damsel possessed
,

with a spirit of divination and several others ,

.

I remember a story h ow true I know n ot of a weak

, ,

creat u re next door to a n idiot who w a s established in ,

the country for an oracle an d would tell people strange ,

things that should be long before they came to pass

,

when people were S ick would tell them whether they ,

sho u ld live or die ; if people were married tell how ,

many children they Should have and a hundred such

things as lled the people with admiration and they
, ,

were the easier brought to believe that the girl was

possessed ; but then they were divided about her too ,

and that was the n est S pun thread the Devil co u ld

~

work for he carrried a great point in it ; som e said S he

,

had a good spirit and some a h a d some said S he was

, ,

a prophetess and some that sh e was the Devil

,
.
3 52 T HE MODER N
The magic l antern is an optic machin e by th e ,

means of which are represented on a wall in the dark , ,

many phantasm s and terrible a ppearances but n o devil ,

i n all this only that they are taken for the e ff ects of
,

magic by those that are n ot acquainted with the

,

secret .

All this is don e by the hel p of several little painted

pieces of glass only so and so S ituated placed in
, ,

certain opposition s to on e an other and painted with ,

di fferent gures the most formidable being placed

,

foremost and such as are most capable of terrifying

,

the spectators and by this all the gures may be re

presented upon th e opposite wall in the largest size , .

I cannot b u t take n otice that this very piece of ,

optic delusion seems too much akin to the m ock pos

session s and infernal accompl i shments which most of ,

the possessionists of this age pretend to so that they .

are most of them mere phantasms and appearances an d ,

n o more ; nor is the S pirit of divination th e magic , ,

the n ecromancing an d other arts which were called

,

diabolical found to be of any u se in modern practice

, ,

at least in these parts of the world ; but the Devil

,

seems to d o most of his work himself and by sho rter ,

methods ; for he has S O complete an inuence amo n g

those that he now lists in his service that he bri n gs all ,

the commo n a ffairs of mankind into a narrower com

pass in h is man a gement with a dexterity p a rticular to
,

himself and by which he carr i es on h is interest silently

,

and surely muc h more to the detriment of virtue and

,

good government and consequ ently much more to his

,

satisfaction than ever he did before

,
.

W ic m g sorc e_r
y , , or h a t glse
l

ou may please to call it u n k n ow o

y ,

u s is yet it seems still very much enco u r a ged by the

, , ,

Devil ; but this is a great way off a n d in countries ,

where the politer instruments w h i ch he nds here are , ,

n ot to be h a d ; n amely among th e Ind i a n s of North

,

Am erica ; this is called pawaw i ng and they have their ,

 H ISTORY OF T HE D EV IL . 353

divines which they call pawaws or witches who u se

, ,

strange gestures d i stortions horrid smokes burnings , , , ,

a n d scents and several such things which the sorcerers

,

and wit ches in ancient times are sai d to use in casting

n ativities in philtres and in determining or as they
, , ,

pretended directing the fate of persons by burn i ng

, , ,

s u ch and such herbs and roots suc h as hellebore , ,

wormwood storax dev ilwort mandrake nightshade

, , , , ,
!

a n d abundance more such which are called n oxious ,

plants or the product of noxious plants ; also melting

,

such and such minerals gums and poisonous things an d , , ,

by several hellish mutterings and marki n gs over them ,

the l i ke do these pawaws and the Devil is pleased it ,

seems ( o r is permitted ) to fall in w ith these things

, , ,

and as some people think a ppears often to them fo r ,

their assistance upon those occasions .

But be that as i t will he is eased of all that trouble ,

here ; he can pawaw here himself without their aid , ,

and having laid them all aside he negotiates much of ,

his business without ambassadors ; he is his ow n ple

n i oten tia ry for he nds man so easy to come at an d
p , ,

so easy when h e is c ome at that he stands in n o need ,

of secret emissaries or at least not so much as he used ,

to do .

