| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII | HTML | PDF ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: The History of the Devil - As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts
Author: Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The History of the Devil - As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts" ***
THE
HISTORY
OF THE
DEVIL,
AS WELL
ANCIENT as MODERN:
IN TWO PARTS.
PART I.
Containing a State of the _Devil_'s Circumstances, and the various
Turns of his Affairs; from his Expulsion out of Heaven, to the
_Creation_ of Man; with Remarks on the Several Mistakes concerning
the Reason and Manner of his Fall.
Also his Proceedings with _Mankind_ ever since _Adam_, to the first
planting of the Christian Religion in the World.
PART II.
Containing his more private Conduct, down to the present Times: His
Government, his Appearances, his manner of Working, and the Tools
he works with.
_Bad as he is, the Devil may be abus'd,_
_Be falsly charg'd, and causelesly accus'd,_
_When Men, unwilling to be blam'd alone,_
_Shift off these Crimes on Him which are their Own._
The SECOND EDITION.
_LONDON:_
Printed for T. WARNER, at the _Black Boy_ in
_Pater-noster Row_. 1727.
The PREFACE
TO THE
SECOND EDITION.
_This Second Edition of this Work, notwithstanding a large Impression of
the First, is a Certificate from the World of its general Acceptation;
so we need not, according to the Custom of Editors, boast of it without
Evidence, or tell a F----b in its Favour._
_The Subject is singular, and it has been handled after a singular
Manner: The wise World has been pleased with it, the merry World has
been diverted with it, and the ignorant World has been taught by it;
none but the malicious part of the World has been offended at it: Who
can wonder, that when the_ Devil _is not pleased,_ his Friends should be
angry?
_The strangest thing of it all is, to hear_ Satan _complain that the
Story is handled prophanely: But who can think it strange that his
Advocates should_ BE, what he was from the Beginning?
_The Author affirms, and has good Vouchers for it (in the Opinion of
such whose Judgment passes with him for an Authority) that the whole
Tenor of the Work is solemn, calculated to promote serious Religion, and
capable of being improv'd in a religious manner. But he does not think
that we are bound never to speak of the_ Devil _but with an Air of
Terror, as if we were always afraid of him._
_'Tis evident the_ Devil, _as subtle and as frightful as he is, has
acted the ridiculous and foolish Part, as much as most of God's
Creatures, and daily does so. And he cannot believe 'tis any Sin to
expose him for a foolish_ Devil, _as he is, or shew the World that he
may be laugh'd at._
_Those that think the Subject not handled with Gravity enough, have all
the Room given them in the World to handle it better; and as the Author
professes he is far from thinking his Piece perfect, they ought not to
be angry that_ he gives them leave to mend it. _He has had the
Satisfaction to please some Readers, and to see good Men approve it; and
for the rest, as my Lord_ Rochester _says in another Case,_
He counts their Censure Fame.
_As for a certain Reverend Gentleman, who is pleased gravely to dislike
the Work_ (_he hopes, rather for the Author's sake than the_ Devil's)
_he only says,_ Let the Performance be how it will, and the Author what
he will, it is apparent he has not yet preach'd away all his Hearers.
_It is enough to me (says the Author) that the_ Devil _himself is not
pleased with my Work, and less with the Design of it; let the_ Devil
_and all his fellow Complainers stand on one side, and the honest, well
meaning, charitable World, who approve my Work, on the other, and I'll
tell Noses with_ Satan, _if he dares._
THE CONTENTS.
PART I.
CHAP. I.
_Being an Introduction to the whole Work_, Page 1
CHAP. II.
_Of the Word_ DEVIL, _as it is a proper Name to the Devil, and
any or all his Host, Angels_, &c. 18
CHAP. III.
_Of the Original of the_ DEVIL, _who he is, what he was before
his Expulsion out of Heaven, and in what State he was from that
Time to the Creation of Man_ 31
CHAP. IV.
_Of the Name of the Devil, his Original, and the Nature of his
Circumstances since he has been call'd by that Name_ 38
CHAP. V.
_Of the Station Satan had in Heaven before he fell; the Nature
and Original of his Crime, and some of Mr._ Milton's _Mistakes
about it_ 63
CHAP. VI.
_What became of the_ Devil _and his Host of fallen Spirits after
their being expell'd from Heaven, and his wandring Condition till
the Creation; with some more of Mr._ Milton_'s Absurdities on
that Subject_ 77
CHAP. VII.
_Of the Number of Satan's Host; how they came first to know of
the new created Worlds now in Being, and their Measures with
Mankind upon the Discovery_ 86
CHAP. VIII.
_Of the Power of the Devil at the Time of the Creation of this
World; whether it has not been farther straiten'd and limited
since that Time, and what Shifts and Stratagems he is oblig'd
to make use of to compass his Designs upon Mankind_ 95
CHAP. IX.
_Of the Progress of Satan in carrying on his Conquest over
Mankind, from the Fall of_ Eve _to the Deluge_ 111
CHAP. X.
_Of the Devil's second Kingdom, and how he got footing in the
renewed World by his Victory over_ Noah _and his Race_ 129
CHAP. XI.
_Of God's calling a Church out of the midst of a degenerate
World, and of Satan's new Measures upon that Incident: How
he attacked them immediately, and his Success in those Attacks_ 159
PART II.
CHAP. I.
_The Introduction_ 192
CHAP. II.
_Of Hell as it is represented to us, and how the_ Devil _is to
be understood, as being personally in Hell, when at the same
Time we find him at Liberty ranging over the World_ 206
CHAP. III.
_Of the Manner of_ Satan's _acting and carrying on his Affairs
in this World, and particularly of his ordinary Workings in the
dark, by_ Possession _and_ Agitation 216
CHAP. IV.
_Of Satan's Agents or Missionaries, and their Actings upon and
in the Minds of Men in his Name_ 226
CHAP. V.
_Of the_ Devil_'s Management in the Pagan Hierarchy by Omens,
Entrails, Augurs, Oracles, and such like Pageantry of Hell; and
how they went off the Stage at last by the Introduction of true
Religion_ 245
CHAP. VI.
_Of the extraordinary Appearances of the Devil, and particularly
of the Cloven-Foot_ 265
CHAP. VII.
_Whether is most hurtful to the World, the_ Devil _walking about
without his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without
the_ Devil? 282
CHAP. VIII.
_Of the Cloven-Foot walking about the World without the_ Devil
(viz.) _of Witches making Bargains with the_ Devil, _and
particularly of selling the Soul to the_ Devil 316
CHAP. IX.
_Of the Tools the_ Devil _works with_ (viz.) _Witches, Wizards
or Warlocks, Conjurers, Magicians, Diviners, Astrologers,
Interpreters of Dreams, Tellers of Fortunes; and above all the
rest, his particular modern Privy-Counsellors call'd Wits and
Fools_ 339
CHAP. X.
_Of the various Methods the Devil takes to converse with Mankind_ 352
CHAP. XI.
_Of Divination, Sorcery, the Black-Art, Pawawing, and such like
Pretenders to Devilisms, and how far the_ Devil _is or is not
concern'd in them_ 377
The CONCLUSION.
_Of the_ Devil'_s last Scene of Liberty, and what may be supposed
to be his End; with what we are to understand of his being
tormented for ever and ever_ 404
THE
HISTORY
OF THE
DEVIL, _&c._
CHAP. I.
_Being an Introduction to the whole Work._
I doubt not but the title of this book will amuse some of my reading
friends a little at first; they will make a pause, perhaps, as they do
at a witch's prayer, and be some time resolving whether they had best
look into it or no, lest they should really raise the _Devil_ by reading
his story.
Children and old women have told themselves so many frightful things _of
the Devil_, and have form'd ideas of him in their minds, in so many
horrible and monstrous shapes, that really it were enough to fright the
_Devil_ himself, to meet himself in the dark, dress'd up in the several
figures which imagination has form'd for him in the minds of men; and as
for themselves, I cannot think by any means that the _Devil_ would
terrify them half so much, if they were to converse face to face with
him.
It must certainly therefore be a most useful undertaking to give the
true history of this _Tyrant of the air_, this _God of the world_, this
terror and aversion of mankind, which we call _Devil_; to shew what he
IS, and what he IS NOT, where he IS, and where he IS NOT, when he is IN
US, and when he IS NOT; for I cannot doubt but that the _Devil_ is
really and _bona fide_ in a great many of our honest weak-headed
friends, when they themselves know nothing of the matter.
Nor is the work so difficult as some may imagine. The _Devil_'s
_history_ is not so hard to come at, as it seems to be; His original and
the first rise of his family is upon record, and as for his conduct, he
has acted indeed in the dark, as to method in many things; but _in
general_, as cunning as he is, he has been fool enough to expose himself
in some of the most considerable transactions of his Life, and has not
shewn himself a politician at all: Our old friend _Matchiavel_ outdid
him in many things, and I may in the process of this work give an
account of several of the sons of _Adam_, and some societies of 'em too,
who have out-witted _the Devil_, nay, who have out-sin'd _the Devil_,
and that I think may be call'd out-shooting him in his own bow.
It may perhaps be expected of me in this history, that since I seem
inclin'd to speak favourably of _Satan_, to do him justice, and to write
his story impartially, I should take some pains to tell you what
religion he is of; and even this part may not be so much a jest, as at
first sight you may take it to be; for _Satan_ has something of religion
in him, I assure you; nor is he such an unprofitable _Devil_ that way,
as some may suppose him to be; for tho', in reverence to my brethren, I
will not reckon him among the Clergy; No not so much as a gifted
Brother, yet I cannot deny, but that he often preaches, and if it be not
profitably to his hearers; 'tis as much their fault, as it is out of his
design.
It has indeed been suggested that he has taken orders, and that a
certain Pope, famous for being an extraordinary favourite of his, gave
him both institution and induction; but as this is not upon record, and
therefore we have no authentic document for the probation, I shall not
affirm it for a truth, for I would not slander the _Devil_.
It is said also, and I am apt to believe it, that he was very familiar
with that holy father Pope _Silvester_ II. and some charge him with
personating Pope _Hildebrand_ on an extraordinary occasion, and himself
sitting in the chair apostolick, in a full congregation; and you may
hear more of this hereafter: But as I do not meet with Pope _Diabolus_
among the list; in all father _Platina_'s lives of the Popes, so I am
willing to leave it as I find it.
But to speak to the point, and a nice point it is I acknowledge;
_namely_, what religion _the Devil_ is of; my answer will indeed be
general, yet not at all ambiguous, for I love to speak positively and
with undoubted evidence.
1. _He is a believer._ And if in saying so it should follow, that
even the _Devil_ has more religion than some of our men of fame can
at this time be charged with, I hope my Lord ---- and his Grace the
---- of ---- and some of the upper class in the red-hot club, will
not wear the coat, however well it may sit to their shapes, or
challenge the Satyr, as if it were pointed at them, because 'tis
due to them: In a word, whatever their Lordships are, I can assure
them that the _Devil_ is no Infidel.
2. _He fears God._ We have such abundant evidence of this in sacred
History, that if I were not at present, in common with a few
others, talking to an infidel sort of Gentlemen, with whom those
remote things call'd Scriptures are not allow'd in evidence, I
might say it was sufficiently prov'd; but I doubt not in the
process of this undertaking to shew, that _the Devil_ really _fears
God_, and that after another manner than ever he fear'd Saint
_Frances_ or Saint _Dunstan_; and if that be proved, as I take upon
me to advance, I shall leave it to judgment, who's the better
Christian, _the Devil_ who _believes_ and _trembles_, or our modern
gentry of ---- who believe neither _God nor Devil_.
Having thus brought the _Devil_ within the _Pale_, I shall leave him
among you for the present; not but that I may examine in its order who
has the best claim to his brotherhood, the Papists or the Protestants;
and among the latter the Lutherans or the Calvinists; and so descending
to all the several denominations of churches, see who has less of _the
Devil_ in them, and who more; and whether _less_ or _more_ the Devil has
not a seat in every synagogue, a pew in every church, a place in every
pulpit, and a vote in every synod; even from the Sanhedrim of the
_Jews_, to our friends at the _Bull and Mouth_, &c. from the greatest to
the least.
It will, I confess, come very much within the compass of this part of my
discourse, to give an account, _or at least make an essay toward it_, of
the share _the Devil_ has had in the spreading religion in the world;
and especially of dividing and subdividing opinions in religion;
perhaps, to eke it out and make it reach the farther; and also to shew
how far he is or has made himself a missionary of the famous clan _de
propaganda fide_; it is true, we find him heartily employ'd in almost
every corner of the world _ad propagandum errorem_: But that may require
a history by it self.
As to his propagating religion, 'tis a little hard indeed, at first
sight, to charge _the Devil_ with propagating religion, that is to say,
if we take it literally, and in the gross; but if you take it as the
_Scots_ insisted to take the oath of fidelity, _viz._ with an
_explanation_, it is plain _Satan_ has very often had a share in the
method, if not in the design of propagating the _christian faith_: For
example.
I think I do no injury at all to the Devil, to say that he had a great
hand in the old _holy war_, as it was ignorantly and enthusiastically
call'd; stirring up the christian princes and powers of _Europe_ to run
a madding after the _Turks_ and _Saracens_, and make war with those
innocent people above a thousand miles off, only because they entred
into God's heritage when he had forsaken it; graz'd upon his ground when
he had fairly turn'd it into a common, and laid it open for the next
comer; spending their nation's treasure, and embarking their kings and
people, (I say) in a war above a thousand miles off, filling their heads
with that religious madness, call'd, in those days, _holy zeal_ to
recover the _terra sancta_, the sepulchers of Christ and the Saints, and
as they call'd it falsly, the _holy city_, tho' true religion says it
was the accursed city, and not worth spending one drop of blood for.
This religious _Bubble_ was certainly of _Satan_, who, as he craftily
drew them in, so like a true _Devil_ he left them in the lurch when they
came there, fac'd about to the _Saracens_, animated the immortal
_Saladin_ against them, and manag'd so dexterously that he left the
bones of about thirteen or fourteen hundred thousand Christians there as
a trophy of his infernal politicks; and after the christian world had
run _a la santa terra_, or in _English_ a _saunt'ring_, about a hundred
year, he dropt it to play another game less foolish, but ten times
wickeder than that which went before it, _namely_, turning the crusadoes
of the Christians one against another; and, as _Hudibras_ said in
another case,
"Made them fight like mad or drunk
"For dame religion as for punk.
Of this you have a compleat account in the history of the Popes decrees
against the Count _de Thoulouse_, and the _Waldenses_ and _Albigenses_,
with the crusadoes and massacres which follow'd upon them, wherein to do
_the Devil_'s politicks some justice, he met with all the success he
could desire; the zealots of that day executed his infernal orders most
punctually, and planted religion in those countries in a glorious and
triumphant manner, upon the destruction of an infinite number of
innocent people, whose blood has fatten'd the soil for the growth of the
Catholick faith, in a manner very particular, and to Satan's full
satisfaction.
I might, to compleat this part of his history, give you the detail of
his progress in these first steps of his alliances with _Rome_; and add
a long list of massacres, wars, and expeditions in behalf of religion,
which he has had the honour to have a visible hand in; such as the
_Parisian_ massacre, the _Flemish_ war under the Duke _d' Alva_, the
_Smithfield_ fires in the _Marian days_ in _England_, and the massacres
in _Ireland_; all which would most effectually convince us that _the
Devil_ has not been idle in his business; but I may meet with these
again in my way, 'tis enough, while I am upon the generals only, to
mention them thus in a summary way; I say, 'tis enough to prove that
_the Devil_ has really been as much concerned as any body, in the
methods taken by some people for propagating the christian religion in
the world.
Some have rashly, and I had almost said maliciously charg'd _the Devil_
with the great triumphs of his friends the _Spaniards_ in _America_, and
would place the conquest of _Mexico_ and _Peru_ to the credit of his
account.
But I cannot join with them in this at all, I must say, I believe _the
Devil_ was innocent of that matter; my reason is, because, _Satan_ was
never such a fool as to spend his time, or his politicks, or embark his
allies to conquer nations who were already his own; that would be
_Satan_ against _Beelzebub_, making war upon himself, and at least doing
nothing to the purpose.
If they should charge him, indeed, with deluding _Philip_ II. of _Spain_
into that preposterous attempt call'd _the Armada_, (_anglice_, the
_Spanish Invasion_,) I should indeed more readily join with them; but
whether he did it weakly, in hope, _which was indeed not likely_, that
it should succeed; or wickedly, to destroy that great fleet of the
_Spaniards_, and draw them within the reach of his own dominions, the
elements; this being a question which authors differ exceedingly about,
I shall leave it to decide it self.
But the greatest piece of management, which we find _the Devil_ has
concern'd himself in of late, in the matter of religion, seems to be
that of the mission into _China_; and here indeed _Satan_ has acted his
master-piece: It was, no doubt, much for his service that _the Chineses_
should have no insight into matters of religion, I mean, that we call
christian; and therefore, tho' _Popery_ and the _Devil_ are not at so
much variance as some may imagine, yet he did not think it safe to let
the general system of Christianity be heard of among them in _China_.
Hence when the name of the christian religion had but been received with
some seeming approbation in the country of _Japan_, _Satan_ immediately,
as if alarm'd at the thing, and dreading what the consequence of it
might be, arm'd the _Japoneses_ against it with such fury, that they
expell'd it at once.
It was much safer to his designs, when, if the story be not a fiction,
he put that _Dutch_ witicism into the mouths of the States commanders,
when they came to _Japan_; who having more wit than to own themselves
Christians in such a place as that, when the question was put to them,
answered negatively, _That they were not_, but that _they were of
another religion call'd_ Hollanders.
However, it seems the diligent _Jesuits_ out-witted the Devil in
_China_, and, as I said above, over-shot him in his own Bow; for the
mission being in danger _by the Devil and the_ Chinese _Emperor_'s
_joining together_, of being wholly expell'd there too, as they had been
in _Japan_, they cunningly fell in with the ecclesiasticks of the
country, and joining the priestcraft of both religions together, they
brought _Jesus Christ_ and _Confucius_ to be so reconcilable, that the
_Chinese_ and the _Roman_ idolatry appeared capable of a confederacy, of
going on hand in hand together, and consequently of being very good
friends.
This was a master-piece indeed, and, _as they say_, almost frighted
_Satan_ out of his wits; but he being a ready manager, and particularly
famous for serving himself of the rogueries of the priests, fac'd about
immediately to the mission, and making a virtue of necessity, clapt in,
with all possible alacrity, with the proposal[1]; so the _Jesuits_ and
he form'd a _hotch-potch_ of _religion_ made up of _Popery_ and _Paganism_
and calculated to leave the latter rather worse than they found it,
binding the faith of Christ and the philosophy or morals of _Confucius_
together, and formally christening them by the name of _religion_; by
which means the politick interest of the mission was preserved; and yet
_Satan_ lost not one inch of ground with the _Chineses_, no, not by the
planting the Gospel it self, _such as it was_, among them.
Nor has it been such disadvantage to him that this plan or scheme of a
new modell'd religion would not go down at _Rome_, and that the
Inquisition damn'd it with Bell, Book and Candle; distance of place
serv'd his new allies, the missionaries, in the stead of a protection
from the Inquisition; and now and then a rich present well plac'd found
them friends in the congregation it self; and where any Nuncio with his
impudent zeal pretended to take such a long voyage to oppose them,
_Satan_ took care to get him sent back _re infecta_, or inspir'd the
million to move him off the premisses, by methods of their own (that is
to say, being interpreted) to _murther him_.
Thus the mission has in itself been truly _devilish_, and the Devil has
interested himself in the planting the christian religion in _China_.
The influence _the Devil_ has in the Politicks of mankind, is another
especial part of his history, and would require, if it were possible, a
very exact description; but here we shall necessarily be obliged to
inquire so nicely into the Arcana of circumstances, and unlock the
cabinets of state in so many courts, canvass the councils of ministers
and the conduct of princes so fully, and expose them so much, that it
may, perhaps, make a combustion among the great politicians abroad; and
in doing that we may come so near home too, that tho' personal safety
and prudentials forbid our medling with our own country, we may be taken
in a double entendre, and fall unpitied for being only suspected of
touching truths that are so tender, whether we are guilty or no; on
these accounts I must meddle the less with that part, at least for the
present.
Be it that the Devil has had a share in some of the late councils of
_Europe_, influencing them this way or that way, to his own advantage,
what is it to us? For example, What if he has had any concern in the
late affair of _Thorn_? What need we put it upon him, seeing his
confederates the _Jesuites_ with the _Assessorial_ tribunal of _Poland_
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 he had no hand in
bringing the injur'd Protestants to leave the justice due to the cries
of protestant blood to the arbitrament of a popish power, who dare say
that _the Devil_ must be in it, if justice should be obtain'd that way:
I should rather say, _the Devil_ is in it, or else it would never be
expected.
It occurs next to enquire from the premisses, whether _the Devil_ has
more influence or less in the affairs of the world now, than he had in
former ages; and this will depend upon comparing, as we go along, his
methods and way of working in past times, and the modern politicks by
which he acts in our days; with the differing reception which he has met
with among the men of such distant ages.
But there is so much to enquire of about _the Devil_, before we can
bring his story down to our modern times, that we must for the present
let them drop, and look a little back to the remoter parts of this
history; drawing his picture that people may know him when they meet
him, and see who and what he is, and what he has been doing ever since
he got leave to act in the high station he now appears in.
In the mean time, if I might obtain leave to present an humble petition
to _Satan_, it should be, that he would according to modern usage oblige
us all, with writing _the history of his own times_; 'twould, as well as
one that is gone before it, be a Devilish good one; for as to the
sincerity of the performance, the authority of the particulars, the
justice of the characters, _&c._ if they were no better vouch'd, no more
consistent with themselves, with charity, with truth, and with the
honour of an historian, than the last of that kind which came abroad
among us, it must be a reproach to _the Devil_ himself to be the author
of it.
Were _Satan_ to be brought under the least obligation to write truth,
and that the matters of fact, which he should write, might be depended
upon, he is certainly qualified by his knowledge of things to be a
compleat historian; nor could the Bishop himself, _who, by the way, has
given us already the Devil of a history_, come up to him: _Milton_'s
_Pandemonium_, tho' an excellent dramatick performance, would appear a
meer trifling sing-song business, beneath the dignity of _Chevy-chase_:
The _Devil_ could give us a true account of all the civil wars in
Heaven; how and by whom, and in what manner he lost the day there, and
was oblig'd to quit the field: The fiction of his refusing to
acknowledge and submit to the _Messiah_, upon his being declar'd
Generalissimo of the Heavenly forces, which Satan expected himself, as
the eldest officer; and his not being able to brook another to be put in
over his head; I say, that fine-spun thought of Mr. _Milton_ would
appear to be strain'd too far, and only serve to convince us that he
(_Milton_) knew nothing of the matter. _Satan_ knows very well, that the
_Messiah_ was not _declared to be the Son of God with power_ till by and
after _the resurrection from the dead_, and that all power was then
given him _in Heaven and earth_, and not before; so that _Satan_'s
rebellion must derive from other causes, and upon other occasions, as he
himself can doubtless give us an account, if he thinks fit, and of which
we shall speak further in this work.
What a fine History might this old Gentleman write of the Antediluvian
world, and of all the weighty affairs, as well of state as of religion,
which happen'd during the fifteen hundred years of the patriarchal
administration!
Who, like him, could give a full and compleat account of the Deluge,
whether it was a meer vindictive, a blast from Heaven, wrought by a
supernatural power in the way of miracle? or whether, according to Mr.
_Burnet_'s _Theory_, it was a consequence following antecedent causes by
the meer necessity of nature; seen in constitution, natural position,
and unavoidable working of things, as by the Theory publish'd by that
learn'd enthusiast it seems to be?
_Satan_ could easily account for all the difficulties of the _Theory_,
and tell us whether, as there was a natural necessity of the Deluge,
there is not the like necessity and natural tendency to a Conflagration
at last.
Would _the Devil_ exert himself as an Historian, for our improvement and
diversion, how glorious an account could he give us of _Noah_'s Voyage
round the world, in the famous Ark! he could resolve all the
difficulties about the building it, the furnishing it, and the laying up
provision in it for all the collection of kinds that he had made; He
could tell us whether all the creatures came voluntier to him to go into
the ark, or whether he went a hunting for several years before, in order
to bring them together.
He could give us a true relation how he wheedled the people of the next
world into the absurd ridiculous undertaking of building a _Babel_; how
far that stupendous stair-case, which was in imagination to reach up to
Heaven, was carried, before it was interrupted and the builders
confounded; how their speech was alter'd, how many Tongues it was
divided into, or whether they were divided at all; and how many
subdivisions or dialects have been made since that, by which means very
few of God's creatures, except the Brutes, understand one another, or
care one farthing whether they do or no.
In all these things _Satan_, who, no doubt, would make a very good
chronologist, could settle every Epocha, correct every Calendar, and
bring all our accounts of time to a general agreement; as well the
_Grecian Olympiads_, the _Turkish Heghira_, the _Chinese_ fictitious
account of the world's duration, as our blind _Julian_ and _Gregorian_
accounts, which have put the world, to this day, into such confusion,
that we neither agree in our holy-days or working days, fasts or feasts,
nor keep the same sabbaths in any part of the same globe.
This great Antiquary could bring us to a certainty in all the
difficulties of ancient story, and tell us whether the tale of the siege
of _Troy_, and the rape of _Helen_ was a fable of _Homer_ or a history;
whether the fictions of the Poets are form'd from their own brain, or
founded in facts; and whether letters were invented by _Cadmus_ the
_Phoenician_, or dictated immediately from _Heaven_ at mount _Sinai_.
Nay, he could tell us how and in what manner he wheedled _Eve_, deluded
_Adam_, put _Cain_ into a passion, till he made him murther his own
brother; and made _Noah_, who was above 500 years a preacher of
righteousness, turn Sot in his old age, dishonour all his ministry,
debauch himself with wine, and by getting drunk and exposing himself,
become the jest and laughing-stock of his children, and of all his
posterity to this day.
And would Satan, according to the modern practice of the late right
reverend Historian, enter into the characters of the great men of his
age, how should we be diverted with the just history of _Adam_, in
paradise and out of it; his character, and how he behaved at and after
his expulsion; how _Cain_ wandered in the land of _Nod_, what the mark
was which _God_ set upon him, whose daughter his wife was, and how big
the city was he built there, according to a certain Poet of noble
extraction,
How _Cain_ in the land of _Nod_
When the rascal was alone
Like an owl in an ivy tod
Built a city as big as _Roan_.
_Roch._
He could have certainly drawn _Eve_'s picture, told us every feature in
her face, and every inch in her shape, whether she was a perfect beauty
or no, and whether with the fall she did grow crooked, ugly, ill-natur'd
and a scold; as the learned _Valdemar_ suggests to be the effects of the
curse.
Descending to the character of the Patriarchs in that age, he might, no
doubt, give us in particular the characters of _Belus_, worship'd under
the name of _Baal_; with _Satan_, and _Jupiter_, his successors; who
they were here, and how they behaved; with all the _Pharaohs_ of
_Egypt_, the _Abimilechs_ of _Canaan_, and the great monarchs of
_Assyria_ and _Babylon_.
Hence also he is able to write the lives of all the Heroes of the world,
from _Alexander_ of _Macedon_ to _Lewis_ the XIV. and from _Augustus_ to
the great King _George_; nor could the Bishop himself go beyond him for
flattery, any more than the Devil himself could go beyond the Bishop for
falshood.
I could enlarge with a particular satisfaction upon the many fine things
which _Satan_, rummaging his inexhaustible storehouse of slander, could
set down to blacken the characters of good men, and load the best
Princes of the world with infamy and reproach.
But we shall never prevail with him, I doubt, to do mankind so much
service, as resolving all those difficulties would be; for he has an
indelible grudge against us; as he believes, and perhaps is assur'd that
men were at first created by his sovereign, to the intent that after a
certain state of Probation in life, such of them as shall be approved,
are appointed to fill up those vacancies in the Heavenly Host, which
were made by the abdication and expulsion of him (_the Devil_) and his
Angels; so that man is appointed to come in _Satan_'s stead, to make
good the breach, and enjoy all those ineffable Joys and Beatitudes which
_Satan_ enjoy'd before his fall; no wonder then, that _the Devil_ swells
with envy and rage at mankind in general, and at the best of them in
particular; nay, the granting this point is giving an unanswerable
reason, why the _Devil_ practises with such unwearied and indefatigable
application upon the best men, if possible, to disappoint GOD
Almighty's decree, and that he should not find enough among the whole
Race, to be proper subjects of his clemency, and qualified to succeed
_the Devil_ and his host, or fill up the places vacant by the Fall. It
is true indeed, _the Devil_, who we have reason to say is no fool, ought
to know better than to suppose that if he should seduce the whole race
of mankind, and make them as bad as himself, he could, by that success
of his wickedness, thwart or disappoint the determined purposes of
Heaven; but that those which are appointed to inherit the Thrones, which
he and his followers abdicated, and were deposed from, shall certainly
be preserv'd in spite of his Devices for that inheritance, and shall
have the possession secur'd to them, notwithstanding all that _the
Devil_ and all the Host of _Hell_ can do to prevent it.
But, however he knows the certainty of this, and that when he endeavours
the seducing the chosen servants of the most High, he fights against GOD
himself, struggles with irresistible grace, and makes war with infinite
power; undermining the church of God, and that faith in him which is
fortified with the eternal promises of Jesus Christ, that the gates of
_Hell_, that is to say, the _Devil_ and all his power, shall not prevail
against them; I say, however he knows the impossibility there is that he
should obtain his ends, yet so blind is his rage, so infatuate his
wisdom, that he cannot refrain breaking himself to pieces against this
mountain, and splitting against the rock. _qui Jupiter vult perdere hos
dementat._
But to leave this serious part, which is a little too solemn, for the
account of this rebel; seeing we are not to expect he will write his own
History for our information and diversion, I shall see if I cannot write
it for him: In order to this, I shall extract the substance of his
whole story, from the beginning to our own times, which I shall collect
out of what is come to hand, whether by revelation or inspiration,
that's nothing to him; I shall take care so to improve my intelligence,
as may make my account of him authentick, and, _in a word_, such as the
Devil himself shall not be able to contradict.
In writing this uncouth story I shall be freed from the censures of the
Criticks, in a more than ordinary manner, upon one account especially;
(_viz._) that my story shall be so just and so well grounded, and, after
all the good things I shall say of _Satan_, will be so little to his
satisfaction, that _the Devil_ himself will not be able to say, I _dealt
with the Devil_ in writing it: I might, perhaps, give you some account
where I had my intelligence, and how all the Arcana of his management
have come to my hands; _but pardon me, Gentlemen_, this would be to
betray conversation, and to discover my agents, and you know statesmen
are very careful to preserve the correspondences they keep in the
enemy's country, lest they expose their friends to the resentment of the
Power whose councils they betray.
Besides, the learned tell us, that ministers of state make an excellent
plea of their not betraying their intelligence, against all party
inquiries into the great sums of money pretended to be paid for _secret
service_; and whether the secret service was to bribe people to betray
things abroad or at home; whether the money was paid to some body or to
no body, employ'd to establish correspondences abroad, or to establish
families and amass treasure at home; in a word, whether it was to serve
their country or serve themselves, it has been the same thing, and the
same plea has been their protection: Likewise in the important affair
which I am upon, 'tis hoped you will not desire me to betray my
Correspondents; for you know _Satan_ is naturally cruel and malicious,
and who knows what he might do to shew his resentment? at least it might
endanger a stop of our intelligence for the future.
And yet, before I have done, I shall make it very plain, that however my
information may be secret and difficult, that yet I came very honestly
by it, and shall make a very good use of it; for 'tis a great mistake in
those who think that an acquaintance with the affairs of _the Devil_ may
not be made very useful to us all: They that know no evil can know no
good; and, as the learned tell us, that a stone taken out of the head of
a Toad is a good antidote against poison; so a competent knowledge of
_the Devil_, and all his ways, may be the best help to make us defie
_the Devil_ and all his _works_.
CHAP. II.
_Of the word_ DEVIL, _as it is a proper name to the Devil, and any or all
his host, Angels,_ &c.
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 standing
by himself, or a _noun of multitude_; if it be a singular, and so must
be used personally only as _a proper name_, it consequently implies one
imperial _Devil_, Monarch or King of the whole clan of Hell; justly
distinguish'd by the term THE DEVIL, or as the _Scots_ call him, _the
muckle horn'd Dee'l_, or as others in a wilder dialect, _the Devil of
Hell_, that is to say, the _Devil_ of a _Devil_; or (better still) as
the Scripture expresses it, by way of emphasis, the _great red Dragon_,
the _Devil_ and _Satan_.
But if we take this word to be, as above, _a noun of multitude_, and so
to be used _ambo-dexter_, as occasion presents, singular or plural; then
_the Devil_ signifies _Satan_ by himself, or _Satan with all his
Legions_ at his heels, as you please, more or less; and this way of
understanding the word, as it may be very convenient for my purpose, in
the account I am now to give of the infernal Powers, so it is not
altogether improper in the nature of the thing: It is thus express'd in
Scripture, where the person possess'd _Matt._ iv. 24. is first said to
be possess'd of _the Devil_ (singular) and our Saviour asks him, as
speaking to a single person, _what is thy name?_ and is answer'd in the
plural and singular together, my name is LEGION, for _we are many_.
Nor will it be any wrong to _the Devil_, supposing him a single person,
seeing entitling him to the conduct of all his inferior Agents, is what
he will take rather for an addition to his infernal glory, than a
diminution or lessening of him in the extent of his Fame.
Having thus articl'd with the _Devil_ for liberty of speech, I shall
talk of him sometimes in the singular, as a person, and sometimes in the
plural, as an host of _Devils_ or of infernal Spirits, just as occasion
requires, and as the history of his affairs makes necessary.
But before I enter upon any part of his history, the nature of the thing
calls me back, and my Lord B---- of ---- in his late famous orations in
defence of liberty, summons me to prove that there is such a thing or
such a person as _the Devil_; and in short, unless I can give some
evidence of his existence, as my Lord ---- said very well, I am talking
of _nobody_.
D--m me, Sir, says a graceless comrade of his to a great man, _your
Grace_ will go to _the Devil_.
D--m ye, Sir, says the D----, then I shall go _no where_; I wonder where
you intend to go?
Nay, to _the D----l_ too I doubt, _says Graceless_, for I am almost as
wicked as my _Lord Duke_.
_D._ Thou ar't a silly empty Dog, says the D--, and if there is such a
place as _a Hell_, tho' I believe nothing of it, 'tis a place for fools,
such as thou art.
_Gr._ I wonder then, what Heaven the great wits go to, such as my _Lord
Duke_; I don't care to go there, let it be where it will; they are a
tiresome kind of people, there's no bearing them, they'll make _a Hell_
wherever they come.
_D._ Prithee hold thy fool's tongue, I tell thee, if there is any such
place as we call NO WHERE; that's all the Heaven or Hell that I know of,
or believe any thing about.
_Gr._ Very good, my Lord--; so that _Heaven_ is _no where_, and
_Hell_ is _no where_, and the _Devil_ is _nobody_, according to my _Lord
Duke_!
_D._ Yes Sir, and what then?
_Gr._ And you are to go _no where_ when you die, are you?
_D._ Yes, you Dog, don't you know what that incomparable noble genius my
Lord _Rochester_ sings upon the subject, I believe it unfeignedly,
After death nothing is,
And nothing death.
_Gr._ You believe it, my Lord, you mean, you would fain believe it if
you could; but since you put that great genius my Lord _Rochester_ upon
me, let me play him back upon _your Grace_; I am sure you have read his
fine poem upon _nothing_, in one of the stanzas of which is this
beautiful thought,
And to be part of [2] thee
The wicked wisely pray.
_D._ You are a foolish Dog.
_Gr._ And my _Lord Duke_ is a wise Infidel.
_D._ Why? is it not wiser to believe _no Devil_, than to be always
terrify'd at him?
_Gr._ But shall I toss another Poet upon you, my Lord?
If it should so fall out, as who can tell
But there may be a GOD, a _Heaven_ and _Hell_?
Mankind had best consider well, for fear
'T should be too late when their mistakes appear.
_D._ D--m your foolish Poet, that's not my Lord _Rochester_.
_Gr._ But how must I be damn'd, if there's _no Devil_? Is not _your
Grace_ a little inconsistent there? My Lord _Rochester_ would not have
said that, and't please your Grace.
_D._ No, _you Dog_, I am not inconsistent at all, and if I had the
ordering of you, I'd make you sensible of it; I'd make you think your
self damn'd for want of _a Devil_.
_Gr._ That's like one of _your Grace_'s paradoxes, such as when you
swore _by God_ that you did not believe there was any such thing as _a
God_, or _Devil_; so you swear by _nothing_, and damn me to _no where_.
_D._ You are a critical Dog, who taught you to believe these solemn
trifles? who taught you to say there is a GOD?
_Gr._ Nay, I had a better school-master than my _Lord Duke_.
_D._ Why, who was your school-master pray?
_Gr._ _The Devil_, and't please your _Grace_.
_D._ The Devil! _the Devil he did?_ what you're going to quote
Scripture, are you? Prithee don't tell me of _Scripture_, I know what
you mean, _the Devils believe and tremble_; why then I have the
whip-hand of _the Devil_, for I hate trembling; and I am deliver'd from
it effectually, for I never believed any thing of it, and therefore I
don't tremble.
_Gr._ And there, indeed, I am a wickeder creature than the _Devil_, or
even than my _Lord Duke_, for I believe, and yet don't tremble neither.
_D._ Nay, if you are come to your penitentials I have 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 enjoy my self; I won't throw away
the pleasure of my life, I know the consequence of it.
_Gr._ And I'll go and reform my self, else I know the consequence too.
This short Dialogue happen'd between two men of quality, and both men of
wit too; and the effect was, that the Lord brought the reality of _the
Devil_ into the question, and the debate brought the profligate to be a
penitent; so in short, _the Devil_ was made a preacher of repentance.
The Truth is, _God_ and _the Devil_, however opposite in their nature,
and remote from one another in their place of abiding, seem to stand
pretty much upon a level in our faith: For as to our believing the
reality of their existence, he that denies one, generally denies both;
and he that believes one, necessarily believes both.
Very few, if any of those who believe there is a GOD, and acknowledge
the debt of homage which mankind owes to the supreme Governor of the
World, doubt the existence of _the Devil_, except here and there one,
whom we call practical Atheists; and 'tis the character of an Atheist,
if there is such a creature on Earth, that like my _Lord Duke_, he
believes neither GOD or _Devil_.
As the belief of both these stands upon a level, and that GOD and the
_Devil_ seem to have an equal share in our faith, so the evidence of
their existence seems to stand upon a level too, in many things; and as
they are known by their Works in the same particular cases, so they are
discover'd after the same manner of demonstration.
Nay, in some respects 'tis equally criminal to deny the reality of them
both, only with this difference, 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; one is a demonstration from the reality of visible
causes, and the other a deduction from the like reality of their
effects.
One demonstration of the existence of GOD, is from the universal
well-guided consent of all nations to worship and adore a supreme Power;
One demonstration of the existence of the _Devil_, is from the avow'd
ill-guided consent of some nations, who knowing no other GOD, make a GOD
of the _Devil_, for want of a better.
It may be true, that those nations have no other Ideas of the Devil than
as of a superior Power; if they thought him a supreme Power it would
have other effects on them, and they would submit to and worship him
with a different kind of fear.
But 'tis plain they have right notions of him as a Devil or evil Spirit,
because the best reason, and in some places the only reason they give
for worshiping him is, that he may do them no hurt; having no notions at
all of his having any power, much less any inclination to do them good;
so that indeed they make a meer _Devil_ of him, at the same time that
they bow to him as to a GOD.
All the ages of Paganism in the World have had this notion of _the
Devil_: indeed in some parts of the World they had also some Deities
which they honour'd above him, as being supposed to be beneficent, kind
and inclined, as well as capable to give them good things; for this
reason the more polite Heathens, such as the _Grecians_ and the
_Romans_, had their _Lares_ or houshold Gods, whom they paid a
particular respect to; as being their Protectors from Hobgoblins, Ghosts
of the Dead, evil Spirits, frightful Appearances, evil Genius's and
other noxious Beings from the invisible World; or to put it into the
language of the day we live in, from _the Devil_, in whatever shape or
appearance he might come to them, and from whatever might hurt them: and
what was all this but setting up _Devils_ against _Devils_, supplicating
one _Devil_ under the notion of a good Spirit, to drive out and protect
them from another, whom they call'd a bad Spirit, the white _Devil_
against the black _Devil_?
This proceeds from the natural notions mankind necessarily entertain of
things to come; _superior_ or _inferior_, GOD and the _Devil_, fill up
all futurity in our thoughts; and 'tis impossible for us to form any
images in our minds of an immortality and an invisible World, but under
the notions of perfect felicity, or extreme misery.
Now as these two respect the Eternal state of man after life, they are
respectively the object of our reverence and affection, or of our
horror and aversion; but notwithstanding they are plac'd thus in a
diametrical opposition in our affections and passions, they are on an
evident level as to the certainty of their existence, and, as I said
above, bear an equal share in our faith.
It being then as certain that there is _a Devil_, as that there is _a
God_, I must from this time forward admit no more doubt of his
existence, nor take any more pains to convince you of it; but speaking
of him as a reality in Being, proceed to enquire who he is, and from
whence, in order to enter directly into the detail of his History.
Now not to enter into all the metaphysical trumpery of his Schools, nor
wholly to confine my self to the language of the Pulpit; where we are
told, that to think of GOD and of the _Devil_, we must endeavour first
to form Ideas of those things which illustrate the description of
rewards and punishments; in the one the eternal presence of the highest
good, and, as a necessary attendant, the most perfect, consummate,
durable bliss and felicity, springing from the presence of that Being in
whom all possible Beatitude is inexpressibly present, and that in the
highest perfection: On the contrary, to conceive of a sublime fallen
Arch-angel, attended with an innumerable host of degenerate, rebel
Seraphs or Angels cast out of Heaven together; all guilty of
inexpressible rebellion, and all suffering from that time, and to suffer
for ever the eternal vengeance of the Almighty, in an inconceivable
manner; that his presence, tho' blessed in it self, is to them the most
compleat article of terror; That they are in themselves perfectly
miserable; and to be with whom for ever, adds an inexpressible misery to
any state as well as place; and fills the minds of those who are to be,
or expect to be banish'd to them with inconceivable horror and
amazement.
But when you have gone over all this, and a great deal more of the like,
tho' less intelligible language, which the passions of men collect to
amuse one another 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
suffer'd, _viz._ the _Devil and his Angels_.
Now who this _Devil and his Angels_ are, what share they have either
actively or passively in the eternal miseries of a future state, how far
they are Agents in or Partners with the sufferings of the place, is a
difficulty yet not fully discover'd by the most learned; nor do I
believe 'tis made less a difficulty by their medling with it.
But to come to the person and original of _the Devil_, or, as I said
before, of _Devils_; I allow him to come of an ancient family, for he is
from Heaven, and more truly than the _Romans_ could say of their
idoliz'd _Numa_, he is of the race of the Gods.
That _Satan_ is a fallen Angel, a rebel Seraph, cast out for his
Rebellion, is the general opinion, and 'tis not my business to dispute
things universally receiv'd; as he was try'd, condemn'd, 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 particular
aggravations it might have, 'tis certain, amounted to High-treason
against his Lord and Governor, who was also his Maker; against whom he
rose in rebellion, took up arms, and in a word, rais'd a horrid and
unnatural war in his dominions; but being overcome in battle, and made
prisoner, he and all his Host, whose numbers were infinite, all
glorious Angels like himself, lost at once their beauty and glory with
their Innocence, and commenc'd _Devils_, being transform'd by crime into
monsters and frightful objects; such as to describe, human fancy is
obliged to draw pictures and descriptions in such forms as are most
hateful and frightful to the imagination.
These notions, I doubt not, gave birth to all the beauteous Images and
sublime expressions in Mr. _Milton_'s majestick Poem; where, tho' he has
play'd the Poet in a most luxuriant manner, he has sinn'd against
_Satan_ most egregiously, and done the _Devil_ a manifest injury in a
great many particulars, as I shall shew in its place. And as I shall be
oblig'd to do _Satan_ justice when I come to that part of his History,
Mr. _Milton_'s admirers must pardon me, if I let them see, that tho' I
admire Mr. _Milton_ as a Poet, yet that he was greatly out in matters of
History, and especially the History of the _Devil_; in short, That he
has charged _Satan_ falsly in several particulars; and so he has _Adam_
and _Eve_ too: But that I shall leave till I come to the History of the
Royal Family of _Eden_; which I resolve to present you with when the
_Devil_ and I have done with one another.