Upon the whole as the world within the compass , ,

of a f ew past years is advanced in all kin ds of know ,

ledge and arts and every usefu l branch of what they

,

knew before improved and innumerable useful parts ,

of knowledge wh i ch were concealed before are dis

, ,

covered why should we think the Devil alon e should

,

stand at a stay has taken n o steps to his further a c

,

c om plish m en t and made n o useful discoveries i n his

,

w a y ? that he alon e S hould stand at a stay and be just ,

t h e same unimproved devil that he was before No ,

n o as the world is improved every day and every age

, ,

is grown wiser and wiser than their fathers ; so n o ,

doubt he has bestirred himself too in order to a n ih

, ,

crease of knowledge and disco v ery and that he nds ,

H D
. . A a
3 54 T HE MOD ER N
e very day a n eare r way to go to work with m ankind
than he had before .

Besides as men in general seem to have altered

,

their mann er and that they move in a higher an d

,

m ore exalted sphere especially as to Vice and Virtue , ,

S O the Devil m ay have been obliged to cha n ge his

measures and alter his way of working ; particularly

, ,

t hose things which would take i n former times a n d ,

which a stupid age would com e easily into won t go ,

down with us n ow as the taste of vice and virtu e .

alters the Devil is forced to bait his hook with n ew

,

compositions ; the very thing called temptation i s

altered in its n ature and that which served to delude ,

o u r ancestors whose gross conceptions of things caused

,

them to be manageable with less art will n ot do now ; ,

the case is quite altered in so m e things perhaps as I , ,

hinted above we com e into crime with ease and may

, ,

b e led by a nger ; but when we come to a more re

ned way of sinning which o u r ancestors n ever under ,

stood other an d more rened politics must be made

,

u se of and the Devil has been put u pon many usefu l

,

proj ects and inventions to make many n ew discoveries ,

and experiments to carry on his a ff airs ; and to S peak ,

impartially he is strangely improved either in know

,

ledge or experiment w i th i n th e se f ew years ; he has ,

found ou t a great many n ew in v entions to shorten his

ow n labour and carry on his business in the worl d
,

currently wh i ch he never was master of before or at

, ,

least we never knew he was .

No wonder th en that he has changed hands too a n d ,

that he has le ft off pawawi n g in these parts of the

worl d that we don t nd o u r ho u ses disturbed as they
used to be and the stools and chairs walking about
,

out of on e room into another as formerly ; that ,

chil dren don t vomit crooked pins and rusty stub n ails
, ,

as of old the air is not full of noises n or the church

, ,

ard fu ll of hobgobl i ns ; ghosts don t wal k about in
y
winding She e ts a nd the good old scol ding wives Visit
-
,
3 56 THE MODER N
th e m e thod an d as I ha v e heard began to p r actise it
, , ,

towards the c l ose of the R oman empire when m en ,

b eg an to act upo n very polite princip l es and were ca ,

pah l e of the most ren ed wickedness an d afterwards ,

with some popes who likewise were a kin d of church

,

devi l s such as Satan himself could hardly expect to

,

nd in the worl d ; yet I do n ot nd that he w a s ever

able to brin g it into practice at least not so uni v ersal ly
,

a s he does n ow But now the case is altered and men

.
,

being general ly more expert in wickedn ess than they

were formerly they s uff er the smaller al teration of
,

the species in being transmigrated ; i n a word they

, ,

turn into devils with n o trouble at all har dly either to ,

the De v il or to themse l ves .

This particul ar would want much the less expl ana

tion could I obtain a license from sir H ellebore
,

Wormwood bart or from my lord Thwartover baro n

,
.
, ,

of Scoundrel H all in the kingdom of Ireland to write

, ,

th e true hi story of thei r ow n conduct ; and h ow early ,

an d above all h ow easily they commenced devils with

, ,

o u t the l eas t impeachment of their characters as wise

men and without any diminution of that part of their

,

denomination whic h established them for fools .