But not to run down Mr. _Milton_ neither, whose poetry, or his judgment,
cannot be reproached without injury to our own; all those bright Ideas
of his, which make his poem so justly valued, whether they are capable
of proof as to the fact, are notwithstanding, confirmations of my
hypothesis; and are taken from a supposition of the Personality of the
_Devil_, placing him at the head of the infernal host, as a sovereign
elevated Spirit and Monarch of Hell; and as such it is that I undertake
to write his history.
By the word Hell I do not suppose, or at least not determine, that his
residence, or that of the whole army of _Devils_, is yet in the same
local HELL, to which the Divines tell us he shall be at last chain'd
down; or at least that he is yet confin'd to it, for we shall find he is
at present a prisoner at large: of both which circumstances of Satan I
shall take occasion to speak in its course.
But when I call the Devil the Monarch of _Hell_, I am to be understood
as suits to the present purpose; that he is the Sovereign of all the
race of Hell, that is to say of all the Devils or Spirits of the
infernal Clan, let their numbers, quality and powers be what they will.
Upon this supposed personality and superiority of _Satan_, or, as I call
it, the sovereignty and government of one Devil above all the rest; I
say, upon this notion are form'd all the systems of the dark side of
futurity, that we can form in our minds: And so general is the opinion
of it, that it will hardly bear to be oppos'd by any other argument, at
least that will bear to be reason'd upon: All the notions of a parity of
Devils, or making a common-wealth among the black Divan, seem to be
enthusiastick and visionary, but with no consistency or certainty, and
is so generally exploded, that we must not venture so much as to debate
the point.
Taking it then as the generality of mankind do, that there is a Grand
Devil, a superior of the whole black race; that they all fell, together
with their General, _Satan_, at the head of them; that tho' he, _Satan_,
could not maintain his high station in Heaven, yet that he did continue
his dignity among the rest, who are call'd 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 soever in number, at his
command; employ'd by him in all his hellish designs, and in all his
wicked contrivances for the destruction of man, and for the setting up
his own kingdom in the world.
Supposing then that there is such a superior Master-Devil over all the
rest, it remains that we enquire into his character, and something of
his History; in which, tho' we cannot perhaps produce such authentick
documents as in the story of other great Monarchs, Tyrants, and Furies
of the World; yet I shall endeavour to speak some things which the
experience of mankind may be apt to confirm, and which the Devil himself
will hardly be able to contradict.
It being then granted that there is such a thing or person, call him
which we will, as a Master-Devil; that he is thus superior to all the
rest in power and in authority, and that all the other evil Spirits are
his Angels, or Ministers, or Officers to execute his commands, and are
employ'd in his business; it remains to enquire, whence he came? how he
got hither, into this World? what that business is which he is employ'd
about? what his present state is, and where and to what part of the
creation of God he is limited and restrained? what the liberties are he
takes or is allow'd to take? in what manner he works, and how his
instruments are likewise allow'd to work? what he has done ever since he
commenc'd Devil, what he is now doing, and what he may yet do before his
last and closer confinement? as also what he cannot do, and how far we
may or may not be said to be exposed to him, or have or have not reason
to be afraid of him? These, and whatever else occurs in the History and
conduct of this Arch-devil and his Agents, that may be useful for
information, caution, or diversion, you may expect in the process of
this work.
I know it has been question'd by some, with more face than fear, how it
consists with a compleat victory of the Devil, which they say was at
first obtained by the Heavenly Powers over _Satan_ and his apostate army
in _Heaven_, that when he was cast out of his holy place, and dash'd
down into the abyss of eternal darkness, as into a place of punishment,
a condemn'd hold, or place of confinement, to be reserved there to the
judgment of the great Day; _I say_, how it consists with that entire
victory, to let him loose again, and give him liberty, like a thief that
has broken prison, to range about God's creation, and there to continue
his rebellion, commit new ravages, and acts of hostility against God,
make new efforts at dethroning the almighty Creator; and in particular
to fall upon the weakest of his creatures, MAN? how _Satan_ being so
entirely vanquish'd, he should be permitted to recover any of his wicked
powers, and find room to do mischief to mankind.
Nay they go farther, and suggest bold things against the wisdom of
Heaven, in exposing mankind, weak in comparison of the immense extent of
the _Devil_'s power, to so manifest an overthrow, to so unequal a fight,
in which he is sure, if alone in the conflict, to be worsted; to leave
him such a dreadful enemy to engage with, and so ill furnish'd with
weapons to assist him.
These objections I shall give as good an answer to as the case will
admit in this course, but must adjourn them for the present.
That the Devil is not yet a close prisoner, we have evidence enough to
confirm; I will not suggest, that like our _Newgate_ Thieves, (to bring
little Devils and great Devils together) he is let out by connivance,
and has some little latitudes and advantages for mischief, by that
means; returning at certain seasons to his confinement again. This
might hold, were it not, that the comparison must suggest, that the
power which has cast him down could be deluded, and the under-keepers or
jaylors, under whose charge he was in custody, could wink at his
excursions, and the Lord of the place know nothing of the matter. But
this wants farther explanation.
CHAP. III.
_Of the original of the_ DEVIL, _who he is, and what he was before his
expulsion out of Heaven, and in what state he was from that time
to the creation of Man._
To come to a regular enquiry into Satan's affairs, 'tis needful we
should go back to his original, as far as history and the opinion of the
learned World will give us leave.
It is agreed by all Writers, as well sacred as prophane, that this
creature we now call a Devil, was originally an Angel of light, a
glorious Seraph; perhaps the choicest of all the glorious Seraphs. See
how _Milton_ describes his original glory:
_Satan_, so call him now, his former name
Is heard no more in Heaven: He of the first,
If not _the first Archangel_; great in power,
In favour and preeminence.
_lib._ v. _fol._ 140.
And again the same author, and upon the same subject:
------Brighter once amidst the host
Of Angels, than that star the stars among.
_lib._ vii. _fol._ 189.
The glorious figure which Satan is supposed to make among the _Thrones_
and _Dominions_ in Heaven is such, as we might suppose the highest Angel
in that exalted train could make; and some think, _as above_, that he
was the chief of the Arch-angels.
Hence that notion, (and not ill founded) _namely_, that the first cause
of his disgrace, and on which ensued his rebellion, was occasioned upon
God's proclaiming his SON Generalissimo, and with himself supreme ruler
in heaven; giving the dominion of all his works of creation, as well
already finish'd, as not then begun, to him; which post of honour (say
they) _Satan_ expected to be conferr'd on himself, as next in honour,
majesty and power to God the Supreme.
This opinion is follow'd by Mr. _Milton_ too, as appears in the
following lines, where he makes all the Angels attending all a general
summons, and God the Father making the following declaration to them.
"Here, all ye Angels, prodigy of light,
"Thrones, dominions, princedoms, virtues, pow'rs!
"Hear my decree, which unrevok'd shall stand.
"This day I have begot whom I declare
"My only SON, and on this hill
"Him have anointed, whom you now behold
"At my right hand; your Head I Him appoint:
"And my self have sworn to him shall bow
"All knees in Heav'n, and shall confess him Lord,
"Under his great vice-gerent reign abide
"United, as one individual soul,
"For ever happy: Him who disobeys,
"Me disobeys, breaks union, and that day
"Cast out from GOD, and blessed vision, falls
"Into utter darkness, deep ingulph'd, his place
"Ordain'd without redemption, without end.
Satan, affronted at the appearance of a new Essence or Being in Heaven,
call'd the Son of God; for God, says Mr. _Milton_, (tho' 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 higher post
could be granted, it might be his due; I say, affronted at this he
resolv'd
"With all his Legions to dislodge, and leave
"Unworship'd, unobey'd, the throne supreme
"Contemptuous. ------
_Par. lost_, lib. v. fo. 140.
But Mr. _Milton_ is grosly erroneous in ascribing those words, _This day
have I begotten thee_, to that declaration of the Father before Satan
fell, and consequently to a time before the creation; whereas, it is by
Interpreters agreed to be understood of the Incarnation of the Son of
God, or at least of the Resurrection: [3] see _Pool_ upon _Acts_ xiii.
33.
In a word, Satan withdrew with all his followers malecontent and
chagrine, resolv'd to disobey this new command, and not yield obedience
to the Son.
But Mr. _Milton_ agrees in that opinion, that the number of Angels which
rebel'd with _Satan_ was infinite, and suggests in one place, that they
were the greatest half of all the angelick Body or seraphick Host.
"But Satan with his Power,
"An host
"Innumerable as the stars of night,
"Or stars of morning, dew drops, which the Sun
"Impearls on ev'ry leaf and ev'ry flower.
_ib._ lib. v. fo. 142.
Be their number as it is, numberless millions and legions of millions,
that is no part of my present enquiry; Satan the leader, guide and
superior, as he was author of the celestial rebellion, is still the
great Head and Master-Devil as before; under his authority they still
act, not obeying but carrying on the same insurrection against God,
which they begun in Heaven; making war still against Heaven, in the
person of his Image and Creature man; and tho' vanquish'd by the thunder
of the Son of God, and cast down headlong from Heaven, they have yet
reassumed, or rather not lost either the will or the power of doing
evil.
This fall of the Angels, with the war in Heaven which preceded it, is
finely describ'd by _Ovid_, in his war of the _Titans_ against
_Jupiter_; casting mountain upon mountain, and hill upon hill (_Pelion_
upon _Ossa_) in order to scale the Adamantine walls, and break open the
gates of _Heaven_; till _Jupiter_ struck them with his thunder-bolts and
overwhelm'd them in the abyss: _Vide Ovid Metam._ new translation, lib.
i. p. 19.
"Nor were the Gods themselves secure on high,
"For now the _Gyants_ strove to storm _the sky_,
"The lawless brood with bold attempt invade
"THE GODS, and mountains upon mountains _laid_.
"But now the _bolt_, enrag'd _the Father_ took,
"_Olympus_ from her deep foundations shook,
"Their structure nodded at the mighty stroke,
"And _Ossa_'s shatter'd top o'er _Pelion_ broke,
"They're in their own ungodly ruines slain.--
Then again speaking of _Jupiter_, resolving in council to destroy
mankind by a deluge, and giving the reasons of it to the heavenly Host,
say thus, speaking of the demy-Gods alluding to good men below.
"Think you that they in safety can remain,
"When I my self who o'er Immortals reign,
"Who send the lightning, and Heaven's empire sway,
"The stern [4] Lycaon practis'd to betray.
_ib._ p. 10.
Since then so much poetic liberty is taken with the Devil, relating to
his most early state, and the time before his fall, give me leave to
make an excursion of the like kind, relating to his History immediately
after the fall, and till the creation of man; an interval which I think
much of the Devil's story is to be seen in, and which Mr. _Milton_ has
taken little notice of, at least it does not seem compleatly fill'd up;
after which I shall return to honest Prose again, and persue the duty of
an Historian.
_Satan_, with hideous ruin thus supprest
_Expell'd_ the seat of blessedness and rest,
Look'd back and saw the _high eternal mound_,
Where all _his rebel host_ their _outlet_ found
_Restor'd impregnable_: The breach made up,
And garrisons of Angels rang'd a top;
In front a hundred thousand thunders roll,
And lightnings temper'd to transfix a soul,
Terror of _Devils_. _Satan_ and his host,
Now to themselves _as well as station lost_,
Unable to support the hated sight, }
Expand _seraphic wings_, and swift as light }
Seek for new safety in _eternal Night_. }
In the remotest gulphs _of dark_ they land,
Here vengeance gives them leave to make their stand,
Not that to _steps_ and _measures_ they pretend,
_Councils_ and _schemes_ their station to defend;
But broken, disconcerted and _dismay'd_,
By guilt and fright to guilt and fright _betray'd_;
Rage and confusion ev'ry Spirit possess'd,
And _shame_ and _horror_ swell'd in ev'ry breast;
Transforming envy to their essentials burns,
And _the bright_ Angel to a _frightful Devil_ turns.
_Thus Hell began_; the fire of conscious rage
No years can quench, no length of time asswage.
_Material Fire_, with its intensest flame,
Compar'd _with this_ can scarce deserve a Name;
How should it up to _immaterials_ rise,
When we're _all flame_, we shall _all fire_ despise.
This fire outrageous and its heat intense
Turns all the pain _of loss_ to pain _of sense_.
The folding flames _concave_ and _inward_ roll,
Act _upon spirit_ and penetrate _the soul_:
Not force of _Devils_ can its new powers repel,
Where'er it burns _it finds_ or _makes_ a HELL;
For _Satan_ flaming with unquench'd desire
Forms _his own Hell_, and kindles _his own fire_,
Vanquish'd, _not humbl'd_, not in will brought low,
But as _his powers_ decline _his passions_ grow:
The malice, _Viper like_, takes vent within,
Gnaws its own bowels, and bursts in _its own sin_:
Impatient of the change _he scorns to bow_,
And never _impotent_ in power _till now_;
Ardent with hate, and _with revenge_ distract,
A will to new attempts, _but none_ to act;
Yet all _seraphick_, and in just degree,
Suited _to Spirits high sense_ of misery,
Deriv'd from _loss_ which _nothing_ can repair,
And _room for nothing left_ but meer despair.
_Here's finish'd Hell!_ what fiercer fire _can burn_?
Enough ten thousand Worlds to over-turn.
HELL's but the frenzy of defeated pride,
Seraphick Treason's strong impetuous tide,
Where vile ambition _disappointed_ first,
To its _own rage_ and _boundless hatred_ curst;
The hate's _fan'd up to fury_, that to _flame_,
For _fire_ and _fury_ are in kind the same;
These burn unquenchable in every face,
And the word ENDLESS constitutes the place.
O _state of Being!_ where being's the only grief,
And the _chief torture_'s to be damn'd to life;
_O life!_ the only thing they have to hate;
The _finish'd torment_ of a future state,
Compleat in all the parts of endless misery,
And worse ten thousand times than _not_ to BE!
Could but the Damn'd _the immortal law_ repeal,
And _Devils dye_, there'd be _an end of Hell_;
Could they that thing call'd _Being_ annihilate,
There'd be _no sorrows_ in a future state;
The Wretch, whose crimes had shut him out _on high_,
Could be reveng'd on God himself _and die_;
_Job's Wife_ was in the right, and always we
Might end _by death_ all human misery, }
Might have it in our choice, _to be_ or not to be. }
CHAP. IV.
_Of the name of the Devil, his original, and the nature of his
circumstances since he has been called by that name._
The Scripture is the first writing on earth where we find the _Devil_
called by his own proper distinguishing denomination, DEVIL, or the [5]
_Destroyer_; nor indeed is there any other author of antiquity or of
sufficient authority which says any thing of that kind about him.
Here he makes his first appearance in the world, and on that occasion he
is called the _Serpent_; but the _Serpent_ however since made to signify
the _Devil_, when spoken of in general terms, was but the Devil's
representative, or the Devil _in quo vis vehiculo_, for that time,
clothed in a bodily shape, acting under cover and in disguise, or if you
will the _Devil_ in _masquerade_: Nay, if we believe Mr. _Milton_, the
_Angel Gabriel_'s spear had such a secret powerful influence, as to make
him strip of a sudden, and with a touch to unmask, and stand upright in
his naked original shape, meer _Devil_, without any disguises
whatsoever.
Now as we go to the Scripture for much of his history, so we must go
there also for some of his names; and he has a great variety of names
indeed, as his several mischievous doings guide us to conceive of him.
The truth is, all the ancient names given him, of which the Scripture is
full, seems to be originals derived from and adapted to the several
steps he has taken, and the several shapes he has appeared in to do
mischief in the world.
Here he is called the _Serpent_, Gen. iii. 1.
The _old Serpent_, Rev. xii. 9.
The _great red Dragon_, Rev. xii. 3.
The _Accuser of the Brethren_, Rev. xii. 10.
The _Enemy_, Matt. xxiii. 29.
_Satan_, Job i. Zech. iii. 1, 2.
_Belial_, 2 Cor. vi. 15.
_Beelzebub_, Matt. xii. 24.
_Mammon_, Matt. vi. 24.
The _Angel of light_, 2 Cor. xi. 14.
The _Angel of the bottomless pit_, Rev. ix. 11.
The _Prince of the power of the air_, Eph. ii. 2.
_Lucifer_, Isa. xiv. 12.
_Abbaddon_ or _Apollion_, Rev. ix. 11.
_Legion_, Mark v. 9.
The _God of this world_, 2 Cor. iv. 4.
The _Foul Spirit_, Mark ix. 5.
The _Unclean Spirit_, Mark i. 27.
The _Lying Spirit_, 2 Chron. xxx.
The _Tempter_, Matt. iv. 3.
The _Son of the morning_, Isa. xiv. 12.
But to sum them all up in one, he is called in the new Testament _plain_
DEVIL; all his other names are varied according to the custom of speech,
and the dialects of the several nations where he is spoken of; But in a
word, _Devil_ is the common name of the _Devil_ in all the known
languages of the earth. Nay, all the mischiefs he is empowered to do,
are in Scripture placed to his account, under the particular title of
the _Devil_, not of _Devils_ in the plural number, though they are
sometimes mentioned too; but in the singular it is the identical
individual _Devil_, in and under whom all the little _Devils_, and all
the great _Devils_, if such there be, are supposed to act; nay, they are
supposed to be govern'd and directed by him. Thus we are told in
Scripture of the works of _the Devil_, 1 John iii. 8. of casting out
_the Devil_, Mark i. 34. of resisting _the Devil_, James iv. 5. of our
Saviour being tempted of _the Devil_, Mat. iv. 1. of _Simon Magus_, a
child of the _Devil_, Acts xiii. 10. The _Devil_ came down in a great
wrath, _Rev._ xii. 12. _and the like_. According to this usage in
speech we go on to this day, and all the infernal things we converse
with in the world, are fathered upon the _Devil_, as one undivided
simple essence, by how many agents soever working: Every thing evil,
frightful in appearance, wicked in its actings, horrible in its manner,
monstrous in its effects, is called the _Devil_; in a word, _Devil_ is
the common name for all _Devils_; that is to say, for all evil Spirits,
all evil Powers, all evil Works, and even all evil things: Yet 'tis
remarkable _the Devil_ is no old Testament word, and we never find it
used in all that part of the Bible but four times, and then not once in
the singular number, and not once to signify _Satan_ as 'tis now
understood.
It is true, the Learned give a great many differing interpretations of
the word _Devil_; the _English_ Commentators tell us, it means _a
destroyer_, others that it signifies a deceiver, and the _Greeks_ derive
it from a _Calumniator_ or false witness; for we find that _Calumny_ was
a _Goddess_, to whom the _Athenians_ built altars and offer'd Sacrifices
upon some solemn occasions, and they call her Diabolè from
whence came the masculine Diabolos which we translate _Devil_.
Thus we take the name of _Devil_ to signify not persons only, but
actions and habits; making imaginary Devils, and transforming that
substantial creature call'd DEVIL into every thing noxious and
offensive: Thus St. _Francis_ being tempted by the _Devil_ in the shape
of a bag of money lying in the highway, _the Saint_ having discover'd
the fraud, whether seeing his _Cloven-foot_ hang out of the purse, or
whether he distinguish'd him by his smell of _sulphur_, or how
otherwise, authors are not agreed; but, I say, the Saint having
discover'd the cheat, and out-witted the _Devil_, took occasion to
preach that eminent sermon to his disciples, where his Text was, _Money
is_ THE DEVIL.
Nor, upon the whole, is any wrong done to _the Devil_ by this kind of
treatment, it only gives him the sovereignty of the whole army of Hell,
and making all the numberless legions of the bottomless pit servants;
or, _as the Scripture calls them_, Angels to _Satan_ the grand _Devil_;
all their actions, performances and atchievements are justly attributed
to him, not as the prince of _Devils_ only, but the Emperor of _Devils_;
the prince of all the princes of _Devils_.
Under this denomination then of DEVIL, all the Powers of Hell, all the
Princes of the air, all the black armies of _Satan_ are comprehended,
and in such manner they are to be understood in this whole work;
_mutatis mutandis_, according to the several circumstances of which we
are to speak of them.
This being premis'd, and my authority being so good, _Satan_ must not
take it ill, if I treat him _after the manner of men_, and give him
those titles which he is best known by among us; for indeed having so
many, 'tis not very easy to call him out of his name.
However, as I am oblig'd by the duty of an Historian to decency as well
as impartiality, so I thought it necessary, before I used too much
freedom with _Satan_, to produce authentick Documents, and bring
antiquity upon the stage, to justify the manner of my writing, and let
you see I shall describe him in no colours, nor call him by any name,
but what he has been known by for many ages before me.
And now, though writing to the common understanding of my Readers, I am
oblig'd to treat _Satan_ very coarsly, and to speak of him in the common
acceptation, calling him plain _Devil_, a word which in this mannerly
age is not so _sonorous_ as others might be, and which by the error of
the Times is apt to prejudice us against his Person; yet it must be
acknowledg'd he has a great many other names and sirnames which he might
be known by, of a less obnoxious import than that of _Devil_, or
_Destroyer_, &c.
Mr. _Milton_, indeed, wanting titles of honour to give to the Leaders of
Satan's Host, is oblig'd to borrow several of his Scripture names, and
bestow them upon his infernal _Heroes_, whom he makes the Generals and
Leaders of the armies of Hell; and so he makes _Beelzebub_, _Lucifer_,
_Belial_, _Mammon_, and some others, to be the names of particular
Devils, members of _Satan's upper house_ or _Pandemonium_; whereas
indeed, these are all names proper and peculiar to _Satan_ himself.
The Scripture also has some names of a coarser kind, by which _the
Devil_ is understood, as particularly, which is noted already, in the
Apocalypse he is call'd the _Great Red Dragon_, the _Beast_, the _Old
Serpent_, and the like: But take it in the Scripture, or where you will
in History sacred or prophane, you will find that in general the _Devil_
is, as I have said above, his ordinary name in all languages and in all
nations; the name by which he and his works are principally
distinguish'd: Also the Scripture, besides that it often gives him this
name, speaks of the works of _the Devil_, of the subtilty of _the
Devil_, of casting out _Devils_, of being tempted of the _Devil_, of
being possess'd with a _Devil_, and so many other expressions of that
kind, as I have said already, are made use of for us to understand the
evil Spirit by, that in a word, _Devil_ is the common name of all wicked
Spirits: For _Satan_ is no more _the Devil_, as if he alone was so, and
all the rest were a diminutive species who did not go by that name; But,
I say, even in Scripture, every Spirit, whether under his Dominion or
out of his Dominion, is called the _Devil_, and is as much a real
_Devil_, that is to say, a condemn'd Spirit, and employ'd in the same
wicked work as _Satan_ himself.