How many mad fellows appea r among u s every day

in the critical j uncture of their transmig r ation j ust ,

when they have S O much of the man left as to b e

known by their names and enough of the Devi l take n
,

up to settle their characters ! This easin e ss of th e

Devil s access to these peop l e and the great c onv en i

,

ence it is to him in his general busin ess is a proof to ,

m e that he has n o more occasion of diviners magician s , ,

sorcerers and whatever else we please to call those

,

p e ople who we r e former ly so great with him ; for what

occasio n h as h e to employ devils an d wizards to con
found mankind when h e is arrived to such a perfec
,

tion of a rt as to bring men at l east in these pa rts of

,

the world to do it all themsel ves Upon this account

, , ,

w e do not n d an y of th e old so r c e r er s and diviners,

 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 35 7i
magicians or witches appear a mong us ; n ot that the
,

Dev i l might n ot be as well able to employ such people as

f ormerly and qualify them for the employment too
, ,

but that really there is no need of them hereabout the ,

Devil having a sho rter way and m ankind being much ,

more easily possessed ; not the old herd of swine were

sooner agitate d though there was full two thousand of
,

them together ; nature has opened the door and the ,

Devil has egress and regress at pleasure so that ,

witches and diviners are quite ou t of the question .

Nor let an y man be alarmed at this alteration in

th e case as it stands between mankind an d the Devil
, ,

and think the Devil having gained so much ground ,

may in time by encroachment come to a g eneral pos

, ,

session of the whole r a ce and so we Should all come to

,

be devils incarnate I say let u s not be alarmed fo r

.
, ,

Satan does not get these advantages by encroachment ,

and by his infernal p ower or art ; no n ot at all ; but ,

it is the man himself does it by his indolence and neg

ligen ce on on e h a nd and his complaisance to the Devi l
,

o n the other ; and both ways he as it were opens the , ,

door to him beckon s him with his very hand to come

,

in and the Devil has n othing to do but ente r and

,

take possession N ow if it be so and man is so

.
,

frank to him you know the Devil is n o foo l n ot to

,

take the advantage when it is o ffered him and there

.
,

fore it is no wonder if the consequences which I ha v e

been j ust n ow naming follow .

But let no man be discouraged by this from reas ,

su m in his n atural and rel i gious powers and venturing

g ,

to Shut th e Dev il ou t ; for the case is plain he may be

S hut o u t ; the soul is a strong castle and has a good ,

garrison placed within to defend i t ; if the garrison b e

have well and do their duty it is impregnable and
, , ,

the cowardly Dev i l must raise h i s siege a n d be gone ;

nay he must y or as w e call it make his escape
, , , , ,

lest he be laid by the heels that is lest his weakness , ,

b e expos e d and all his lurking lying in wait ambus

, , , .
3 58 T HE MOD ER N
cade tricks This pa r t would bea r a gr eat enlargement
-
.
,

b ut I have not room to be witty upon him so you ,

must take it in the gross the Devi l lies at Blye Bush ,

as o u r country people call it to watch you coming ou t ,

of your hold ; and if yo u happen to go abroad n u

a r med he seizes upon and masters you with ease

, .

Unarmed ; you ll say what arms should I take ? ,

what fence against a ail ? what weapons ca n a man

take to ght the Devil ? I co u ld tell you what to ght
him with and what you might fright him with for the
, ,

Devil is to be frightened with several things besides

holy water ; but it i s too serious for you and you will tell ,

m e I a m a preaching and a canting and the like ; so I ,

m u st let the Devil manage yo u rather than displeas e

o u wit h talking Scripture an d religion
y .

We l l but may n ot th e Devil be fought with some of

,

hi s own weapons ? IS there n o dealing with him in a

way of human nature ? Th i s would require a long
answer an d some philosophy might be acted or at
, ,

l east imitated and some magic perhaps for they tell

, ,

u s there are S pells to draw away even the Devil him

self ; a s in some places they nail horseshoes upon the
, ,

threshold of the door to keep him ou t ; in other places ,

old pieces of int with so many holes and so many

, ,

corners and the like But I m u st answer in the nega

,
.

tive ; I don t know what Sata n might be scared at in
thos e days but he is either grown cunninger sin ce
,

or h older f or he val u es n on e of those things now ; I

,

question much whether he would value St Dunstan .

and his red h ot tongs if he was to meet him n ow or ,

St F rancis or any of the saints n o n ot the host itself

.
, , , ,

i n full procession ; and therefore thoug h you don t , ,

care I S hould preach yet in S hort if you are afraid he

, , ,

should charge upon you and attack you if you won t ,

make use of those Scripture weapon s I should

have mentioned and wh i ch yo u may hear of if you
, ,

inquire at E ph vi 1 6 you must l ook fo r b e tt er

. .
,

whe r e you think you can nd them .