His Name then being thus ascertain'd, and his Existence acknowledg'd, it
should be a little enquir'd _what he is_; we believe there is such a
thing, such a creature as _the Devil_, and that he has been, and may
still with propriety of speech, and without injustice to his Character
be call'd by his antient name _Devil_.
But who is he? what is his original? whence came he? and what is his
present station and condition? for these things and these enquiries are
very necessary to his History, nor indeed can any part of his History be
compleat without them.
That he is of an antient and noble original must be acknowledged, for he
is _Heaven-born_, and of _Angelic Race_, as has been touch'd already: If
Scripture-evidence may be of any weight in the question, there is no
room to doubt the genealogy of the _Devil_; he is not only spoken of as
an _Angel_, but as a _fallen Angel_, one that had been in _Heaven_, had
beheld the face of GOD in his full effulgence of glory, and had
surrounded the Throne of the most High; from whence, commencing rebel
and being expell'd, he was cast down, down, down, GOD and the _Devil_
himself only knows where; for indeed we cannot say that any man on Earth
knows it; and wherever it is, he has ever since man's creation been a
plague to him, been a tempter, a deluder, a calumniator, an enemy and
the object of man's horror and aversion.
As his original is _Heaven-born_, and his Race _Angelic_, so the Angelic
nature is evidently plac'd in a class superior to the human, and this
the Scripture is express in also; when speaking of man, it says, he
made him a little lower than the Angels.
Thus _the Devil_, as mean thoughts as you may have of him, is of a
better family than any of you, nay than the best Gentleman of you all;
what he may be fallen to, is _one thing_, but what he is fallen from,
_is another_; and therefore I must tell my learned and reverend friend
_J. W._ LL. D. when he spoke so rudely of _the Devil_ lately, That in my
opinion he abus'd his Betters.
Nor is the Scripture more a help to us in the search after _the Devil_'s
Original, than it is in our search after his Nature: it is true, Authors
are not agreed about his age, what time he was created, how many years
he enjoy'd his state of blessedness before he fell; or how many years he
continued with his whole army in a state of darkness, and before the
creation of man. 'Tis supposed it might be a considerable space, and
that it was a part of his punishment too, being all the while unactive,
unemploy'd, having no business, nothing to do but gnawing his own
Bowels, and rolling in the agony of his own self-approaches, being a
Hell to himself in reflecting on the glorious state from whence he was
fallen.
How long he remain'd thus, 'tis true, we have no light into from
History, and but little from Tradition; _Rabbi Judah_ says, the _Jews_
were of the opinion, that he remain'd twenty thousand years in that
condition, and that the World shall continue twenty thousand more, in
which he shall find work enough to satisfy his mischievous desires; but
he shews no authority for his opinion.
Indeed let the _Devil_ have been as idle as they think he was before, it
must be acknowledg'd that now he is the most busy, vigilant and
diligent, of all GOD's creatures, and very full of employment too,
_such as it is_.
Scripture indeed, gives us light into the enmity there is between the
two natures, the Diabolical and the Human; the reason of it, and how and
by what means the power of _the Devil_ is restrain'd by the _Messias_;
and to those who are willing to trust to Gospel-light, and believe what
the Scripture says of _the Devil_, there may much of his History be
discover'd, and therefore those that list may go there for a fuller
account of the matter.
But to reserve all Scripture-evidence of these things, as a Magazine in
store for the use of those with whom Scripture-testimony is of force, I
must for the present turn to other enquiries, being now directing my
story to an age, wherein to be driven to Revelation and
Scripture-assertions is esteem'd giving up the dispute; people
now-a-days must have demonstration; and in a word, nothing will satisfy
the age, but such evidence as perhaps the nature of the question will
not admit.
It is hard, indeed, to bring demonstrations in such a case as this: _No
man has seen_ GOD _at any time_, says the scripture, 1 _John_ iv. 12. So
_the Devil_ being a spirit incorporeal, an Angel of light, and
consequently not visible in his own substance, nature and form, it may
in some sense be said, _no man has seen the Devil at any time_; all
those pretences of phrenziful and fanciful people, who tell us, they
have seen _the Devil_, I shall examine, and perhaps expose by
themselves.
It might take up a great deal of our time here, to enquire whether _the
Devil_ has any particular shape or personality of substance, which can
be visible to us, felt, heard, or understood; and which he cannot alter,
and then, what shapes or appearances _the Devil_ has at any time taken
upon him; and whether he can really appear in a body which might be
handled and seen, and yet so as to know it to have been _the Devil_ at
the time of his appearing; but this also I defer as not of weight in the
present enquiry.
We have divers accounts of Witches conversing with _the Devil_; the
_Devil_ in a real body, with all the appearance of a body of a man or
woman appearing to them; also of having a _Familiar_, as they call it,
an _Incubus_ or _little Devil_, which sucks their bodies, runs away with
them into the air, _and the like_: Much of this is said, but much more
than it is easy to prove, and we ought to give but a just proportion of
credit to those things.
As to his borrow'd shapes and his subtle transformings, that we have
such open testimony of, that there is no room for any question about it;
and when I come to that part, I shall be oblig'd rather to give a
history of the fact, than enter into any dissertation upon the nature
and reason of it.
I do not find in any author, whom we can call creditable, that even in
those countries where the dominion of _Satan_ is more particularly
establish'd, and where they may be said to worship him in a more
particular manner, as _a Devil_; which some tell us the _Indians_ in
_America_ did, who worship'd the _Devil_ that he might not hurt them;
yet, _I say_, I do not find that even there the _Devil_ appear'd to them
in any particular constant shape or personality peculiar to himself.
Scripture and History therefore, giving us no light into that part of
the question, I conclude and lay it down, not as my opinion only, but as
what all ages seem to concur in, that the _Devil_ has no particular
body; that he is a spirit, and that tho' he may, _Proteus_ like, assume
the appearance of either man or beast, yet it must be some borrow'd
shape, some assum'd figure, _pro hac vice_, and that he has no visible
body of his own.
I thought it needful to discuss this as a preliminary, and that the next
discourse might go upon a certainty in this grand point; namely, that
the Devil, however, he may for his particular occasions put himself into
a great many shapes, and clothe himself, perhaps, with what appearances
he pleases, yet that he is himself still a meer Spirit, that he retains
the seraphic Nature, is not visible by our eyes, which are human and
Organic, neither can he act with the ordinary Powers, or in the ordinary
manner as bodies do; and therefore, when he has thought fit to descend
to the meannesses of disturbing and frightning children and old women,
by noises and knockings, dislocating the chairs and stools, breaking
windows, and such like little ambulatory things, which would seem to be
below the dignity of his character, and which in particular, is
ordinarily performed by organic Powers; yet even then he has thought fit
not to be seen, and rather to make the poor people believe he had a real
shape and body, with hands to act, mouth to speak, _and the like_, than
to give proof of it in common to the whole World, by shewing himself,
and acting visibly and openly, as a body usually and ordinarily does.
Nor is it any disadvantage to the Devil, that his Seraphic nature is not
confin'd or imprison'd in a body or shape, suppose that shape to be what
monstrous thing we would; for this would, indeed, confine his actings
within the narrow sphere of the organ or body to which he was limited;
and tho' you were to suppose the body to have wings for a velocity of
Motion equal to spirit, yet if it had not a power of invisibility too,
and a capacity of conveying it self, undiscover'd, into all the secret
recesses of mankind, and the same secret art or capacity of insinuation,
suggestion, accusation, _&c._ by which his wicked designs are now
propagated, and all his other devices assisted, by which he deludes and
betrays mankind; I say, he would be no more a Devil, that is a
Destroyer, no more a Deceiver, and, no more a Satan, that is, a
dangerous Arch enemy to the souls of men; nor would it be any difficulty
to mankind to shun and avoid him, as I shall make plain in the other
part of his History.
Had the Devil from the beginning been embodied, as he could not have
been invisible to us, whose souls equally seraphic are only prescrib'd
by being embody'd and encas'd in flesh and blood as we are; so he would
have been no more a Devil to any body but himself: The imprisonment in a
body, had the powers of that body been all that we can conceive to make
him formidable to us, would yet have been a Hell to him; consider him as
a conquer'd exasperated Rebel, retaining all that fury and swelling
ambition, that hatred of God, and envy at his creatures which dwells now
in his enrag'd spirit as a _Devil_: yet suppose him to have been
condemn'd to organic Powers, confin'd to corporeal motion, and
restrain'd as a Body must be supposed to restrain a Spirit; it must, at
the same time, suppose him to be effectually disabled from all the
methods he is now allow'd to make use of, for exerting his rage and
enmity against God, any farther than as he might suppose it to affect
his Maker at second hand, by wounding his Glory thro' the sides of his
weakest creature, MAN.
He must, certainly, be thus confin'd, because Body can only act upon
Body, not upon Spirit; no species being empower'd to act out of the
compass of its own sphere: He might have been empower'd, indeed, to have
acted terrible and even destructive things upon mankind, especially if
this body had any powers given it which mankind had not, by which man
would be overmatch'd and not be in a condition of self-defence; for
example, suppose him to have had wings to have flown in the air; Or to
be invulnerable, and that no human invention, art, or engine 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 to have left him
defenceless to the mercy of another of his own creatures, whom he had
given power to destroy him; This indeed, might have occasion'd a general
idolatry, and made mankind, as the _Americans_ 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 Devil to have had
malice equal to his power: and he must put on a new nature, be
compassionate, generous, beneficent, and steadily good in sparing the
rival enemy he was able to destroy, or he must have ruin'd mankind: _In
short_, he must have ceas'd to have been a Devil, and must have
re-assum'd his original, Angelic, heavenly nature; been fill'd with the
principles of love to, and delight in the Works of his Creator, and bent
to propagate his Glory and Interest; or he must have put an end to the
race of man, whom it would be in his Power to destroy, and oblige his
Maker to create a new species, or fortify the old with some kind of
defence, which must be invulnerable, and which his fiery darts could not
penetrate.
On this occasion suffer me to make an excursion from the usual stile of
this Work, and with some solemnity to express my Thoughts thus:
How glorious is the wisdom and goodness of the great Creator of the
World! in thus restraining these seraphic OUTCASTS from the power of
assuming human or organic bodies! which could they do, envigorating them
with the supernatural Powers, which, as Seraphs and Angels, they now
possess and might exert, they would be able even to fright mankind from
the face of the Earth, and to destroy and confound God's Creation; nay,
_even as they are_, were not their power limited, they might destroy the
Creation it self, reverse and over-turn nature, and put the World into a
general conflagration: But were those immortal Spirits embodied, tho'
they were not permitted to confound nature, they would be able to
harrass poor weak and defenceless man out of his wits, and render him
perfectly useless, either to his Maker or himself.
But the Dragon is chain'd, the Devil's Power is limited; he has indeed a
vastly extended Empire, being Prince of the Air, having, at least, the
whole Atmosphere to range in, and how far that Atmosphere is extended,
is not yet ascertain'd by the nicest observations; _I say at least_,
because we do not yet know how far he may be allow'd to make excursions
beyond the Atmosphere of this Globe into the planetary Worlds, and what
power he may exercise in all the habitable parts of the _solar system_;
nay, of all the other _solar systems_, which, for ought we know, may
exist in the mighty extent of created space, and of which you may hear
farther in its order.
But let his power be what it will there, we are sure 'tis limited here,
and that in two particulars; first, he is limited as above, from
assuming body or bodily shapes with substance; and secondly, from
exerting seraphic Powers, and acting with that supernatural force,
which, as an Angel, he was certainly vested with before the fall, and
which we are not certain is yet taken from him; or at most, we do not
know how much it may or may not be diminish'd by his degeneracy, and by
the blow given him at his expulsion: this we are certain, that be his
Power greater or less, he is restrain'd from the exercise of it in this
World; and he, who was one equal to the Angel who kill'd 180000 men in
one night, is not able now, without a new commission, to take away the
life of one _Job_, nor to touch any thing he had.
But let us consider him then limited and restrained as he is, yet he
remains a mighty, a terrible, an immortal Being; infinitely superior to
man, as well in the dignity of his nature, as in the dreadful powers he
retains still about him; it is true the brain-sick heads of our
Enthusiasticks paint him blacker than he is, and, as I have said,
wickedly 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; In this they are much wrong, terrifying and deluding
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 such and
such good things; or carry them away with him they know not whither, if
they do not; as if the _Devil_, whose proper business is mischief,
seducing and deluding mankind, and drawing them in to be rebels like
himself, should threaten to seize upon them, carry them away, and in a
word, fall upon them to hurt them, if they did evil, and on the
contrary, be favourable and civil to them, if they did well.
Thus a poor deluded country fellow in our Town, that had liv'd a wicked,
abominable, debauch'd life, was frighted with an Apparition, as he
call'd it, of the _Devil_; He fancy'd that he spoke to him, and telling
his tale to a good honest christian Gentleman his neighbour, that had a
little more sense than himself; the Gentleman ask'd him if he was sure
he really saw the _Devil_? yes, yes, Sir, _says he_, I saw him very
plain, and so they began the following discourse.
_Gent._ See him! See the Devil! art thou sure of it, _Thomas_?
_Tho._ Yes, yes, I am sure enough of it, _Master_; to be sure 'twas the
_Devil_.
_Gent._ And how do you know 'twas the _Devil_, _Thomas_? had you ever
seen the _Devil_ before?
_Tho._ No, no, I had never seen him before, _to be sure_; but, for all
that, I know 'twas the _Devil_.
_Gent._ Well, if you're sure, _Thomas_, there's no contradicting you;
pray what clothes had he on?
_Tho._ Nay, Sir, don't jest with me, he had no clothes on, he was
clothed with fire and brimstone.
_Gent._ Was it dark or day light when you saw him?
_Tho._ O! it was very dark, for it was midnight.
_Gent._ How could you see him then? did you see by the light of the fire
you speak of?
_Tho._ No, no, he gave no light himself; but I saw him, for all that.
_Gent._ But was it within doors, or out in the street?
_Tho._ It was within, it was in my own Chamber, when I was just going
into bed, that I saw him.
_Gent._ Well then, you had a candle, hadn't you?
_Tho._ Yes, I had a candle, but it burnt as blue! and as dim!
_Gent._ Well, but if the Devil was clothed with fire and brimstone, he
must give you some light, there can't be such a fire as you speak of,
but it must give a light with it.
_Tho._ _No, no_, He gave no light, but I smelt his fire and brimstone;
he left a smell of it behind him, when he was gone.
_Gent._ Well, so you say he had fire, but gave no light, it was a
devilish fire indeed; did it feel warm? was the room hot while he was in
it?
_Tho._ No, no, but I was hot enough without it, for it put me into a
great sweat with the fright.
_Gent._ Very well, he was all in fire, you say, but without light or
heat, only, it seems, he stunk of brimstone; pray what shapes was he in,
what was he like; for you say you saw him?
_Tho._ O! Sir, I saw two great staring saucer eyes, enough to fright any
body out of their wits.
_Gent._ And was that all you saw?
_Tho._ No, I saw his _cloven-foot_ very plain, 'twas as big as one of
our bullocks that goes to plow.
_Gent._ So you saw none of his body, but his eyes and his feet? a fine
vision indeed!
_Tho._ Sir, that was enough to send me going.
_Gent._ Going! what did you run away from him?
_Tho._ No, but I fled into bed at one jump, and sunk down and pull'd the
bed-clothes quite over me.
_Gent._ And what did you do that for?
_Tho._ To hide my self from such a frightful creature.
_Gent._ Why, if it had really been the Devil, do you think the
bed-clothes would have secur'd you from him?
_Tho._ Nay, I don't know, but in a fright it was all I could do.
_Gent._ Nay, 'twas as wise as all the rest; but come, _Thomas_, to be a
little serious, pray did he speak to you?
_Tho._ Yes, yes, I heard a voice, but who it was the Lord knows.
_Gent._ What kind of voice was it, was it like a man's voice?
_Tho._ No, it was a hoarse ugly noise, like the croaking of a Frog, and
it call'd me by my name twice, _Thomas Dawson, Thomas Dawson_.
_Gent._ Well, did you answer?
_Tho._ No, not I, I could not have spoke a word for my life; why, I was
frighted to death.
_Gent._ Did it say any thing else?
_Tho._ _Yes_, when it saw that I did not speak, it said, _Thomas Dawson,
Thomas Dawson, you are a wicked wretch, you lay with_ Jenny S---- _last
night; if you don't repent, I will take you away alive and carry you to
Hell, and you shall be damned, you wretch_.
_Gent._ And was it true, _Thomas_, did you lye with _Jenny S----_ the
night before?
_Tho._ Indeed Master, why yes it was true, but I was very sorry
afterwards.
_Gent._ But how should the Devil know it, _Thomas_?
_Tho._ Nay, he knows it to be sure; why, they say he knows every thing.
_Gent._ _Well_, but why should he be angry at that? he would rather did
you lye with her again, and encourage you to lye with forty whores, than
hinder you: This can't be the Devil, _Thomas_.
_Tho._ Yes, yes. Sir, 'twas the _Devil_ to be sure.
_Gent._ But he bid you repent too, you say?
_Tho._ Yes, he threatn'd me if I did not.
_Gent._ Why, _Thomas_, do you think the Devil would have you repent?
_Tho._ _Why no_, that's true too, I don't know what to say to that; but
what could it be? 'twas the Devil to be sure, it could be nobody else?
_Gent._ No, no, 'twas neither the Devil, _Thomas_, nor any body else,
but your own frighted imagination; you had lain with that wench, and
being a young sinner of that kind, your Conscience terrified you, told
you the Devil would fetch you away, and you would be damn'd; and you
were so persuaded it would be so, that you at last imagin'd he was come
for you indeed; that you saw him and heard him; whereas, you may depend
upon it, if _Jenny S----_ will let you lye with her every night, the
Devil will hold the candle, or do any thing to forward it, but will
never disturb you; he's too much a friend to your wickedness, it could
never be the Devil, _Thomas_; 'twas only your own guilt frighted you,
and that was _Devil_ enough too, if you knew the worst of it, you need
no other enemy.
_Tho._ Why that's true, Master, one would think the _Devil_ should not
bid me repent, that's true; but certainly 'twas the Devil for all that.
Now _Thomas_ was not the only man that having committed a flagitious
crime had been deluded by his own imagination, and the power of fancy,
to think the Devil was come for him; whereas the Devil, to give him his
due, is too honest to pretend to such things; 'tis his business to
persuade men to offend, not to repent; and he professes no other; he may
press men to this or that action, by telling them 'tis no sin, no
offence, no breach of God's Law, and the like, when really 'tis both;
but to press them to repent, when they have offended, that's quite out
of his way; 'tis none of his business, nor does he pretend to it;
therefore, let no man charge the Devil with what he is not concern'd in.
But to return to his Person, he is, as I have said, notwithstanding his
lost glory, a mighty, a terrible and an immortal Spirit; he is himself
call'd a Prince, _the Prince of the Power of the Air_; the Prince of
Darkness, the Prince of _Devils_, and the like, and his attending
Spirits are call'd _his Angels_: so that however _Satan_ has lost the
glory and rectitude of his Nature, by his apostate state, yet he retains
a greatness and magnificence, which places him above our rank, and
indeed above our conception; for we know not what he is, any more than
we know what the blessed Angels are; of whom we can say no more than
that they are _ministring Spirits_, &c. as the Scripture has describ'd
them.
Two things, however, may give us some insight into the nature of the
Devil, in the present state he is in; and these we have a clear
discovery of in the whole series of his Conduct from the Beginning.
1. That he is the vanquish'd but implacable enemy of God his
Creator, who has conquer'd him, and expell'd him from the
habitations of bliss; on which account he is fill'd with envy,
rage, malice, and all uncharitableness; would dethrone God and
overturn the thrones of Heaven, if it was in his power.
2. That he is man's irreconcilable Enemy; not as he is a man, nor
on his own account simply, nor for any advantage he (the Devil) can
make by the ruin and destruction of man; but in meer envy at the
felicity he is supposed to enjoy as Satan's rival; and as he is
appointed to succeed Satan and his Angels in the possession of
those glories from which they are fallen.
And here I must take upon me to say, Mr. _Milton_ makes a wrong judgment
of the reason of _Satan_'s resolution to disturb the felicity of man; He
tells us it was meerly to affront God his Maker, rob him of the glory
design'd in his new work of creations and to disappoint him in his main
design, namely, the creating a new species of creatures in a perfect
rectitude of soul, and after his own image, from whom he might expect a
new Fund of glory should be rais'd, and who was to appear as the triumph
of the Messiah's victory over the Devil. In all which Satan could not be
fool enough not to know that he should be disappointed by the same
Power which had so eminently counter-acted his rage before.
But, I believe, the Devil went upon a much more probable design; and
tho' he may be said to act upon a meaner principle than that of pointing
his rage at the personal glory of his Creator; yet I own, that in my
opinion, it was by much the more rational undertaking, and more likely
to succeed; and that was, that whereas he perceived this new species of
creatures had a sublime as well as a human part, and were made capable
of possessing the mansions of eternal Beatitude, from whence, he
(_Satan_) and his Angels were expell'd and irretrievably banish'd; envy
at such a rival mov'd him by all possible artifice, _for he saw him
deprived of capacity to do it by force_, to render him unworthy like
himself; that bringing him to fall into rebellion and disobedience, he
might see his Rival damn'd with him; and those who were intended to fill
up the empty spaces in Heaven, made so by the absence of so many
millions of fallen Angels, be cast out into the same darkness with them.
How he came to know that this new species of creatures were liable to
such imperfection, is best explain'd by the _Devil_'s prying, vigilant
disposition, judging or leading him to judge by himself; (for he was as
near being infallible as any of God's creatures had been) and then
inclining him to try whether it was so or no.
Modern Naturalists, especially some who have not so large a charity for
the fair sex, as I have, tell us, that as soon as ever Satan saw the
woman, and look'd in her face, he saw evidently that she was the best
form'd creature to make a Tool of, and the best to make a hypocrite of,
that could be made, and therefore the most fitted for his purpose.
1. He saw by some thwart lines in her face, (legible, perhaps, to
himself only) that there was a throne ready prepar'd for the sin of
pride to sit in state upon, especially if it took an early possession:
EVE you may suppose was a perfect Beauty, if ever such a thing may be
supposed in the human frame; her figure being so extraordinary, was the
groundwork of his project; there needed no more than to bring her to be
vain of it, and to conceit that it either was so, or was infinitely more
sublime and beautiful than it really was; and having thus tickl'd her
vanity, to introduce Pride gradually, till at last he might persuade
her, that she was really Angelic, or of heavenly Race, and wanted
nothing but to eat the forbidden fruit, and that would make her
something more excellent still.