.
3 60 T HE MOD ER N
has f ound a neare r way to the woo d with u s and that ,

i s su fcient to my present purpose .

Some wou l d persuade me the Devil had a great

han d in the l ate religious breaches in F rance among ,

the clergy viz about the pope s constitution U n igen
, .
,

i tu s a n d that he made a fair attempt to set the pop e

,

an d the G al lican church t ogether by the ears for th e y ,

were all j ust upon the poin t of breaking ou t into a

church war that for aught we kne w might have gon e
, , ,

fu rther than the Devi l himself cared it should Now I .

am of the quite contrary Opinion ; I believe the Devi l

really did not make the breach but rather healed it , ,

f or fear it S hould have gone S O far among them as to

have set them all in a ame an d have Opened the doo r,

to the return of the H uguen ots again which it was in ,

a fair way to have don e .

But be it on e way or t other the historica l pa rt ,

seems to be a l ittle against me ; for it is certain th e

Devil both wanted and made use of legion s of agents ,

as well human as infernal visibl e an d invisibl e in that

, ,

great and important a ffair and we cannot doubt b u t

,

he has innumerable in struments still at work about it .

L ike as in P oland I make n o question but the Devil

,

has thousands of his b anditti at work at this time a n d ,

in another country not far from it p erh a ps preparing , ,

matters for the next general Diet taking care to pre ,

vent givi n g any relaxation to th e p rotestants and to ,

j ustify the moderate execution s at Thorn ; to excite a

nation to quarrel with everybody w h o are a ble to gh t ,

with no b ody ; to erect the apostate race of S y

u pon a thron e which they have n o title to and t u rn ,

an elective thr one into an hered i tary in favour of ,

popery .

I might anticipate al l your obj ections by granting ,

the busy Devil at this time em ploying all his agents

and instruments ( for I n ever told you they were idl e
,

and useless ) in striving to iname the Christian worl d;

,

a n d bring a n ew wa r to o ver sp re ad E u r ope ; I might,

 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 361

p er h aps point o u t to you some of the measures he

,

takes the provocatives which h i s state physicians a d

,

minister to the courts and counsellors of princes to f o ,

~

ment and ferment the spir i ts and memb ers of nations ,

kingdoms empires an d states i n the world in order

, , , ,

to bring these glor i ous ends of blood and war to pass ;

for you cannot think but he that knows so m u ch of the
Devil s a ff airs as to write h i s h i story must know some

,

thing of all these matters mo r e than those that do n ot

know so much as he .

But all this is remote to the present case for this is ,

no impeachment of Satan s n ew methods with mankind

i n this part of the world and in his private and sepa ,

r ate capacity ; all this only signies that in his more ,

g eneral and national a ff a i rs the Devil acts still by his ,

old m e thods ; and when he is to seduce or embroil

nations he like other conqu erors subdues them by
, , ,

armies employs mighty squadrons of devils and sends

, ,

O u t strong detachments with generals and general i s ,

s imos to lead them some to on e par t of the world

, ,

some to another some to inuence on e nation some to

, ,

manage and direct another according as bus i ness pre ,

sents and h is occasions require that his a ffairs may b e

, ,

carried on currently and to his satisfacti on .

If it were not thus but that the Devil by his n ew , ,

a n d exquisite management of which I have said so ,

much had brough t mankind in general to be the agent s

,

of their o wn mischiefs and that the world were so at ,

h is beck that he need but command them to go and

ght declare wa r raise armies destroy c i ties king
, , , ,

doms countries and people the world would be a eld

, , ,

of blood indeed and all things would ru n into con

,

f usion presently .

But this is not the case at all H eaven has not let go
the government of the creation to his subdued enemy ,

the Devil ; that would overturn the whole system of

God and give Satan more power th an ever he w as or
,

will be vested with When, therefo r e I speak of a few

.
,
3 62 T HE M O D ER N
forward wretches in ou r day w h o are so warm in thei r ,

wickedness that they anticipate the Devil save h im ,

the trouble to tempt turn devils to themselves and , ,

gallop hellward faster than he drives I S peak of the m ,

as single person s and acting in their own personal and

,

private capacity ; but when I speak of n at i on s and

k ingdoms there the Devil is obliged to go on in the
,

old road an d act by stratagem by his proper ma

, ,

chinery and to make use of all his a rts a n d all his

, \

a gents j ust as he has don e in all a ges from the begin

, ,

n ing of h i s politic government to th i s day .

And if it was not thus too what would become of , ,

all his numberless l egions of which all ages have heard ,

So muc h a n d all parts of the wor l d have had so much

,

fatal experience ? They would see m to be quite ou t of

empl oym ent and b e rendered useless I n the worl d of
,

S p i rits where it is to be supposed they reside ; n ot the

,

Devil himself could n d any busin ess for them which , ,

by the way to busy and mischievou s spirits as they

,

a re would be a hell to them even before their time ;

, ,

they would be as it were doomed to a S tate of in acti

, ,

v it wh i ch w may suppose w s on e part of thei r

y , e , a ,

expulsion from blessedness and the creation of man ; or

as they were for the surprising interva l between the
destruction of mankind by th e deluge an d Noah s

coming ou t of the ark when indeed they might be , , ,

said to have had nothing at all to do .

Bu t this i s not Satan s case ; and therefore let m e

tel l you too ( that yo u may n ot think I treat the case

, ,

with more levity than I really do and than I a m sure , , ,

I intend to do,) though it is too true that our modern

an d modish s i nn ers have arrived to more exquisite
ways of being wicked than their fathers and reall y ,

seem as I have s aid to n eed n o Devil to tempt the m

, ,

na
y
, that they do Satan s work for him as to others
al so and make themselves devi l s to thei r neighbours
, ,

t empting others to crime even faste r than the Devi l

d e si r es them r unning befo re t h ey a r e sent and goi ng
, ,
 T HE MOD ER N
mann e r they can ; or 2 to gain app l a u se be a d
.
,
~

mired wondered at and applauded as if th ey

, , ,

were ten times more devil s tha n really they are .

In a word the matte r consists of what the Devil does

,

b y the help of these people and what they do in his ,

n ame without him The Devi l is sometimes cheated

.

i n his ow n business there are pretenders to witchcraft

a n d black art who Satan n ever made any bargain with
,

but who he connives at becau se at least they do his

, , ,

cause n o harm though their business is rathe r to get

money than to render him a ny service of which I ga v e ,

you a remarkable i nstance before .

But to go back to his r eal agents of which I re ckon ,

two .

1 . Those who act b y direction an d confederacy as I ,

have said al ready many do .

2 . Those whom he acts in an d by and they (per ,

haps ) k n ow it not of which sort history gives u s

,

plenty of examples from Machiavel s rst discipl e

,

to the famou s cardinal Al beroni and even ,

to some m ore modern than his eminence of ,

whom I ca n say n o more ti ll fu rther occasion

1 . Those who act by immediate direction of the

Devil an d in confederacy with him ; these are such as
,

I mentioned in the beginning of this chapter whose ,

a rts are truly black because reall y infernal

, It wi ll b e .

v e r y hard to decide the dispute between those w h o

r eally act thus in confederac y with the Devil an d ,

those w h o only pretend to it ; so I shall leave that dis

pute where I nd it ; but that there are or at leas t ,

have been a set of people in the world who real ly are

, ,

o f his acquaintance and very intimate with him

,
and
though as I have said he has m u ch altered his
, ,

schemes and changed hands of l ate ; ye t tha t the r e are

,
 H ISTORY O F T HE DEV IL 3 65 .

s uch peop l e perhaps of all sorts

,
an d that th e De v il ,

k eeps u p his correspondence with them I must n ot ,

ventu r e to deny that part l ost I bring u pon me the

,

whole posse of the co nj uring and bewitching crew ,

male and female and they should mob me for pre

,

tending to deny them the honour of dealing with the

Dev il which they are so exceeding will i ng to have th e
,

fame of .