2. Looking farther into her Frame, and with a nearer view to her
imperfections, he saw room to conclude that she was of a constitution
easy to be seduc'd, and especially by flattering her; raising a
commotion in her Soul, and a disturbance among her passions; and
accordingly he set himself to work, to disturb her repose, and put
dreams of great things into her head; together with something of a
nameless Kind, which (however, some have been ill-natur'd enough to
suggest) I shall not injure the Devil so much as to mention, without
better evidence.
3. But, besides this, he found, upon the very first survey of her
outside, something so very charming in her mein and behaviour, so
engaging as well as agreeable in the whole texture of her person, and
withal such a sprightly wit, such a vivacity of parts, such a fluency of
tongue, and above all, such a winning prevailing whine in her smiles, or
at least in her tears, that he made no doubt if he could but once delude
her, she would easily be brought to delude _Adam_, whom he found set not
only a great value upon her person, but was perfectly captivated by her
charms; in a word, he saw plainly, that if he could but ruin her, he
should easily make a Devil of her, to ruin her husband, and draw him
into any gulph of mischief, were it ever so black and dreadful, that she
should first fall into herself; how far some may be wicked enough, from
hence, to suggest of the _fair sex_, that they have been Devils to their
husbands ever since, I cannot say; I hope they will not be so unmerciful
to discover truths of such fatal consequence, tho' they should come to
their knowledge.
Thus subtle and penetrating has Satan been from the beginning; and who
can wonder that upon these discoveries made into the woman's inside, he
went immediately to work with her, rather than with _Adam_? not but that
one would think, if _Adam_ was fool enough to be deluded by his wife,
the Devil might have seen so much of it in his countenance, as to have
encourag'd him to make his attack directly upon him, and not go round
about, beating the bush, and ploughing with the Heifer; setting upon the
woman first, and then setting her upon her husband, who might as easily
have been imposed upon as she.
Other Commentators upon this critical Text suggest to us, that _Eve_ was
not so pleased with the hopes of being made a Goddess; That the pride of
a Seraphic Knowledge did not so much work upon her imagination to bring
her to consent, as a certain secret Notion infus'd into her head by the
same wicked instrument, that she should be wiser than _Adam_, and should
by the superiority of her understanding, necessarily have the government
over him; which, at present, she was sensible she had not, he being
master of a particular air of gravity and majesty, as well as of
strength, infinitely superior to her.
This is an ill-natur'd suggestion; but it must be confess'd the
impatient desire of government, which (since that) appears in the
general Behaviour of the sex, and particularly of governing husbands,
leaves too much room to legitimate the supposition.
The Expositors, who are of this opinion, add to it, that this being her
original crime, or the particular temptation to that crime; Heaven
thought fit to shew his justice, in making her more entire subjection to
her husband be a part of the Curse, that she might read her sin in the
punishment, (_viz._) _he shall rule over thee_.
I only give the general hint of these things as they appear recorded in
the annals of _Satan_'s first Tyranny, and at the beginning of his
government in the World; those that would be more particularly inform'd,
may enquire of him _and know farther_.
I cannot however, but observe here _with some regret_, how it appears by
the consequence, that the Devil was not mistaken when he made an early
judgment of Mrs. _Eve_; and how _Satan_ really went the right way to
work, to judge of her; 'tis certain the Devil had nothing to do but to
look in her face, and upon a near steady view he might easily see there,
an instrument for his Turn; nor has he fail'd to make her a Tool ever
since, by the very methods which he at first proposed; to which,
perhaps, he has made some additions in the corrupting her composition,
as well as her understanding; qualifying her to be a compleat snare to
the poor _weaker vessel_ MAN; to wheedle him with her _Syren_'s voice,
abuse him with her smiles, delude him with her crocodile tears, and
sometimes cock her crown at him, and terrify him with the thunder of her
TREBLE; making the effeminated _Male Apple-eater_ tremble at the noise
of that very Tongue, which at first commanded him to Sin. For it is yet
a debate which the Learned have not decided, whether she persuaded and
entreated him, or like a true she-tyrant, exercised her authority and
oblig'd him to eat the forbidden fruit.
And therefore a certain author, whose name, _for fear of the Sex's
resentment_ I conceal, brings her in, calling to _Adam_ at a great
distance, in an imperious haughty manner, beckoning to him with her
hand, thus; _Here_, says she, _you cowardly faint-hearted wretch, take
this branch of heavenly fruit, eat and be a stupid fool no longer; eat
and be wise; eat and be a God; and know, to your eternal shame, that
your wife has been made an enlightn'd Goddess before you_.
He tells you _Adam_ hung back a little at first, and trembl'd, _afraid
to trespass_: _What ails the_ SOT, says the new Termagant? _what are you
afraid of? did God forbid you! yes, and why? that we might not be
knowing and wise like himself! What reason can there be that we, who
have capacious souls, able to receive knowledge, should have it
withheld? take it, you Fool, and eat; don't you see how I am exalted in
soul by it, and am quite another Creature? Take it_, I say, _or, if you
don't, I'll go and cut down the Tree, and you shall never eat any of it
at all, and you shall be still a fool, and be governed by your wife for
ever_.
Thus, if this interpretation of the thing be just, she Scolded him into
it; Rated him, and brought him to it by the terror of her voice; a thing
that has retained a dreadful influence over him ever since; nor have the
greatest of _Adam_'s Successors, how light soever some husbands make of
it in this age, been ever able, since that, to conceal their terror, at
the very Sound; nay, if we may believe history, it prevailed even among
the Gods; not all the noise of _Vulcan_'s hammers could silence the
clamours of that outrageous whore his Goddess; nay, even _Jupiter_
himself led such a life with a termagant wife, that once, they say,
_Juno_ out-scolded the noise of all his Thunders, and was within an ace
of brawling him out of Heaven. But to return to the Devil.
With these views he resolv'd, it seems, to attack the woman; and if you
consider him as a Devil, and what he aim'd at, and consider the fair
prospect he had of success, I must confess, I do not see who can blame
him, or at least, how any thing less could be expected from him; But we
shall meet with it again by and by.
CHAP. V.
_Of the station Satan had in Heaven before he fell; the nature and
original of his crime, and some of Mr._ Milton_'s mistakes about
it._
Thus far I have gone upon general observation, in this great affair of
_Satan_ and his Empire in the World; I now come to _my Title_, and shall
enter upon the historical part, as the main work before me.
Besides what has been said Poetically, relating to the fall and
wandering condition of the _Devil_ and his Host, which poetical part I
offer only as an excursion, and desire it should be taken so; I shall
give you what I think is deduc'd from good originals on the part of
_Satan_'s story in a few words.
He was one of the created Angels, form'd by the same omnipotent hand and
glorious power, who created the Heavens and the Earth, and all that is
therein: This innumerable heavenly host, as we have reason to believe,
contain'd Angels of higher and lower stations, of greater and of lesser
degree, express'd in the Scripture by _Thrones_, _Dominions_, and
_Principalities_: This, I think, we have as much reason to believe, as
we have, that there are Stars in the Firmament (or starry Heavens) of
greater and of lesser magnitude.
What particular station among the immortal Choir of Angels, this
Arch-seraph, this Prince of _Devils_, call'd _Satan_, was plac'd in
before his expulsion, that indeed, we cannot come at the knowledge of,
at least, not with such an Authority as may be depended upon; but as
from Scripture authority, he is plac'd at the head of all the Apostate
armies, after he was fallen, we cannot think it in the least assuming to
say, that he might be supposed to be one of the principal Agents in the
_Rebellion_ which happen'd in Heaven, and consequently that he might be
one of the highest in dignity there, before that Rebellion.
The higher his station, the lower, and with the greater precipitation,
was his overthrow; and therefore, those words, tho' taken in another
sense, may very well be apply'd to him: _How art thou fallen_, O
Lucifer! _Son of the Morning!_
Having granted the dignity of his Person, and the high station in which
he was placed among the heavenly Host; it would come then necessarily to
inquire into the nature of his fall, and _above all_, a little into the
reason of it; certain it is, _he did fall_, was guilty of Rebellion and
Disobedience, the just effect of Pride; sins, which, in that holy place,
might well be call'd wonderful.
But what to me is more wonderful, and which, I think, will be very ill
accounted for, is, how came seeds of crime to rise in the Angelic
Nature? created in a state of perfect, unspotted holiness? how was it
first found in a place where no unclean thing can enter? how came
ambition, pride, or envy to generate there? could there be offence where
there was no crime? could untainted purity breed corruption? could that
nature contaminate and infect, which was always Drinking in principles
of perfection?
Happy 'tis to me, _that_ writing the History, _not_ solving the
Difficulties of _Satan_'s Affairs, is my province in this Work; that I
am to relate the Fact, not give reasons for it, or sign causes; if it
was otherwise, I should break off at this difficulty, for I acknowledge
I do not see thro' it; neither do I think that the great _Milton_, after
all his fine Images and lofty Excursions upon the Subject, has left it
one jot clearer than he found it: Some are of opinion, and among them
the great Dr. _B----s_, that crime broke in upon them at some interval,
when they omitted but one moment fixing their eyes and thoughts on the
glories of the divine face, to admire and adore, which is the full
employment of Angels; but even this, tho' it goes as high as imagination
can carry us, does not reach it, nor, to me, make it one jot more
comprehensible than it was before; all I can say to it here, is, that
_so it was_, the fact was upon Record, and the rejected Troop are in
being, whose circumstances confess the Guilt, and still groan under the
Punishment.
If you will bear with a poetic excursion upon the subject, not to solve
but to illustrate the difficulty; take it in a few lines, thus,
Thou sin of Witchcraft! firstborn child of Crime!
Produc'd before the bloom of Time;
Ambition's maiden Sin, in Heaven conceiv'd,
And who could have believ'd
Defilement could in purity begin,
And bright eternal Day be soil'd with Sin?
Tell us, sly penetrating Crime,
How cam'st thou there, thou fault sublime?
How didst thou pass the Adamantine Gate;
And into Spirit thy self insinuate?
From what dark state? from what deep place?
From what strange uncreated race?
Where was thy ancient habitation found
Before void Chaos heard the forming sound?
Wast thou a Substance, or an airy Ghost,
A Vapour flying in the fluid waste
Of unconcocted air?
And how at first didst thou come there?
Sure there was once a time when thou wert not,
By whom wast thou created? and for what?
Art thou a steam from some contagious damp exhal'd?
How should contagion be intail'd,
On bright seraphic Spirits, and in a place
Where all's supreme, and Glory fills the Space?
No noxious vapour there could rise,
For there no noxious matter lies;
Nothing that's evil could appear,
Sin never could Seraphic Glory bear;
The brightness of the eternal Face,
Which fills as well as constitutes the place,
Would be a fire too hot for crime to bear,
'Twould calcine Sin, or melt it into air.
How then did first defilement enter in?
Ambition, thou first vital seed of Sin!
Thou Life of Death, how cam'st thou there?
In what bright form didst thou appear?
In what Seraphic Orb didst thou arise?
Surely that place admits of no disguise,
Eternal Sight must know thee there,
And being known, thou soon must disappear.
But since the fatal Truth we know,
Without the matter whence or manner how:
Thou high superlative of Sin,
Tell us thy nature, where thou didst begin?
The first degree of thy increase,
Debauch'd the Regions of eternal Peace,
And fill'd the breasts of loyal Angels there
With the first Treason and infernal War.
Thou art the high extreme of pride,
And dost o'er lesser crimes preside;
Not for the mean attempt of Vice design'd,
But to embroil the World, and damn Mankind.
Transforming mischief, now hast thou procur'd
That loss that ne'er to be restor'd,
And made the bright Seraphic Morning-star
In horrid monstrous shapes appear?
_Satan_, that while he dwelt in glorious light,
Was always then as pure as he was bright,
That in effulgent rays of glory shone,
Excell'd by eternal Light, by him alone,
Distorted now, and stript of Innocence,
And banish'd with thee from the high Pre-eminence,
How has the splendid Seraph chang'd his face,
Transform'd by thee, and like thy monstrous race?
Ugly as is the crime, for which he fell, }
Fitted by thee to make a local Hell, }
For such must be the place where either of you dwell. }
Thus, as I told you, I only moralize upon the subject, but as to the
difficulty, I must leave it as I find it, unless, _as I hinted at
first_, I could prevail with Satan to set pen to paper, and write this
part of his own History: No question, but he could let us into the
secret; but to be plain, I doubt I shall tell so many plain truths of
the _Devil_, in this History, and discover so many of his secrets, which
it is not for his interest to have discover'd, that before I have done,
the _Devil_ and I may not be so good friends as you may suppose we are;
at least, not friends enough to obtain such a favour of him, tho' it be
for public good; so we must be content till we come ont' other side the
_Blue-Blanket_, and then we shall know the whole Story.
But now, tho' as I said, I will not attempt to solve the difficulty, I
may, I hope, venture to tell you, that there is not so much difficulty
in it, as at first sight appears: and especially not so much as some
people would make us believe; let us see how others are mistaken in it,
perhaps, that may help us a little in the enquiry; for to know _what it
is not_, is one help towards knowing _what it is_.
Mr. _Milton_ has indeed told us a great many merry things of the Devil,
in a most formal, solemn manner; till in short he has made a good PLAY
of _Heaven_ and _Hell_; and no doubt if he had liv'd in our times, he
might have had it acted with our _Pluto_ and _Proserpine_. He has made
fine Speeches both for _God_ and the _Devil_, and a little addition
might have turn'd it _a la modern_ into a _Harlequin Dieu & Diable_.
I confess I don't well know how far the dominion of Poetry extends
itself; it seems the Buts and Bounds of _Parnassus_ are not yet
ascertain'd; so that for ought I know, by vertue of their antient
privileges call'd _Licentia Poetarum_, there can be no _Blasphemy_ in
_Verse_; as some of our Divines say there can be no _Treason_ in the
_Pulpit_. But they that will venture to write that way, ought to be
better satisfy'd about that Point than I am.
Upon this foot Mr. _Milton_, to grace his Poem, and give room for his
Towring Fancy, has gone a length beyond all that ever went before him,
since _Ovid_ in his _Metamorphosis_. He has indeed complimented GOD
_Almighty_ with a flux of lofty words, and great sounds; and has made a
very fine Story of the _Devil_, but he has made a meer _je ne scay Quoi_
of _Jesus Christ_. In one line he has him riding on a _Cherub_, and in
another sitting on a Throne, both in the very same moment of action. In
another place he has brought him in making a Speech to his _Saints_,
when 'tis evident he had none there; for we all know _Man was not
created till a long while after_; and no body can be so dull as to say
the _Angels_ may be called _Saints_, without the greatest absurdity in
nature. Besides, he makes CHRIST himself distinguish them, as in two
several Bands, and of differing Persons and Species, as to be sure they
are.
Stand still in bright array, _ye Saints_------
---- ------ -------- -------- Here stand,
_Ye Angels_. ------
_Par. Lost. lib._ vi. _fo._ 174.
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 warlike order, but that they shall have no occasion to fight, for
he alone will engage the Rebels. Then in embattling 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 _Milton_'s own making; 'tis certain
there were no Saints at all in _Heaven_ or _Earth_ at that time; GOD and
his _Angels_ fill'd up the place; and till some of the _Angels_ fell,
and Men were created, had liv'd, and were dead, there could have been no
_Saints_ there. Saint _Abel_ was certainly the _Proto-Saint_ of all that
ever were seen in _Heaven_, as well as the Proto-martyr of all that have
been upon _Earth_.
Just such another Mistake, not to call it a Blunder, he makes about
_Hell_; which he not only makes LOCAL, but gives it a being before the
Fall of the _Angels_; and brings it in opening its mouth to receive
them. This is so contrary to the nature of the thing, and so great an
absurdity, that no Poetic License can account for it; for tho' Poesie
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 Painter may make a fine piece of Work, the fancy may be good, the
strokes masterly, and the beauty of the Workmanship inimitably curious
and fine, and yet have some unpardonable improprieties which marr the
whole Work. So the famous Painter of _Toledo_ painted the story of the
three Wisemen of the _East_ coming to worship, and bring their presents
to our Lord upon his birth at _Bethlehem_, where he represents them as
three _Arabian_ or _Indian_ Kings; two of them are white, and one black;
But unhappily when he drew the latter part of them kneeling, which to be
sure was done after their faces; their legs being necessarily a little
intermix'd, he made three black feet for the _Negroe_ King, and but
three white feet for the two white Kings, and yet never discover'd the
mistake till the piece was presented to the King, and hung up in the
great Church. As this is an unpardonable error in Sculpture or Limning,
it must be much more so in Poetry, where the Images must have no
improprieties, much less inconsistencies.
In a word, Mr. _Milton_ has indeed made a fine Poem, but it is _the
Devil of a History_. I can easily allow Mr. _Milton_ to make Hills and
Dales, flowry Meadows and Plains (and the like) in Heaven; and places of
Retreat and Contemplation in _Hell_; tho' I must add, that it can be
allowed to no Poet on Earth but Mr. _Milton_. Nay, I will allow Mr.
_Milton_, if you please, to set the _Angels_ a dancing in _Heaven_,
_lib._ v. _fo._ 138. and the _Devils_ a singing in Hell, _lib._ i. _fo._
44. tho' they are in short, especially the last, most horrid
Absurdities. But I cannot allow him to make their Musick in _Hell_ to be
harmonious and charming as he does; such Images being incongruous, and
indeed shocking to Nature. Neither can I think we should allow things to
be plac'd out of time in Poetry, any more than in History; 'tis a
confusion of Images which is allow'd to be disallow'd by all the
Criticks of what tribe or species soever in the world, and is indeed
unpardonable. But we shall find so many more of these things in Mr.
_Milton_, that really taking notice of them all, would carry me quite
out of my way, I being at this time not writing the History of Mr.
_Milton_, but of the _Devil_: besides, Mr. _Milton_ is such a
celebrated Man, that who but he that can write the History of the
_Devil_ dare meddle with him?
But to come back to the business. As I had caution'd you against running
to Scripture for shelter in cases of difficulty, Scripture weighing very
little among the people I am directing my Speech to; so indeed Scripture
gives but very little light into any thing of the _Devil_'s Story before
his Fall, and but _to very little_ of it for some time after.
Nor has Mr. _Milton_ said one word to solve the main difficulty (_viz._)
How the _Devil_ came to fall, and how Sin came into Heaven; how the
spotless Seraphic Nature could receive infection, whence the contagion
proceeded, what noxious matter could emit corruption there, how and
whence any vapour to poison the Angelick Frame could rise up, or how it
increas'd and grew up to crime. But all this he passes over, and
hurrying up that part in two or three words, only tells us,
------ his Pride,
Had cast him out of Heaven with all his Host
Of rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring
He trusted to have equal'd the most High.
_lib._ i. _fo._ 3.
_His pride!_ but how came _Satan_ while an Arch-angel to be proud? How
did it consist, that Pride and perfect Holiness should meet in the same
Person? Here we must bid Mr. _Milton_ good night; for, in plain terms,
he is in the dark about it, and so we are all; and the most that can be
said, is, that we know the fact is so, but nothing of the nature or
reason of it.
But to come to the History: The Angels fell, they sinn'd (wonderful!) in
Heaven, and God cast them out; what their sin was is not explicit, but
in general 'tis call'd a Rebellion against GOD; all sin must be so.
Mr. _Milton_ here takes upon him to give the History of it, as
particularly as if he had been born there, and came down hither on
purpose to give us an account of it; (I hope he is better inform'd by
this time;) but this he does in such a manner, as jostles with Religion,
and shocks our Faith in so many points necessary to be believ'd, that we
must forbear to give up to Mr. _Milton_, or must set aside part of the
sacred Text, in such a manner, as will assist some people to set it all
aside.
I mean by this, his invented Scheme of the Son's being declared in
Heaven to be begotten then, and then to be declar'd Generalissimo of all
the Armies of Heaven; and of the Father's Summoning all the Angels of
the heavenly Host to submit to him, and pay him homage. The words are
quoted already, page 32.
I must own the Invention, indeed, is very fine; the Images exceeding
magnificent, the Thought rich and bright, and, in some respect, truly
sublime: But the Authorities fail most wretchedly, and the miss-timing
of it, is unsufferably gross, as is noted in the Introduction to this
Work; for Christ is not declar'd the Son of God but on Earth; 'tis true,
'tis spoken from Heaven, but then 'tis spoken as perfected on Earth; if
it was at all to be assign'd to Heaven, it was from Eternity, and there,
indeed, his eternal Generation is allow'd; but to take upon us to say,
that _On a day, a certain day_, for so our Poet assumes, lib. v. fol.
137.
------ 'When on a day,
------ 'On such a day
'As Heaven's great Year brings forth, the empyreal Host
'Of Angels by imperial Summons call'd,
'Forthwith from all the ends of Heaven appear'd.
This is, indeed, too gross; at this meeting he makes God declare the Son
to be _that day begotten_, as before; had he made him not begotten that
day, but declared General that day, it would be reconcileable with
Scripture and with sense; for either the begetting is meant of ordaining
to an office, or else the eternal Generation falls to the ground; and if
it was to the office (Mediator) then Mr. _Milton_ is out in ascribing
another fix'd day to the Work; see lib. x. fo. 194. But then the
declaring him _that day_, is wrong chronology too, for Christ is
declar'd _the Son of God with power_, only _by the Resurrection of the
dead_, and this is both a Declaration in Heaven and in Earth. _Rom._ i.
4. And _Milton_ can have no authority to tell us, there was any
Declaration of it in Heaven before this, except it be that dull
authority call'd _poetic License_, which will not pass in so solemn an
affair as that.
But the thing was necessary to _Milton_, who wanted to assign some cause
or original of the _Devil_'s Rebellion; and so, _as I said above_, the
design is well laid, it only wants two Trifles call'd _Truth_ and
_History_; so I leave it to struggle for itself.
This Ground-plot being laid, he has a fair field for the _Devil_ to play
the Rebel in, for he immediately brings him in, not satisfy'd with the
Exaltation of the Son of God. The case must be thus; _Satan_ being an
eminent _Arch-angel_, and perhaps, the highest of all the Angelic Train,
hearing this Sovereign Declaration, that the _Son of God_ was declar'd
to be Head or Generalissimo of all the heavenly Host, took it ill to see
another put into the high station _over his head_, as the Soldiers call
it; he, perhaps, thinking himself the senior Officer, and disdaining to
submit to any but to his former immediate Sovereign; in short, he threw
up his Commission, and, in order not to be compel'd to obey, revolted
and broke out in open Rebellion.