Not that I am hereby obliged to bel ieve all the

strange things the witches and wizards who have been ,

allowed to be such nay who have been hanged for it

, , ,

have said of themselves ; nay that they have confessed ,

of themselves even at the gallows ; and i f I come to have

,

an occasion to sp e ak freely of the matter I may p erhaps ,

convince you that the Devil s possessin g power is much
lessened of late and that he either is limited and his
, ,

fetter shortened more than it has been or that he does ,

n ot nd the old way as I sa id before so t for his purpose

, ,

as he did formerly and therefore takes other measures :

,

but I must adj ourn that to a time and place by itself .

But we are told that there are another sort of people ,

and perhaps a great many of them too i n whom and

, , ,

by whom the Devil really acts and they know it not , .

It wou l d take up a great dea l of time and room too ,

much for this place so near the close of this work to

, ,

describe and mark ou t the involuntary devils which

there are i n the world ; of whom it may be truly said ,

that really the Devil is in them and they know it not ,

.

Now though the Devil is cunning and managing and ,

can be very silent where he nds it for his interest n ot

to be known ; yet it is very hard for h i m to conce al
h imself and to give S O little disturbance in the house
, ,

as that the fam i ly should not know who lodged in it

yet I say the Dev i l is so subtle and so m i schievou s

, ,

a n agent that he uses all manner of methods and craft

,

to reside in such people as h e nds for his p urpose ,

whether they will o r no and which is mo r e wheth er

, , ,

they k now it or no .
3 66 T HE M O DER N
And let non e of my readers be angry or think them ,

selves ill used when I tell them th e Devil may be in ,

them and may act them and by them and they n ot

, , ,

know it ; for I must add it m ay perhaps be on e of , , ,

the greatest pieces of human wisdom in the world for ,

a man to kn ow when the Devil is in him and when ,

no t ; when he is a tool and agent of hell and when he ,

i s n ot ; in a word when h e is doing the Devil s work ,

,

a n d under his direction and when n ot , .

It is true this i s a very weighty point and might

, ,

deserve to be handled in a m ore serious way than I

s eem to be talking i n al l this book ; but giv e me leave
to talk of things my ow n way and withal to te ll you , ,

that there is n o part of this work so seemingly l u

dicrou s but a grave and well we i ghed mind may make
,
-

a ser i ou s and solid application of it if they please ,

n or is there a n y part of this work in which a clear ,

S ight and a good sense may not see that the author s
design is that they S hould do so ; and as I am now so
,

n ear the end of my book I thought it was meet to te l l ,

you so and lead you to i t as far as I can

,
.

I say it is a great part of human wisdom to know

,

when the Devil i s acting i n u s an d by u s a n d when ,

n ot ; the n ext and still greater part would be to pre

, ,

vent him pu t a stop to h is progress bid h i m go about

, ,

his bus i ness and let him kn ow he should carry on his

,

des i gns n o further in that mann er ; that w e will be his

tools n o longer ; in short to turn him ou t of doors , ,

a n d bring a stronger power to tak e possession ; but

th i s i ndeed is too sol i d a subj ect an d too great to begin

, , ,

with here .

But n ow as to the bare kn owing when he is at work

,

with u s ; I say this though it is considerable may be , , ,

done nor is it so very di fcult : for example you have

, ,

n o more to do but look a little into the microcosm of

the soul an d see there how the passions which are the
, ,

blood a n d the a ffect i ons which are the S pirit move in

, , ,

their particular v essels ; how they circulate and in ,

36 8 T HE MODER N
lieve there are few thinking minds but m ay reect
u pon it in their ow n compass than for o u r passions ,

an d a ff ections to ow ou t of the ordinary channe l ; th e

spirits and blood of the soul to be extravasated th e ,

passions grow violent an d outr a geous the a ection s

'

impetuous corrupt an d violently vicious Whence

, , .

does all this proceed ? from heaven we cannot prete n d it

comes ; if we must n ot say it is the Devil whose doo r ,

mu st it l ie at ? P ride swells the passions ; avarice

'

moves the a ff ections ; and what is pride an d what is ,

avarice but the Devil in the inside of the man ? ay

, ,

as p ersonally an d really as ever he w a s in the herd of

swine .