All this part is a Decoration noble and great, nor is there any
objection to be made against the invention, because a deduction of
probable Events; but the Plot is wrong laid, as is observ'd above,
because contradicted by the Scripture account, according to which Christ
was declared in Heaven, not then, but from Eternity, and not declared
with power, but on Earth, (_viz._) in his victory over Sin and Death, by
the Resurrection from the dead: so that Mr. _Milton_ is not orthodox in
this part, but lays an avow'd foundation for the corrupt Doctrine of
_Arius_, which says, there was a time when Christ _was not_ the Son of
GOD.
But to leave Mr. _Milton_ to his flights, I agree with him in this part,
_viz._ that the wicked or sinning Angels, with the great Arch-angel at
the head of them, revolted from their obedience, even in Heaven it self;
that _Satan_ began the wicked defection, and being a Chief among the
heavenly Host, consequently carry'd over a great party with him, who all
together rebel'd against God; that upon this Rebellion they were
sentenc'd, by the righteous judgment of GOD, to be expel'd the holy
Habitation; this, besides the authority of Scripture, we have visible
testimonies of, from the Devils themselves; their influences and
operations among us every day, of which Mankind are witnesses; in all
the merry things they do in his name, and under his protection, in
almost every scene of life they pass thro', whether we talk of things
done openly or in Masquerade, things done in--or out of it, things done
in earnest or in jest.
But then, what comes of the long and bloody War that Mr. _Milton_ gives
such a full and particular account of, and the terrible Battles in
Heaven between _Michael_ with the royal Army of Angels on one hand, and
_Satan_ with his rebel Host on the other; in which he supposes the
numbers and strength to be pretty near equal? but at length brings in
the _Devil_'s Army, upon doubling their rage and bringing new engines of
war into the field, putting _Michael_ and all the faithful Army to the
worst; and, in a word, defeats them? For tho' they were not put to a
plain flight, in which case he must, at least, have given an account of
two or three thousand millions of Angels cut in pieces and wounded, yet
he allows them to give over the fight, and make a kind of retreat; so
making way for the compleat victory of the Son of GOD: Now this is all
invention, or at least, a borrow'd thought from the old Poets, and the
Fight of the _Giants_ against _Jupiter_, so nobly design'd by _Ovid_,
almost two thousand years ago; and there 'twas well enough; but whether
Poetic Fancy should be allow'd to fable upon _Heaven_, or no, and upon
the King of Heaven too, that I leave to the Sages.
By this expulsion of the _Devils_, it is allow'd by most Authors, they
are, _ipso facto_, stript of the Rectitude and Holiness of their Nature,
which was their Beauty and Perfection; and being ingulph'd in the abyss
of irrecoverable ruin, _'tis no matter where_, from that very time they
lost their Angelic beautiful Form, commenc'd ugly frightful Monsters and
_Devils_, and became evil doers, as well as evil Spirits; fill'd with a
horrid malignity and enmity against their Maker, and arm'd with a
hellish resolution to shew and exert it on all occasions; retaining
however their exalted spirituous Nature, and having a vast extensive
power of Action, all which they can exert in nothing else but doing
evil, for they are entirely divested of either Power or will to do good;
and even in doing evil, they are under restraints and limitations of a
superior Power, which it is their Torment, and, perhaps, a great part of
their Hell that they cannot break thro'.
CHAP. VI.
_What became of the_ Devil _and his Host of fallen Spirits after their
being expell'd from Heaven, and his wandring condition till the
Creation; with some more of Mr._ Milton's _absurdities on that
subject._
Having thus brought the _Devil_ and his innumerable Legions to the edge
of the Bottomless-pit, it remains, before I bring them to action, that
some enquiry should be made into the posture of their affairs
immediately after their precipitate Fall, and into the place of their
immediate Residence; for this will appear to be very necessary to
_Satan_'s History, and indeed, so as that without it, all the farther
account we have to give of him, will be inconsistent and imperfect.
And first, I take upon me to lay down some Fundamentals, which I believe
I shall be able to make out Historically, tho', perhaps, not so
Geographically as some have pretended to do.
1. That _Satan_ was not immediately, nor is yet lock'd down into
the Abyss of a _local Hell_, such as is supposed by some, and such
as he shall be at last; or that,
2. If he was, he has certain liberties allowed him for excursions
into the Regions of this Air, and certain spheres of action, in
which he can, and does move, to do, _like a very Devil as he is_,
all the mischief he can, and of which we see so many examples both
about us and in us; in the inquiry after which, I shall take
occasion to examine whether the Devil is not in most of us,
sometimes, if not in all of us one time or other.
3. That _Satan_ has no particular residence in this Globe or Earth
where we live; that he rambles about among us, and marches over and
over our whole country, he and his Devils in _Camps volant_; but
that he pitches his grand Army or chief Encampment in our
Adjacencies or Frontiers, which the Philosophers call _Atmosphere_;
and whence he is call'd the Prince of the Power of that Element or
part of the World we call _Air_; from whence he sends out his
Spies, his Agents and Emissaries, to get intelligence, and to carry
his Commissions to his trusty and well beloved Cousins and
Counsellors on Earth, by which his business is done, and his
affairs carried on in the World.
Here, again, I meet Mr. _Milton_ full in my face, who will have it, that
_the Devil_, immediately at his expulsion, roll'd down directly into a
Hell proper and local; nay, he measures the very distance, at least
gives the length of the journey by the time they were passing or
falling, which, he says, was _nine days_; a good Poetical flight, but
neither founded on Scripture or Philosophy; he might every jot as well
have brought _Hell_ up to the Walls of _Heaven_, advanc'd to receive
them, or he ought to have consider'd the space which is to be allow'd
to any locality, let him take what part of infinite distance between
_Heaven_ and a created Hell he pleases.
But let that be as Mr. _Milton_'s extraordinary genius pleases to place
it; the passage, it seems, is just _nine days_ betwixt Heaven and Hell;
well might _Dives_ then see father _Abraham_, and talk to him too; but
then the great Gulph which _Abraham_ tells him was fix'd between them,
does not seem to be so large, as according to Sir _Isaac Newton_, Dr.
_Halley_, Mr. _Whiston_, and the rest of our Men of Science, we take it
to be.
But suppose the passage to be nine Days, according to Mr. _Milton_, what
follow'd? why Hell gap'd wide, open'd its frightful mouth, and received
them all at once; millions and thousands of millions as they were, it
received them all at a gulp, _as we call it_, they had no difficulty to
go in, no, none at all.
_Facilis desensus averni, sed revocare gradum
Hoc opus hic labor est._---- Virg.
All this, as Poetical, we may receive, but not at all as Historical; for
then come difficulties insuperable in our way, some of which may be as
follow: (1.) Hell is here supposed to be a place; nay a place created
for the punishment of Angels and Men, and likewise created long before
those had fallen, or these had Being; this makes me say, Mr. _Milton_
was a good Poet, but a bad Historian: _Tophet_ was prepar'd of old,
indeed, but it was for the King, that is to say, it was prepar'd for
those whose lot it should be to come there; but this does not at all
suppose it was prepar'd before it was resolv'd whether there should be
subjects for it, or no; else we must suppose both Men and Angels were
made by the glorious and upright Maker of all things, on purpose for
destruction, which would be incongruous and absurd.
But there is worse yet to come; in the next place he adds, that _Hell_
having receiv'd them, clos'd upon them; that is to say, took them in,
clos'd or shut its Mouth; and in a word, they were lock'd in, as it was
said in another place, they were lock'd in, and the Key is carry'd up to
Heaven and kept there; for _we know_ the Angel came down from Heaven,
having the Key of the Bottomless-pit; but first, see Mr. _Milton_.
'Nine days they fell, confounded chaos roar'd
'And felt ten-fold confusion in their fall:
'----Hell at last
'Yawning receiv'd them all, and on them clos'd;
'Down from the verge of Heaven, eternal wrath
'Burnt after them----
'Unquenchable.
This Scheme is certainly deficient, if not absurd, and I think is more
so than any other he has laid; 'tis evident, neither _Satan_ or his Host
of _Devils_ are, _no not any of them_, yet, even now, confin'd in the
eternal Prison, where the Scripture says, he shall be _reserved in
chains of darkness_. They must have mean thoughts of _Hell_, as a
Prison, a _local_ Confinement, that can suppose the _Devil_ able to
break Goal, knock off his Fetters, and come abroad, if he had been once
lock'd in there, as Mr. _Milton_ says he was: Now we know that he is
abroad again, he presented himself before _God_, among his neighbours,
when _Job_'s case came to be discours'd of; and more than that, it's
plain he was a prisoner at large, by his answer to God's question, which
was, _whence comest thou?_ to which he answer'd, _from going to and fro
thro' the Earth_, &c. this, I say, is plain, and if it be as certain
that Hell closed upon them, I demand then, how got he out? and why was
there not a Proclamation for apprehending him, as there usually is,
after such Rogues as break prison?
In short, the true Account of the _Devil_'s Circumstances, since his
Fall from _Heaven_, is much more likely to be thus: That he is more of a
Vagrant than a Prisoner, that he is a Wanderer in the wild unbounded
Wast, where he and his Legions, like the Hoords of _Tartary_, who, in
the wild Countries of _Karakathay_, the Desarts of _Barkan_, _Kassan_,
and _Astracan_, live up and down where they find proper; so Satan and
his innumerable Legions rove about _hic & ubique_, pitching their Camps
(being Beasts of prey) where they find the most Spoil; watching over
this World, (and all the other Worlds for ought we know, and if there
are any such,) I say watching, and seeking who they may devour, _that
is_, who they may deceive and delude, and so destroy, for devour they
cannot.
_Satan_ being thus confin'd to a vagabond, wandring, unsettl'd
Condition, is without any certain Abode; For tho' he has, in consequence
of his Angelic Nature, a kind of Empire in the liquid Wast or _Air_;
yet, this is certainly part of his punishment, that he is continually
hovering over this inhabited Globe of Earth; swelling with the Rage of
Envy, at the Felicity of his Rival, Man; and studying all the means
possible to injure and ruin him; but extremely limited in Power, to his
unspeakable Mortification: This is his present State, without any fix'd
Abode, Place, or Space, allow'd him to rest the Sole of his Foot upon.
From his Expulsion, I take his first View of Horror to be that, of
looking back towards the Heaven which he had lost; there to see the
Chasm or Opening made up, out at which, as at a Breach in the Wall of
the holy Place, he was thrust Head-long by the Power which expel'd him;
I say, to see the Breach repair'd, the Mounds built up, the Walls
garison'd with millions of Angels, and arm'd with Thunders; and, above
all, made terrible by that Glory from whose Presence they were expel'd,
as is Poetically hinted at before.
Upon this sight, 'tis no wonder (if there was such a Place) that they
fled till the Darkness might cover them, and that they might be out of
the View of so hated a Sight.
Wherever they found it, you may be sure they pitch'd their first Camp,
and began, after many a sour Reflection upon what was pass'd, to
consider and think a little, upon what was to come.
If I had as much personal Acquaintance with the _Devil_, as would admit
it, and could depend upon the Truth of what Answer he would give me, the
first Question I would ask him, should be, what Measures they resolv'd
on at their first Assembly? and the next should be, how they were
employ'd in all that space of Time, between their so flying the Face of
their almighty Conqueror, and the Creation of Man? as for the Length of
the Time, which, according to the Learn'd, was twenty thousand Years,
and according to the more Learned, not half a Quarter so much, I would
not concern my Curiosity much about it; 'tis most certain, there was a
considerable time between, but of that immediately; first let me enquire
what they were doing all that time.
The Devil and his Host, being thus, I say, cast out of Heaven, and not
yet confin'd strictly to _Hell_, 'tis plain they must be _some where_.
Satan and all his Legions did not lose their Existence, no, nor the
Existence of _Devils_ neither; GOD was so far from annihilating him,
that he still preserv'd his Being; and this not Mr. _Milton_ only, but
GOD himself has made known to us, having left his History so far upon
record; several expressions in Scripture also make it evident, as
particularly the story of _Job_, mentioned before; the like in our
Saviour's time, and several others.
If Hell did not immediately ingulph them, as _Milton_ suggests, 'tis
certain, I say, that they fled Somewhere, from the anger of Heaven, from
the face of the Avenger; and his absence, and their own guilt, _wonder
not at it_, would make Hell enough for them wherever they went.
Nor need we fly to the Dreams of our _Astronomers_, who take a great
deal of pains to fill up the vast Spaces of the starry Heavens with
innumerable habitable Worlds; allowing as many _solar Systems_ as there
are fix'd Stars, and that not only in the known Constellations, but even
in _Gallaxie_ it self; who, to every such System allow a certain number
of Planets, and to every one of those Planets so many _Satellites_ or
_Moons_, and all these Planets and Moons to be Worlds; solid, dark,
opaque Bodies, habitable, and (as they would have us believe) inhabited
by the like Animals and rational Creatures as on this Earth; so that
they may, at this rate, find room enough for the _Devil_ and all his
Angels, without making a Hell on purpose; nay they may, for ought I
know, find a World for every _Devil_ in all the _Devil'_s _Host_, and so
every one may be a Monarch or _Master-Devil_, separately in his own
Sphere or World, and play the _Devil_ there by himself.
And even if this were so, it cannot be denied but that one _Devil_ in a
place would be enough for a whole systemary World, and be able, if not
restrained, to do mischief enough there too, and even to ruin and
overthrow the whole body of People contain'd in it.
But, I say, we need not fly to these shifts, or consult the Astronomers
in the decision of this point; for wherever _Satan_ and his defeated
Host went, at their expulsion from _Heaven_, we think we are certain,
none of all these Beautiful Worlds, or be they Worlds or no, I mean the
fix'd Stars, Planets, _&c._ had then any existence; for the Beginning,
as the Scripture calls it, was not yet Begun.
But to speak a little by the rules of Philosophy, that is to say, so as
to be understood by others, even when we speak of things we cannot fully
understand ourselves: Tho' in the Beginning of Time all this glorious
Creation was form'd, the Earth, the starry Heavens, and all the
Furniture thereof, and there was a Time when they were not; yet we
cannot say so of the Void, or that nameless _no-where_, as I call'd it
before, which now appears to be a _some-where_, in which these glorious
Bodies are plac'd. That immense Space which those take up, and which
they move in at this Time, must be supposed, before they had Being, to
be plac'd there: As God himself was, and existed before all Being, Time,
or Place, so the Heaven of Heavens, or the Place, where the Thrones and
Dominions of his Kingdom then existed, inconceivable and ineffable, had
an existence before the glorious Seraphs, the innumerable company of
Angels which attended about the Throne of God existed; these all had a
Being long before, as the Eternal Creator of them all had before them.
Into this void or abyss of Nothing, however unmeasurable, infinite, and
even to those Spirits, themselves Inconceivable, they certainly launch'd
from the bright Precipice which they fell from, and here they shifted as
well as they could.
Here expanding those Wings which Fear, and Horror at their Defeat
furnish'd them, as I hinted before, they hurried away to the utmost
Distance possible, from the Face of GOD their Conqueror, and then most
dreaded Enemy; formerly their Joy and Glory.
Be this utmost remov'd Distance _where it will_, Here, certainly,
_Satan_ and all his _Gang of Devils_, his numberless, tho' routed Armies
retired. Here _Milton_ might, with some good Ground, have form'd his
_Pandemonium_, and have brought them in, consulting what was next to be
done, and whether there was any room left to renew the War, or to carry
on the Rebellion; but had they been cast immediately into _Hell_, closed
up there, the Bottomless pit lock'd upon them, and the Key carried up to
_Heaven_ to be kept there, as Mr. _Milton_ himself in part confesses,
and the Scripture affirms; I say, had this been so, the _Devil_ himself
could not have been so ignorant as to think of any future Steps to be
taken, to retrieve his Affairs, and therefore a _Pandemonium_ or Divan
in Hell, to consult of it, was ridiculous.
All Mr. _Milton_'s Scheme of _Satan_'s future Conduct, and all the
Scripture Expressions about _the Devil_ and his numerous Attendants, and
of his actings since that time, make it not reasonable to suggest that
the _Devils_ were confin'd to their eternal Prison, at their Expulsion
out of _Heaven_; But that they were in a State of Liberty to act, tho'
limited in acting, of which I shall also speak in its place.
CHAP. VII.
_Of the Number of Satan's Host; how they came first to know of the new
created Worlds, now in being, and their Measures with Mankind upon
the Discovery._
Several things have been suggested to set us a calculating the number of
this frightful throng of _Devils_, who with Satan, the _Master-Devil_,
was thus cast out of _Heaven_; I cannot say, I am so much Master of
Political Arithmetick as to cast up the Number of the Beast, no, nor the
Number of the Beasts _or Devils_, who make up this Throng. St.
_Francis_, they tell us, or some other Saint, they do not say who, ask'd
the _Devil_ once, how strong he was? for St. _Francis_, you must know,
was very familiar with him; _The Devil_, it seems, did not tell him, but
presently raised a great Cloud of Dust, by the help, I suppose, of a
Gust of Wind, and bid that Saint count it; He was, I suppose, a
Calculator, that would be call'd grave, who 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 thousand millions of the
first Line, fifty millions of times as many in the second Line, and
three hundred thousand times as many as both in the third Line.
The Impertinence of this account would hardly have given it a place
here, only to hint that it has always been the Opinion, that _Satan_'s
Name may well be call'd a Noun of Multitude, and that _the Devil_ and
his _Angels_ are certainly no inconsiderable Number: It was a smart
Repartee that a _Venetian_ Nobleman made to a Priest who rallied him
upon his refusing to give something to the Church, which the Priest
demanded for the delivering him from Purgatory; when the Priest asking
him, _if he knew what an innumerable Number of_ Devils _there were to
take him_? he answer'd, _yes, he knew how many_ Devils _there were in
all_: _How many?_ says the Priest, his curiosity, I suppose, being
rais'd by the novelty of the answer. _Why ten millions five hundred and
eleven thousand, six hundred and seventy five Devils and a half_, says
the Nobleman: _A half!_ says the Priest, _pray what kind of a Devil is
that? your self_, says the Nobleman, _for you are half a Devil already
(and will be a whole one when you come there) for you are for deluding
all you deal with, and bringing us Soul and Body into your Hands, that
you may be paid for letting us go again_. So much for their Number.
Here also it would come in very aptly, to consider the state of that
long interval between the Time of their Expulsion from _Heaven_, and the
Creation of the World; and what the Posture of the Devil's Affairs might
be, during that Time. The horror of their Condition can only be
conceiv'd of at a Distance, and especially by us, who being embodied
Creatures, cannot fully judge of what is, or is not a Punishment to
_Seraphs_ and _Spirits_; But 'tis just to suppose they suffer'd all that
Spirits of a Seraphic Nature were capable to sustain, consistent with
their Existence; notwithstanding which they retain'd still the
_Hellishness_ of their rebellious Principles; namely, their Hatred and
Rage against God, and their Envy at the Felicity of his Creatures.
As to how long their time might be, I shall leave that Search; no lights
being given me that are either probable or rational, and we have so
little room to make a Judgment of it, that we may as well believe Father
_M----_, who supposes it to be a hundred thousand Years, as those who
judge it one thousand Years; 'tis enough that we are sure, it was before
the Creation, how long before is not material to _the Devil's History_,
unless we had some Records of what happen'd to him, or was done by him
in the Interval.
During the wandring Condition the Devil was in at that Time, we may
suppose, he and his whole Clan to be employ'd in exerting their Hatred
and Rage at the Almighty, and at the Happiness of the remaining faithful
Angels, by all the ways they had power to shew it.
From this determin'd stated Enmity of _Satan_ and his Host against
_God_, and at every thing that brought Glory to his Name, Mr. _Milton_
brings in _Satan_, (when first he saw _Adam_ in _Paradise_, and the
Felicity of his Station there) swelling with Rage and Envy, and taking
up a dreadful Resolution to ruin _Adam_ and all his Posterity, meerly to
disappoint his Maker of the Glory of his Creation; I shall come to speak
of that in its Place.
How _Satan_, in his remote Situation, got Intelligence of the Place
where to find _Adam_ out, or that any such thing as a Man was created,
is Matter of just Speculation, and there might be many rational Schemes
laid for it: Mr. _Milton_ does not undertake to tell us the Particulars,
nor indeed could he find room for it; perhaps, the _Devil_ having, _as I
have said_, 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 have
discovered that the Almighty Creator had form'd a new and glorious Work,
with infinite Beauty and Variety, filling up the immense Wast of Space,
in which he, (the _Devil_) and his _Angels_, had rov'd for so long a
time, without finding any thing to work on, or to exert their Apostate
Rage in against their Maker.
That at length they found the infinite untrodden Space, on a sudden
spread full with glorious Bodies, shining in self-existing Beauty, with
a new, and to them unknown Lustre, call'd Light: They found these
luminous Bodies, tho' immense in Bulk, and infinite in Number, yet fixt
in their wondrous Stations, regular and exact in their Motions, confin'd
in their proper Orbits, tending to their particular Centers, and
enjoying every one their peculiar Systems, within which was contain'd
innumerable Planets with their Satellites or Moons, in which (_again_) a
reciprocal Influence, Motion and Revolution conspired to Form the most
admirable Uniformity of the whole.
Surprized, to be sure, with this sudden and yet glorious Work of the
Almighty; for the Creation was enough, with its Lustre, even to surprize
_the Devils_; they might reasonably be supposed to start out of their
dark Retreat, and with a Curiosity not below the Seraphic Dignity; for
_these are_ some of _the things which the Angels desire to look into_,
to take a flight thro' all the amazing Systems of the fix'd Suns or
Stars, which we see now but at a Distance, and only make Astronomical
Guesses at.
Here the Devil found not subject of Wonder only, but matter to swell his
revolted Spirit with more Rage, and to revive the Malignity of his Mind
against his Maker, and especially against this new encrease of Glory,
which to his infinite Regret was extended over the whole Wast, and which
he look'd upon, as we say in human Affairs, as a _Pays conquis_, or, if
you will have it in the Language of the _Devil_, as an invasion upon his
Kingdom.