L et n ot a ny man then who is a slave to his passion s, ,

or who is chained down to h is covetousn ess preten d ,

to take it ill when I say he has the Devi l in him or that

, ,

he is a devil : what else can it be and h ow comes it to ,

pass that passion and revenge so often dispossess the

m a n of himself as to lead h i m to commit murder to
, ,

lay plots an d snares for the life of his en emies and so ,

t o thirst for blood h ow comes this b u t by the Devil s

,

putting thos e spirits of the soul into so violent a fer

ment into a fever ? that the circulation is prec i pitated
,

to that degree and that the m a n too is p recipitated

,

i nto mischief and at last into ruin ? it is all the Devil

, ,

though the man does n ot kn ow it .

In like manner avarice leads him to rob plunder

, , ,

a n d destroy for money and to commit somet i mes the ,

worst of violen ces to obtain the wicked reward How .

many have had their throats cut for their money have ,

been murdered on the h i ghway or in their beds for , ,

t h e desire of what they had ! It i s the same thing in

other articles every vice is the Devil in a man ; In st
,

o f rule is the devi l of great men and that ambition i s

.
,

their devil a s much as whoring is father
,
s devil ;

o ne has a devil of on e class acting him on e another , ,

and every ma n s reigning vice is a devil to h i m .

Th us the De v i l has his in v oluntary instruments, as

 H ISTORY O F T HE D EV IL . 3 69

well as those who a ct in confederacy with him ; he has

a v ery great share i n many of u s and acts u s a nd in, ,

us unknown to oursel v es though we know nothing of

, ,

it and indeed though we may not S uspect it of ou r

,

selves ; l i ke H azael the A ssyrian who when the pro ,

phet told him how he would act the devil upon the
-

poor Israelites answered with detestation I s thy ser

, ,

v a n t a do
g th a t h e sh ou ld do th is th ing
,
? and yet he
was that dog and did all those cr u el th i ngs for all that ;
,

the Devil acting him or acting in him to make him

, ,

wickeder than ever he thought it was possible for him

to be .

H . D .
3 70 T HE MOD E R N

T HE C O NC L USI O N .

Of th e D ev i l s la st scen e of liber ty, a n d w h a t ma y be

supp osed to b e h is en d, w ith w h a t w e a r e to u n der

s ta n d of h is bei n
g t f
o r m en ted o r ev er a nd ev er .

As the Devil is a prince of the pow e r of the air his ,

kingdo m is mortal and must have an end ; and as h e

,

is c al led the god of this world that i s the great , ,

usu rper of the homage and reveren ce which mankind

ought of right to pay to their Maker so his usur pation ,

also like the world itsel f must have an end Satan is

, ,

called the God of the world as men too much prostrate ,

an d prostitute thems elves to him yet he is n ot the ,

governor of this world ; and therefore the ho mage and

worship he has from the worl d is an usurpation ; and ,

this wi ll have an end because the worl d itself will have

a n end ; and all mankind as they had a beginning in ,

time so must expire and be removed before the en d

,

of time .

Since then the Devil s empire is to e xpire and come
, ,

to an end and that the Dev i l himself and a ll his host

,

of devils are immortal sera p hs spirits that are not em ,

bodie d and cannot die but are to remain in being ; the

, ,

question before us next will be what i s to become of

.
,

him ? what is h i s state to be ? whither is he to

wander and in what condition is he to remain to that
,

eternity to which he is still to exist ?