Here it naturally occur'd to them, in their State of Envy and Rebellion,
that tho' they could not assault the impregnable Walls of Heaven, and
could no more pretend to raise War in the Place of Blessedness and
Peace; yet that perhaps they might find Room in this new, and however
glorious, yet inferior Kingdom or Creation, to work some despite to
their great Creator, or to affront his Majesty in the Person of some of
his new made Creatures; and upon this they may be justly supposed to
double their Vigilance, in the survey they resolve to take of these new
Worlds, however great, numberless and wonderful.
What Discoveries they may have made in the other and greater Worlds,
than this Earth, we have not yet had an account; possibly they are
conversant 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 Creatures besides Man, who may, according to the
Opinion of our Philosophers, inhabit those Worlds; but as no body knows
that Part but the _Devil_, we shall not trouble our selves with the
Enquiry.
But 'tis very reasonable, and indeed probable, that _the Devils_ were
more than ordinarily surpriz'd at the Nature and Reason of all this
glorious Creation, after they had, with the utmost Curiosity, view'd all
the parts of it; The Glories of the several Systems; the immense spaces
in which those glorious Bodies that were created and made part of it,
were allow'd respectively to move; the innumerable fix'd Stars, as so
many Suns in the Center of so many distant _Solar Systems_; the
(likewise innumerable) dark opaque Bodies receiving light, and depending
upon those Suns respectively for such light, and then reflecting that
light again upon and for the Use of one another; To see the Beauty and
Splendor of their Forms, the Regularity of their Position, the Order and
Exactness, and yet inconceivable Velocity of their Motions, the
certainty of their Revolutions, and the Variety and Virtue of their
Influences; and then, which was even to the Devils themselves most
astonishing, That after all the rest of their Observations they should
find this whole immense Work was adapted for, and made subservient to
the Use, Delight and Blessing only of one poor Species, in itself small,
and in Appearance contemptible; the meanest of all the Kinds supposed to
inhabit so many glorious Worlds, as appeared now to be form'd; I mean,
that Moon call'd the Earth, and the Creature call'd Man; that all was
made for him, upheld by the wise Creator, on his account only, and would
necessarily end and cease whenever that Species should end and be
determin'd.
That this Creature was to be found no where but (as above) in one little
individual _Moon_; a Spot less than almost any of the Moons, which were
in such great Numbers to be found attendant upon, and prescrib'd with in
every System of the whole created Heavens; This was astonishing even to
the _Devil_ himself, nay the whole Clan of _Devils_ could scarce
entertain any just Ideas of the thing; Till at last _Satan_,
indefatigable in his Search or Enquiry into the Nature and Reason of
this new Work, and particularly searching into the Species of Man, whom
he found God had thus plac'd in the little Globe, call'd _Earth_; he
soon came to an _Eclairicissement_, or a clear Understanding of the
whole. _For Example_,
_First_, He found this Creature, call'd Man, was however mean and
small in his Appearance, a kind of a Seraphic Species; that he was
made in the very Image of God, endowed with reasonable Faculties to
know Good and Evil, and possess'd of a certain thing till then
unknown and unheard of even in Hell it self; that is, in the
Habitation of Devils, let that be where it would, (_viz._)
2. That GOD had made him indeed of the lowest and coarsest
Materials, but that he had breath'd into him the Breath of Life,
and that he became a living thing call'd SOUL, being a kind of an
extraordinary heavenly and divine Emanation; and consequently that
Man, however mean and Terrestrial his Body might be, was yet,
Heaven-born, in his spirituous Part compleatly Seraphic; and after
a Space of Life here, (determin'd to be a state of probation) he
should be translated thro' the Regions of Death into a Life purely
and truly Heavenly, and which should remain so for ever; being
capable of knowing and enjoying God his Maker, and standing in his
Presence, as the glorified Angels do.
3. That he had the most sublime Faculties infused into him; was
capable not only of knowing and contemplating God, and which was
still more, of enjoying him, as above; but (which the _Devil_ now
was not) capable of honouring and glorifying his Maker; who also
had condescended to accept of Honour from him.
4. And which was still more, that being of an Angelic Nature, tho'
mix'd with, and confined for the present in a Case of mortal Flesh;
he was intended to be remov'd from this Earth after a certain time
of Life here, to inhabit that Heaven, and enjoy that very Glory and
Felicity, from which Satan and his Angels had been expell'd.
When he found all this, it presently occur'd 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 stript of its
inhabitants by his Expulsion, and that these were all to be made
_Angels_ in the _Devil_'s stead.
If this thought encreas'd his Fury and Envy, as far as _Rage of Devils_
can be capable of being made greater; it doubtless set him on work to
give a Vent to that Rage and Envy, by searching into the Nature and
Constitution of this Creature, call'd _Man_; and to find out whether he
was invulnerable, and could by no means be hurt by the Power of Hell, or
deluded by his Subtilty; or whether he might be beguil'd and deluded,
and so, instead of being preserv'd in Holiness and Purity, wherein he
was certainly created, be brought to fall and rebell as he (_Satan_) had
done before him; by which, instead of being transplanted into a glorious
State, after this Life in Heaven, as his Maker had design'd him to be,
to fill up the Angelic Choir, and supply the Place from whence he
(_Satan_) had fallen, he might be made to fall also like him, and in a
Word, be made a _Devil_ like himself.
This convinces us that the _Devil_ has not lost his natural Powers by
his Fall; and our learned Commentator Mr. _Pool_ is of the same Opinion;
tho' he grants that the _Devil_ has lost his moral Power, or his Power
of doing Good, which he can never recover. _Vide_ Mr. _Pool_ upon _Acts_
xix. 17. where we may particularly observe, when the Man possess'd with
an evil Spirit flew upon the seven Sons of _Scæva_ the _Jew_, who would
have Exorcis'd them in the Name of _Jesus_, without the Authority of
_Jesus_, or without Faith in him; He flew on them and master'd them, so
that they fled out of the House from the Devil conquered, naked and
wounded: But of this Power of the Devil I shall speak by it self.
In a Word, and to sum up all the _Devil_'s Story from his first
Expulsion, it stands thus: For so many Years as were between his Fall
and the Creation of Man, tho' we have no _Memoirs_ of his particular
Affairs, we have Reason to believe he was without any Manner of
Employment; but a certain tormenting Endeavour to be always expressing
his Rage and Enmity against Heaven; I call it tormenting, Because ever
disappointed; every thought about it proving empty; every attempt
towards it abortive; Leaving him only Light enough to see still more and
more Reason to despair of Success; and that this made his Condition
still more and more a Hell than it was before.
After a Space of Duration in this Misery, which we have no light given
us to measure or judge of, He at length discovered the new Creation of
Man, as above, upon which he soon found Matter to set himself to work
upon, and has been busily employ'd ever since.
And now indeed there may be room to suggest a Local _Hell_, and the
Confinement of Souls (made corrupt and degenerate by him) to it, as a
Place; tho' he himself, as is still apparent by his Actings, is not yet
confin'd to it; of this Hell, its Locality, Extent, Dimensions,
Continuance and Nature, as it does not belong to Satan's History, I have
a good excuse for saying nothing, and so put off my meddling with that,
which if I would meddle with, I could say nothing of to the Purpose.
CHAP. VIII.
_Of the Power of the Devil at the Time of the Creation of this World;
whether it has not been farther straitn'd and limited since that
Time, and what Shifts and Stratagems he is obliged to make use of to
compass his Designs upon Mankind._
Cunning Men have fabled, and tho' it be without either Religion,
Authority or physical Foundation, it may be we may like it ne'er the
worse for that; that when God made the Stars and all the Heavenly
Luminaries, the _Devil_, to mimick his Maker and insult his new
Creation, made Comets, in Imitation of the fix'd Stars; but that the
Composition of them being combustible, when they came to wander in the
Abyss, rolling by an irregular ill-grounded Motion, they took Fire, in
their Approach to some of those great Bodies of Flame, _the fix'd
Stars_; and being thus kindled (like a Fire-work unskilfully let off)
they then took wild and excentrick, as also different Motions of their
own, out of Satan's Direction, and beyond his Power to regulate ever
after.
Let this Thought stand by it self, it matters not to our purpose whether
we believe any thing of it, or no; 'tis enough to our Case, that if
Satan had any such Power then, he has no such Power now, and that leads
me to enquire into his more recent Limitations.
I am to suppose, he and all his Accomplices being confounded at the
Discovery of the new Creation, and racking their Wits to find out the
meaning of it, had at last (_no matter how_) discover'd the whole
System, and concluded, _as I have said_, that the Creature, _call'd
Man_, was to be their Successor in the Heavenly Mansions; upon which I
suggest that the first Motion of Hell was to destroy this new Work, and,
if possible, to overwhelm it.
But when they came to make the Attempt, they found their Chains were not
long enough, and that they could not reach to the Extremes of the
System: They had no Power either to break the Order, or stop the Motion,
dislocate the Parts, or confound the Situation of Things; they
traversed, no doubt, the whole Work, visited every Star, landed upon
every Solid, and sail'd upon every Fluid in the whole Scheme, to see
what Mischief they could do.
Upon a long and full Survey, they came to this Point in their Enquiry,
that in short they could do nothing by Force; that they could not
displace any Part, annihilate any Atom, or destroy any Life in the whole
Creation; but that as Omnipotence had created it, so the same
Omnipotence had arm'd it at all Points against the utmost Power of Hell,
had made the smallest Creature in it invulnerable, as to _Satan_; so
that without the Permission of the same Power which had made _Heaven_,
and conquer'd the _Devil_, he could do nothing at all, as to destroying
any thing that God had made, no, not the little diminutive thing call'd
Man, who _Satan_ saw so much reason to hate, as being created to succeed
him in Happiness in _Heaven_.
Satan found him placed out of his Power to hurt, or out of his Reach to
touch; and here, by the way, appears the second Conquest of _Heaven_
over the _Devil_; that having plac'd his Rival, as it were, just before
his Face, and shew'd the hateful sight to him, he saw written upon his
Image, _Touch him if you dare_.
It cannot be doubted, but, had it not been thus, Man is so far from
being a Match for the _Devil_, that one of Satan's least Imps or
_Angels_ could destroy all the Race of them in the World, ay World and
all in a moment;
As he is Prince of the Power of the Air, taking the Air for _the
Elementary World_, how easily could he, at one Blast, sweep all the
Surface of the Earth into the Sea, or drive weighty immense Surges of
the Ocean over the whole Plane of the Earth, and deluge the Globe at
once with a Storm? Or how easily could he, who, by the Situation of the
Empire, must be supposed able to manage the Clouds, draw them up, in
such Position as should naturally produce Thunders and Lightnings, cause
those Lightnings to blast the Earth, dash in Pieces all the Buildings,
burn all the populous Towns and Cities, and lay wast the World;
At the same time he might command suited Quantities of sublimated Air to
burst out of the Bowels of the Earth, and overwhelm and swallow up, in
the opening Chasms, all the Inhabitants of the Globe?
In a Word, _Satan_ left to himself as a Devil, and to the Power, which
by virtue of his Seraphic Original he must be vested with, was able to
have made Devilish Work in the World, if by a superior Power he was not
restrain'd.
But there is no doubt, _at least to me_, but that with his fall from
Heaven, as he lost the Rectitude and Glory of his Angelic Nature, I mean
his Innocence, so he lost the Power too that he had before; and that
when he first commenc'd Devil, he received the Chains of Restraint too,
as the Badge of his Apostacy, _viz._ a general Prohibition, to do any
thing to the Prejudice of this Creation, or to act any thing by Force or
Violence without special Permission.
This Prohibition was not sent him by a Messenger, or by an Order in
Writing, or proclaimed from Heaven by a Law; but _Satan_, by a strange,
invisible and unaccountable Impression felt the Restraint within him;
and at the same time that his moral Capacity was not taken away, yet his
Power of exerting that Capacity felt the Restraint, and left him unable
to do, even what he was able to do at the same time.
I make no question, but the Devil is sensible of this Restraint, that is
to say, _not_ as it is a restraint only, or as an effect of his
Expulsion from _Heaven_; But as it prevents his Capital Design against
Man, who, for the Reason I have given already, he entertains a mortal
Hatred of, and would destroy with all his Heart, if he might; and
therefore, like a chain'd Mastiff, we find him oftentimes making a
horrid hellish Clamour and Noise, barking and howling, and frighting the
People, letting them know, that if he was loose he would tear them in
pieces; but at the same time his very Fury shakes his Chain, which lets
them know, to their Satisfaction, he can only Bark, but cannot Bite.
Some are of Opinion that the Devil is not restrain'd so much by the
superior Power of his Sovereign and Maker; but that all his milder
Measures with Man are the effect of a political Scheme, and done upon
mature Deliberation; that it was resolved to act thus, in the great
Council or P----t of Devils, call'd upon this very Occasion, when they
first were inform'd of the Creation of Man; and especially when they
considered what kind of Creature he was, and what might probably be the
Reason of making him, (_viz._) to fill up the Vacancies in Heaven; I
say, that then the _Devils_ resolv'd, that it was not for their
Interest to fall upon him with Fury and Rage, and so destroy the
Species, for that this would be no Benefit at all to them, and would
only cause another original Man to be created; for that they knew GOD
could, by the same Omnipotence, form as many new Species of Creatures as
he pleased; and, if he thought fit, create them in Heaven too, out of
the Reach of _Devils_ or evil Spirits, and that therefore, to destroy
Man would no way answer their End.
On the other hand, examining strictly the Mould of this new made
Creature, and of what Materials he was form'd; how mixt up of a Nature
convertible and pervertible, capable indeed of infinite Excellence, and
consequently of eternal Felicity; but subject likewise to Corruption and
Degeneracy, and consequently to eternal Misery; That instead of being
fit to supply the Places of Satan and his rejected Tribe (the expell'd
Angels) in Heaven, and filling up the Thrones or Stalls in the Celestial
Choir, they might, if they could but be brought into Crime, become a
Race of Rebels and Traytors like the rest; and so come at last to keep
them Company, as well in the Place of eternal Misery, as in the Merit of
it, and in a Word, become Devils instead of Angels.
Upon this Discovery, I say, they found it infinitely more for the
Interest of Satan's infernal Kingdom, to go another way to work with
Mankind, and see if it were possible, by the strength of all their
infernal Wit and Counsels, to lay some Snare for him, and by some
Stratagem to bring him to eternal Ruin and Misery.
This being then approv'd as their only Method, (and the _Devil_ shew'd
he was no Fool in the Choice) he next resolv'd that there was no time to
be lost; that it was to be set about immediately, before the Race was
Multiplied, and by that means the Work be not made greater only, but
perhaps the more difficult too; accordingly the diligent Devil went
instantly about it, agreeably to all the Story of _Eve_ and the serpent,
as before; the belief of which, whether historically or allegorically,
is not at all obstructed by this Hypothesis.
I do not affirm that this was the Case at first, because being not
present in that black _Divan_, at least not that I know of, _for who
knows where he was or was not in his pre-existent State?_ I cannot be
positive in the Resolve that past there; but except for some very little
Contradiction, which we find in the sacred Writings, I should, I
confess, incline to believe it Historically; and I shall speak of those
things which I call Contradictions to it more largely hereafter.
In the mean time, be it one way or other, _that is to say_, either that
Satan had no Power to have proceeded with Man by Violence, and to have
destroy'd him as soon as he was made; or that he had the Power, but
chose rather to proceed by other Methods to deceive and debauch him; _I
say_, be it which you please, I am still of the Opinion that it really
was not the _Devil_'s Business to destroy the Species; that it would
have been nothing to the purpose, and no Advantage at all to him, if he
had done it; for that, as above, God could immediately have created
another Species to the same end, whom he either could have made
invulnerable, and not subject to the Devil's Power, or remov'd him out
of _Satan_'s Reach, plac'd him out of the _Devil_'s Ken, in Heaven or
some other Place, where the Devil could not come to hurt him; and that
therefore it is infinitely more his Advantage, and more suited to his
real Design of defeating the End of Man's Creation, to debauch him and
make a _Devil_ of him, that he may be rejected like himself, and
increase the infernal Kingdom and Company in the Lake of Misery _in
æternum_.
It may be true, for ought I know, that Satan has not the Power of
Destruction put into his Hand, and that he cannot take away the Life of
a Man: and it seems probable to be so, from the Story of _Satan_ and
_Job_, when _Satan_ appear'd among the Sons of GOD, as the Text says,
_Job_ i. 6. Now when God gave such a Character of _Job_ to him, and
ask'd him _if he had consider'd his Servant Job_, ver. 8. why did not
the Devil go immediately and exert his Malice against the good Man at
once, to let his Maker see what would become of his Servant _Job_ in his
Distress? On the contrary, we see he only answers by shewing the Reason
of _Job_'s good Behaviour; that it was but common Gratitude for the
Blessing and Protection he enjoy'd, ver. 10. and pleading that if his
Estate was taken away, and he was expos'd as he (Satan) was, to be a
beggar and a Vagabond, going _to and fro in the Earth, and walking up
and down therein_, he should be a very Devil too, like himself, and
curse God to his Face.
Upon this, the Text says, that God answered ver. 11. _Behold all that
he hath is in thy Power_; now 'tis plain here, that God gave up _Job_'s
Wealth and Estate, nay his Family, and the Lives of his Children and
Servants into the Devil's Power; and accordingly, like a true merciless
Devil, _as he is_, he destroy'd them all; he mov'd the _Sabeans_ to fall
upon the Oxen and the Asses, and carry them off; he mov'd the
_Chaldeans_ to fall upon the Camels and the Servants, to carry off the
first, and murther the last; he made Lightning flash upon the poor
Sheep, and kill them all; and he blow'd his House down upon his poor
Children, and buried them all in the Ruins.
Now here is (1.) a Specimen of Satan's good Will to Mankind, and what
Havock the _Devil_ would make in the World, if he might; and here is a
Testimony too, that he could not do this without leave; so that I cannot
but be of the Opinion he has some Limitations, some 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 kind of Evidence we have in the Gospel, _Matth._ viii. 31.
where Satan could not so much as possess the filthiest and meanest of
all Creatures, _the Swine_, till he had ask'd leave; and that still, to
shew his good Will, as soon as he had gotten leave, he hurried them all
into the Sea and choak'd them; these, I say, are some of the Reasons why
I am not willing to say, the _Devil_ is not restrain'd in Power; but on
the other side, we are told of so many mischievous things the Devil has
done in the World, by virtue of his Dominion over the Elements, and by
other Testimonies of his Power, that I don't know what to think of it;
tho', upon the whole, the first is the safest Opinion; for if we should
believe the last, we might, for ought I know, be brought, like the
_American Indians_, to worship him _at last_, that he may do us no Harm.
And now I have nam'd those People in _America_, I confess it would go a
great way in favour of Satan's Generosity, as well as in Testimony of
his Power, if we might believe all the Accounts, which indeed Authors
are pretty well agreed in the Truth of, namely, of the Mischiefs the
_Devil_ does in those Countries, where his Dominion seems to be
establish'd; how he uses them when they deny him the Homage he claims of
them as his Due; what Havock and Combustion he makes among them; and
how Beneficent he is (or at least negative in his Mischiefs) when they
Appease him by their hellish Sacrifices.
Likewise we see a Test of his wicked Subtilty in his Management of those
dark Nations, when he was more immediately worship'd by them; namely,
the making them believe that all their good Weather, Rains, Dews, and
kind Influences upon the Earth, to make it fruitful, was from Him;
whereas they really were the common Blessings of a higher Hand, and came
not from him, the _Devil_, 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 Devil took with the first of Mankind;
'tis plain the Policy of Hell was right, tho' the Execution of the
Resolves they took did not fully answer their End neither; For _Satan_
fastening upon poor, proud, ridiculous Mother _Eve_, as I have said
before, made presently a true Judgment of her Capacities, and 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) wheedl'd her
out of her Senses, by praising her Beauty, and promising to make her a
Goddess.
The foolish 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, if you can but once persuade
them that you believe they are Witty and Handsome; for the Devil, you
may observe, never quits any Hold he gets, and having once found a way
into the Heart, always takes care to keep the Door open, that any of his
Agents may enter after him without any more Difficulty: Hence the same
Argument, especially the last, has so bewitching an Influence on the
Sex, that they rarely deny you any thing, after they are but weak
enough and vain enough to accept of the Praises you offer them on that
Head; on the other hand you are sure they never forgive you the
unpardonable Crime of saying they are Ugly or Disagreeable: It is
suggested that the first Method the Devil took to insinuate all those
fine things into _Eve_'s giddy Head, was by creeping close to her _one
Night_, when she was asleep, and laying his Mouth to her _Ear_,
whispering all the fine things to her, which he knew would set her Fancy
a Tip-toe, and so made her receive them involuntarily into her Mind;
knowing well enough that when she had form'd such Ideas in her Soul,
however they came there, she would never be quiet till she had work'd
them up to some extraordinary thing or other.
It was evident what the _Devil_ aim'd at, _namely_, that she should
break in upon the Command of GOD, and so having corrupted her self,
bring the Curse upon her self and all her Race, as GOD had threatn'd;
but why the Pride of _Eve_ should be so easily tickled by the Motion of
her exquisite Beauty, when there then was no prospect of the use or want
of those Charms? that indeed makes a kind of Difficulty here, which the
learn'd have not determined. For,
1. If she had been as Ugly as the _Devil_, she had no body to rival
her, so that she need not fear _Adam_ should leave her and get
another Mistress.
2. If she had been Bright and Beautiful as an Angel, she had no
other Admirer but poor _Adam_, and he could have no room to be
jealous of her, or afraid she should cuckold him; so that in short,
_Eve_ had no such Occasion for her Beauty, nor could she make any
use of it either to a bad purpose or to a good, and therefore I
believe the _Devil_, who is too cunning to do any thing that
signifies Nothing, rather tempted her by the Hope of encreasing her
Wit, than her Beauty.
But to come back to the Method of Satan's tempting her, _viz._ by
whispering to her in her sleep; 'twas a cunning Trick, that's the Truth
of it, and by that means he certainly set her Head a madding after
_Deism_, and to be made a Goddess, and then back'd it by the subtle talk
he had with her afterward.
I am the more particular upon this Part, because, however the Devil may
have been the first that ever practised it, yet I can assure him the
Experiment has been tried upon many a Woman since, to the wheedling her
out of her Modesty, as well as her Simplicity; and the Cunning Men tell
us still, that if you can come at a Woman when she is in a deep sleep,
and Whisper to her close to her Ear, she will certainly Dream of the
Thing you say to her, and so will a Man too.