I ho p e no man will mistake me so much in what I
have said as to S pirits which are all ame not being
, ,

a ected with re as if I supposed there w a s no place

f
,

of p u nishment f or the Devil nor any kind of punish ,

ment that co u ld a ffect the m ; and so of ou r S pirits also ,

when transfo r med i nto ame .

I must be allowed to S peak there of that mater ial

372 T HE MOD ER N .

a nd that by torment the Devil himself has o wned ; and

,

his calling ou t to our blessed L ord when he cast him

o u t of the furious man among the tombs I s a proof of ,

t Wh a t h a v e w e to do w ith th ee and a rt th ou come to ,

tor m en t u s be f o re th e tim e ? L uke viii 2 8 ; where the .

Devil acknowledges four things an d three of them ar e ,

d irectly to my p resent purpose and if you won t believe ,

the Word of God I hope you will beli eve the Devil ,

especially when it is an open confession a gainst himsel f .

1 H e confessed Christ to be the S on of God ( that

.

by the way ) and n o thanks to him for that does n ot ,

want the Devil s evidence .

2 H e acknowledges he may be tormented

. .

3 H e ackno wledges C h rist was able to torment

.

him .

4 H e acknowl edges that the r e is a time appoi nted

.

when he Shall be tormented .

A s to how in what manner and by what means

, , ,

this tor m enting the Devil is to be performed or exe

c u ted that I take to be as nee dless to us as it is i m
,

pos sible to know and being not at present inclined to

,

ll your heads and thoughts with weak and imperfect

guesses I leave it where I nd it
, .

It is en ough to u s that this torment of the Devil i s

represented to us by re it being impossible for our
,

c onn ed thoughts to concei v e of torment by anyth ing

in the world more exquisite whence I conclude tha t ,

devils shall at last receive a punishment suitable t o

their spirituo u s nature and as exquisitely tormenting
,

as a burning re would be to ou r bodies .

H aving thus settled my ow n belief of this matter ,

and stated it so a s I think wi ll let you s ee it is rightly

founded th e matter stan ds thus
,

Satan ha ving been l et l oose to play his game in this

worl d has improved h is time to the utmost ; he has
,

n ot failed on all occasions to exert h i s hatr ed rage , ,

and malice at his conqueror an d enemy namely his

, , ,

Make r h e has n ot failed from princip l es of me r e envy

,
 H ISTO RY O F T HE DEV IL . 73
and p r ide to pursue mankind with all possible rancour
, ,

in order to deprive him of the honour and fel i city

which he was created for namely to succeed th e
.
, ,

Devil and his angels in the state of glory from which

th ey fell .

This hatred of God an d envy at man havi n g broken , ,

ou t in so many several ways in the whole ser i es of

time from the creation must necessarily have gr eatly ,

increased his guilt ; and as H eaven is righteous to

judge him must terminate in an increase of punish
,

ment adequate to his crime an d sufcient to h is

, ,

nature .

Some have suggested that there is yet a time to ,

come when the Devil shall exert more rage and do

, ,

more mischief than ever yet he has been permitted to

do ; whether he S hal l break his chain or be unchained ,

f or a time they cannot tell n or I n either ; and it i s

, ,

h appy for my work that even this par t too does n ot belong
,

to his h istory ; if ever it sha ll be given an account of

by mankind it must be after it is come to pass for my
, ,

part is n Ot prophecy or foretelling what the Devil shall

,

do but history of what he has don e

,
.

Thus good people I have bro u ght the history of

, ,

the Dev i l down to your ow n times ; I have as it were , ,

raised him for you and set him in your view that you
, ,

m ay know him an d have a care of h i m , .

If any cunninger m en among you think they a re

able n ow to lay h i m again and so dispose of him ou t ,

of your sight that you S hall be troubled n o more with

,

him e i ther here or hereafter let them go to work

, ,

with h im the i r ow n way ; you know th i ngs fu ture do

n ot belong to an histor i an so I leave him among you , ,

w i shing you may be able to give n o worse an account

of him for the t i me to come than I have don e for th e ,

time p ast .

T H E E N D O F T H E H IST O R Y O F T H E D EV IL .

O ! F OR D : P RI N T E D BY D . A
'
. TAL BO YS .