Well, be this so to her Race or not, it was it seems so to her; for she
wak'd with her Head fill'd with pleasing Ideas, and as some will have
it, unlawful Desires; such, as to be sure she never had entertain'd
before; These are supposed to be fatally infused in her Dream, and
suggested to her waking Soul, when the Organ Ear which convey'd them was
doz'd and insensible; strange Fate of sleeping in _Paradise_! that
whereas we have Notice but of two Sleeps there, that in one a _Woman_
should go out of him, and in the other, the _Devil_ should come into
her.
Certainly, when Satan first made the Attempt upon _Eve_, he did not
think he should have so easily conquered her, or have brought his
Business about so soon; the _Devil_ himself could not have imagined she
should have been so soon brought to forget the Command given, or at
least who gave it, and have ventur'd to transgress against him, and made
her forget that GOD had told her, it should be Death to her to touch it;
and above all, that she should aspire to be as wise as him, who was so
ignorant before, as to believe it was for fear of her being like
himself, that he had forbid it her.
Well might she be said to be the weaker Vessel, tho' _Adam_ himself had
little enough to say for his being the stronger of the two, when he was
over-persuaded (if it were done by Persuasion) by his Wife to do the
same thing.
And mark how wise they were after they had Eaten, and what Fools they
both acted like, even to one another; nay, even all the Knowledge they
attain'd to by it was, for ought I see, only to know that they were
Fools, and to be sensible both of _Sin_ and _Shame_; and see how simply
they acted, I say, upon their having committed the Crime, and being
detected in it.
'View them to Day conversing with their God,
'His Image both enjoy'd and understood,
'_To Morrow_ skulking with a sordid Flight, }
'Among the Bushes from the _Infinite_, }
'As if that Power _was blind_, which gave them _Sight_; }
'With senseless Labour Tagging Fig-Leaf Vests,
'To hide their Bodies from the sight of Beasts.
'Hark! how the Fool pleads faint, for forfeit Life,
'First he reproaches Heaven, and then his Wife;
'_The Woman which thou gav'st_ as if the Gift
'Could rob him of the little Reason left,
'A weak Pretence to shift his early Crime,
'As if accusing her would excuse him;
'But thus encroaching Crime dethrones the Sense,
'And intercepts the Heavenly Influence,
'Debauches Reason, makes the Man a Fool,
'And turns his active Light to Ridicule.
It must be confess'd that it was unaccountable Degeneracy, even of their
common Reasoning, which _Adam_ and _Eve_ both fell into upon the first
committing the Offence of taking the forbidden Fruit: If that was their
being made as Gods, it made but a poor Appearance in its first coming,
to hide their Nakedness when there was no body to see them, and cover
themselves among the Bushes from their Maker; but thus it was, and this
the Devil had brought them to, and well might he, and all the Clan of
Hell, as Mr. _Milton_ brings them in, laugh and triumph over the Man
after the Blow was given, as having so egregiously abused and deluded
them both.
But here, to be sure, began the _Devil_'s new Kingdom; as he had now
seduc'd the two first Creatures, he was pretty sure of Success upon all
the Race, and therefore prepar'd to attack them also, as soon as they
came on; nor was their encreasing Multitude any Discouragement to his
Attempt, but just the contrary; for he had Agents enough to employ, if
every Man and Woman that should be born was to want a _Devil_ to wait
upon them, separately and singly to seduce them; whereas some whole
Nations have been such willing subjects to him, that one of his Seraphic
Imps may, _for ought we know_, have been enough to guide a whole
Country; the People being entirely subjected to his Government for many
Ages; as in _America, for example_, where some will have it, that he
convey'd the first Inhabitants, at least if he did not, we don't well
know who did, or how they got thither.
And how came all the Communication to be so entirely cut off between the
Nations of _Europe_ and _Africa_, from whence _America_ must certainly
have been peopl'd, or else the _Devil_ must have done it indeed? 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 first reach from
one to the other, none ever came back to give their Friends any account
of their Success, or invite them to follow? Nor did they hear of one
another afterwards, as we have Reason to think: Did _Satan_ politically
keep them thus asunder, lest News from Heaven should reach them, and so
they should be recover'd out of his Government? We cannot tell how to
give any other rational 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 _Europe_ or _Africa_, or both, and no body ever go after them, or
come back from them in above three thousand years after.
Nay, that those Countries should be peopled when there was no Navigation
in use in these Parts of the World, no Ships made that could carry
Provisions enough to support the People that fail'd in them, but that
they must have been starved to death before they could reach the Shore
of _America_; the Ferry from _Europe_ or _Africa_, in any Part (which we
have known Navigation to be practised in) being at least 1000 Miles, and
in most Places much more.
But as to the _Americans_, let the _Devil_ and they alone to account for
their coming Thither, this we are certain of, that we knew nothing of
them for many hundred Years; and when we did, when the Discovery was
made, they that went from Hence found _Satan_ in a full and quiet
Possession of them, ruling them with an arbitrary Government,
particular to himself; He had led them into a blind Subjection to
himself, nay, I might call it Devotion, for it was all of Religion that
was to be found among them) worshipping horrible Idols in his Name, to
whom he directed human Sacrifices continually to be made, till he
deluged the Country with Blood, and ripen'd them up for the Destruction
that follow'd, from the Invasion of the _Spaniards_, who he knew would
hurry them all out of the World as fast as he (_the Devil_) himself
could desire of them.
But to go back a little to the Original of Things, It is evident that
_Satan_ has made a much better Market of Mankind, by thus subtilly
attacking them, and bringing them to break with their Maker as he had
done before them, than he could have done by fulminating upon them at
first, and sending them all out of the World at once; for now he has
peopled his own Dominions with them, and tho' a Remnant are snatch'd as
it were out of his Clutches, by the Agency of Invincible Grace, of which
I am not to discourse in this Place; yet this may be said of the
_Devil_, without Offence, that he has in some Sense carried his Point,
and as it were forc'd his Maker to be satisfied with a Part of Mankind,
and the least Part too, instead of the great Glory he would have brought
to himself by keeping them all in his Service.
Mr. _Milton_, as I have noted above, brings in the _Devil_ and all Hell
with him, making a _Feu de Joye_ for the Victory _Satan_ obtain'd over
one silly Woman; indeed it was a Piece of Success greater in its
Consequence than in the immediate Appearance; nor was the Conquest so
compleat as Satan himself imagin'd to make, since the Promise of a
Redemption out of his Hands, which was immediately made to the Man, in
behalf of himself and his believing Posterity, was a great
Disappointment to Satan, and as it were snatch'd the best Part of his
Victory out of his Hands.
It is certain the _Devils_ knew what the meaning of that Promise was,
and who was to be the _Seed of the Woman_, namely, the incarnate _Son of
God_, and that it was a second Blow to the whole infernal Body; but as
if they had resolved to let that alone, _Satan_ went on with his
Business; and as he had introduc'd Crime into the common Parent of
Mankind, and thereby secured the Contamination of Blood, and the Descent
or Propagation of the corrupt Seed, he had nothing to do but to assist
Nature in time to come, to carry on its own Rebellion, and act it self
in the Breasts of _Eve_'s tainted Posterity; and that indeed has been
the Devil's Business ever since his first Victory upon the Kind, to this
Day.
His Success in this Part has been such, that we see upon innumerable
Occasions a general Defection has follow'd; a kind of a Taint upon
Nature, _call it what you will_, a Blast upon the Race of Mankind; and
were it not for one thing, he had ruined the whole Family; _I say_, were
it not for one thing, namely, a selected Company or Number, which his
Maker has resolv'd he shall not be able to corrupt, or if he does, the
sending the promis'd Seed shall recover back again from him, by the
Power of irresistible Grace; which Number thus selected or elected, call
it which we will, are still to supply the Vacancies in Heaven, which
_Satan_'s Defection left open; and what was before fill'd up with
created Seraphs, is now to be restor'd by recover'd Saints, by whom
infinite Glory is to accrue to the Kingdom of the Redeemer.
This glorious Establishment has robb'd Satan of all the Joy of his
Victory, and left him just where he was, defeated and disappointed; nor
does the Possession of all the Myriads of the Sons of Perdition, who yet
some are of the Opinion will be snatch'd from him too at last; I say,
the Possession of all these makes no amends to him, for he is such a
_Devil_ in his Nature, that the Envy at those he cannot seduce, eats out
all the Satisfaction of the Mischief he has done in seducing all the
rest; but _I must not preach_, so I return to things as much needful to
know, tho' less solemn.
CHAP. IX.
_Of the Progress of Satan in carrying on his Conquest over Mankind, from
the Fall of_ Eve _to the Deluge._
I doubt if the Devil was ask'd the Question plainly, he would confess,
that after he had conquer'd _Eve_ by his own wicked Contrivance, and
then by her Assistance had brought _Adam_ too (like a Fool as he was)
into the same Gulph of Misery, he thought he had done his Work,
compassed the whole Race, that they were now his own, and that he had
put an End to the grand Design of their Creation; namely, of Peopling
Heaven with a new Angelic Race of Souls, who when glorify'd, should make
up the Defection of the Host of Hell, that had been expung'd by their
Crime; in a Word, that he had gotten a better Conquest than if he had
destroy'd them all.
But in the midst of his Conquest, he found a Check put to the Advantages
he expected to reap from his Victory, by the immediate Promise of Grace
to a Part of the Posterity of _Adam_, who, notwithstanding the Fall,
were to be purchased by the _Messiah_, and snatch'd out of his
(_Satan_'s) Hands, and over whom he could make no final Conquest; so
that his Power met with a new Limitation, and that such, as indeed fully
disappointed him in the main thing he aim'd at, (_viz._) preventing the
Beatitudes of Mankind, which were thus secur'd; (And what if the Numbers
of Mankind were upon this account encreased in such a manner, that the
selected Number should, by Length of Time, amount to just as many as the
whole Race, had they not fallen, would have amounted to in all?) And
thus, indeed, the World may be said to be upheld and continued for the
Sake of those few, since till their Number can be compleated, the
Creation cannot fall, any more than, that without them, or but for them
it would not have stood.
But leaving this Speculation, and not having enquir'd of Satan what he
has to say on that Subject, let us go back to the Antediluvian World:
The _Devil_ to be sure, gain'd his Point upon _Eve_, and in her upon all
her Race: He drew her into Sin; got her turn'd out of _Paradise_, and
the Man with her: The next Thing was to go to work with her Posterity,
and particularly with her two Sons _Cain_ and _Abel_.
_Adam_ having, notwithstanding his Fall, repented very sincerely of his
Sin; receiv'd the Promise of Redemption and Pardon, with an humble but
believing Heart; Charity bids us suppose that he led a very religious
and sober Life ever after; and especially in the first Part of his Time,
That he brought up his Children very soberly, and gave them all the
necessary Advantages of a Religious Education, and a good Introduction
into the World, that he was capable of; and that _Eve_ likewise assisted
to both in her Place and Degree.
Their two eldest Sons _Cain_ and _Abel_; The one Heir apparent to the
Patriarchal Empire, and the other Heir presumptive, I suppose also,
lived very sober and religious Lives; and as the Principles of natural
Religion dictated a Homage and Subjection due to the Almighty Maker, as
an Acknowledgment of his Mercies, and a Recognition of their Obedience;
so the receiv'd Usage of Religion dictating at that Time that this
Homage was to be paid by a Sacrifice, they either of them brought a
Free-will-offering to be dedicated to God respectively for themselves
and Families.
How it was, and for what Reason that God had respect to the Offering of
_Abel_, which the Learn'd say, was _a Lamb_ of the Firstlings of the
Flock, and did not give any Testimony of the like Respect to _Cain_ and
his Offering, which was of the first Fruits of the Earth, the Offerings
being equally suited to the respective Employment of the Men, that is
not my present Business; but this we find made Heart-burnings, and
raised Envy and Jealousy in the Mind of _Cain_; and at that Door the
_Devil_ immediately entred; for he, who from the Beginning, was very
diligent in his way, never slip'd any Opportunity, or miss'd any
Advantages that the Circumstances of Mankind offered him to do Mischief.
What Shape or Appearance the Devil took up to enter into a Conversation
with _Cain_ upon the Subject, that Authors do not take upon them to
determine; but 'tis generally supposed he personated some of _Cain_'s
Sons or Grandsons to begin the Discourse, who attack'd their Father, or
perhaps Grandfather, upon this Occasion, in the following manner, or to
that Purpose.
* * * * *
_D._ Sir, I perceive _your Majesty_ (for the first Race were certainly
all Monarchs as great as Kings, to their immediate Posterity) to be
greatly disturb'd of late, your Countenance is chang'd, your noble
Chearfulness (the Glories of your Face) are strangely sunk and gone, and
you are not the Man you used to be; please your Majesty to communicate
your Griefs to us your Children, you may be sure, that if it be
possible, we would procure you Relief, and restore your Delights, the
Loss of which, if thus you go on to subject yourself to too much
Melancholy, will be very hurtful to you, and in the End destroy you.
_Cain._ It is very kind, my dear Children, to shew your Respect thus to
your true Progenitor, and to offer your Assistance: I confess, as you
say, my Mind is oppress'd and displeased; but tho' 'tis very heavy, yet
I know not which way to look for Relief, for the Distemper is above our
Reach, no Cure can be found for it on Earth.
_D._ Do not say so, Sir; there can be no Disease sure on Earth but may
be cur'd on Earth; if it be a mental Evil, we have heard that your great
Ancestor, the first Father of us all, who lives still on the great
western Plains towards the Sea, is the Oracle to which all his Children
fly for Direction in such Cases as are out of the Reach of the ordinary
understanding of Mankind; please you to give leave, we will take a
Journey to him, and representing your Case to him, we will hear his
Advice, and bring it to you with all Speed, for the Ease of your Mind.
_Cain._ I know not whether he can reach my Case or no.
_D._ Doubtless he may, and if not, the Labour of our Journey is nothing
when plac'd in Competition with the Ease of your Mind; 'tis but a few
Days travel lost, and you will not be the worse if we fail of the
desired Success.
_Cain._ The offer is filial, and I accept your affectionate Concern for
me, with a just Sense of an oblig'd Parent; go then, and my Blessing be
upon you; but alas! why do I bless? can he bless whom God has not
bless'd!
_D._ O! Sir, do not say so, has not God bless'd you? are you not the
second Sovereign of the Earth? and does he not converse with you Face to
Face? are not you the Oracle to all your growing Posterity, and next
after his Sovereign Imperial Majesty Lord _Adam_, Patriarch of the
World?
_Cain._ But has not God rejected me, and refused to converse any more
with me, while he daily Favours and Countenances my younger Brother
_Abel_, as if he resolv'd to set him up to rule over me?
_D._ No, Sir, that cannot be, you cannot be disturb'd at such a thing;
is not the Right of Sovereignty yours by Primogeniture? can God himself
take that away, when 'tis once given? are not you Lord _Adam_'s eldest
Son? are you not the firstborn Glory of the Creation? and does not the
Government descend to you by the divine Right of Birth and Blood?
_Cain._ But what does all that signify to me, while God appears to
favour and caress my younger Brother, and to shine upon him, while a
black Dejection and token of Displeasure surrounds me every Day, and he
does not appear to me as he used to do?
_D._ And what need your Majesty be concern'd at that, if it be so? if he
does not appear pleased, you have the whole World to enjoy your self in,
and all your numerous and rising Posterity Adore and Honour you; what
need those remote Things be any disturbance to you?
_Cain._ How! my Children, not the Favour of God be 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 plac'd you at the Head
of it all, to govern and direct it, has made it agreeable, and it is
able to give you a full Satisfaction and Enjoyment, if you please to
consider it well, tho' you were never to converse with him all the while
you live in't.
_Cain._ You are _quite wrong_ there, my Children, _quite wrong_.
_D._ But do you not, great Sir, see all your Children as well as us
rejoicing in the Plenty of all Things, and are they not compleatly
happy, and yet they know little of this great GOD? He seldom converses
among us, we hear of him indeed by your sage Advices, and we bring our
Offerings to you for him, as you direct, and when that's done, we enjoy
whatever our Hearts desire; and so doubtless may you in an abundant
manner, if you please.
_Cain._ But your Felicity is wrong plac'd then, or you suppose that God
is pleased and satisfied in that your Offerings are brought to me; but
what would you say, if you knew that God is displeased? that he does not
accept your Offerings? that when I sacrific'd to him in behalf of you
all, he rejected my Offerings, tho' I brought a princely Gift, being of
the finest of the Wheat, the choicest and earliest Fruits, and the
sweetest of the Oil, an Offering suited to the Giver of them all?
_D._ But if you offered them, Sir, how are you sure they were not
accepted?
_Cain._ Yes, yes, I am sure; did not my Brother _Abel_ offer at the same
Time a Lamb of his Flock, for he, you know, delights in Cattle, and
covers the Mountains with his Herds? over him, all the while he was
sacrificing, a bright Emanation shone chearing and enlivening; a Pledge
of Favour, and light ambient Flames play'd hovering in the lower Air, as
if attending his Sacrifice; and when ready prepar'd, immediately
descended and burnt up the Flesh, a Sweet odoriferous Savour ascending
to him, who thus testified his Acceptance; whereas, over my Head a black
Cloud, misty, and distilling Vapour, hung dripping upon the humble Altar
I had raised, and wetting the finest and choicest Things I had
prepar'd, spoil'd and defac'd them; the Wood unapt to burn by the
Moisture which fell, scarce receiv'd the Fire I brought to kindle it,
and even then, rather smother'd and choaked, than kindled into a Flame;
in a Word, it went quite out, without consuming what was brought to be
offer'd up.
_D._ Let not our truly reverenc'd Lord and Father be disquieted at all
this; if he accepts not what you bring, you are discharg'd of the Debt,
and need bring no more; nor have the Trouble of such labour'd
Collections of Rarities any more; when he thinks fit to require it
again, you will have Notice, no Question, and then it being call'd for,
will be accepted or else why should it be requir'd?
_Cain._ That may indeed be the Case, nor do I think of attempting any
more to bring an Offering, for I rather take it, that I am forbidden for
the present; but then, what is it that my younger Brother Triumphs in?
and how am I insulted, in that he and his House are all Joy and Triumph,
as if they had some great Advantage over me, in that their Offering was
accepted when mine was not?
_D._ Does he Triumph over your Majesty, our Lord and Sovereign? give us
but your Order, and we will go and pull him and all his Generation in
pieces; for to triumph over you who are his elder Brother, is a horrid
Rebellion and Treason, and he ought to be expell'd the Society of
Mankind.
_Cain._ I think so too, indeed; however, my dear Children and faithful
Subjects, tho' I accept your Offer of Duty and Service, yet I will
consider very well, before I take up Arms against my Brother; besides,
our Sovereign Father and patriarchal Lord, _Adam_, being yet alive, it
is not in my Right to act offensively without his Command.
_D._ We are ready therefore to carry your Petition to him, and doubt not
to obtain his Licence and Commission too, to empower you to do your self
Justice upon your younger Brother; who being your Vassal, or at least
inferior, as he is junior in Birth, insults you upon the fancied Opinion
of having a larger Share in the Divine Favour, and receiving a Blessing
on his Sacrifices, on Pretence of the same Favour being denied you.
_Cain._ I am content, go then, and give a just Account of the State of
our Affairs.
_D._ We shall soon return with the agreeable answer; let not our Lord
and Father continue sad and dejected, but depend upon a speedy Relief,
by the Assistance of thy numerous Issue, all devoted to thy Interest and
Felicity.
_Cain._ My Blessing be with you in your Way, and give you a favourable
Reception at the venerable Tent of our universal Lord and Father.
* * * * *
Note, Here the cursed Race being fully given up to the Direction of the
Evil-Spirit, which so early possess'd them, and swelling with Rage at
the innocent _Abel_ and his whole Family, they resolved upon forming a
most wicked and detestable lie, to bring about the Advice which they had
already given their Father _Cain_ a touch of; and to pretend that _Adam_
being justly provok'd at the undutiful Behaviour of _Abel_, had given
_Cain_ a Commission to chastise him, and by Force to cut him off and
all his Family, as guilty of Rebellion and Pride.
Fill'd with this mischievous and bloody Resolution, they came back to
their Father _Cain_, after staying a few Days, such as were Sufficient
to make _Cain_ believe they had been at the spacious Plains, where
_Adam_ dwelt; the same which are now call'd the blessed Valleys, or the
Plains of _Mecca_ in _Arabia Fælix_, near the Banks of the _Red-Sea_.
Note here also, that _Cain_ having received a wicked Hint from these
Men, his Children and Subjects, as before, intimating that _Abel_ had
broken the Laws of Primogeniture in his Behaviour towards him, (_Cain_)
and that he might be justly punish'd for it; Satan, that cunning Manager
of all our wayward Passions, fan'd the Fire of Envy and Jealousy with
his utmost Skill all the while his other Agents were absent; and by the
Time they came back had blown it up into such a Heat of Fury and Rage,
that it wanted nothing but Air to make it burn out, as it soon
afterwards did in a furious Flame of Wrath and Revenge, even to Blood
and Destruction.
Just in the very critical Moment, while Things stood thus with _Cain_,
Satan brings in his wicked Instruments, as if just arriv'd with the
Return of his Message from _Adam_, at whose Court they had been for
Orders; and thus they, that is the _Devil_ assuming to speak by them,
approach their Father with an Air of solemn but chearful Satisfaction at
the Success of their Embassy.
* * * * *
_D._ Hail Sovereign, Reverend, Patriarchal Lord! we come with Joy to
render thee an Account of the Success of our Message.
_Cain._ Have you then seen the venerable Tents where dwell the
Heaven-born, the Angelic Pair, to whom all human Reverence highly due,
is and ought always to be humbly paid?
_D._ We have.
_Cain._ Did you, together with my grand Request, a just, a humble Homage
for me pay, to the great Sire and Mother of Mankind?
_D._ We did.
_Cain._ Did you in humble Language represent the Griefs and Anguish
which oppress my Soul?
_D._ We did, and back their Blessing to thee bring.
_Cain._ I hope with humblest Signs of filial Duty you took it for me on
your bending Knees?
_D._ We did, and had our Share; the Patriarch lifting his Hands to
Heaven express'd his Joy to see his spreading Race, and bless'd us all.
_Cain._ Did you my solemn Message too deliver, my Injuries impartially
lay down, and due Assistance and Direction crave?
_D._ We did.
_Cain._ What spoke the Oracle? he's God to me; what just Command d'ye
bring, what's to be done? am I to bear the insulting Junior's Rage? and
meekly suffer what unjustly he, affronting Primogeniture and Laws of God
and Man, imposes by his Pride unsufferable! Am I to be crush'd, and be
no more the firstborn Son on Earth, but bow and kneel to him?
_D._ Forbid it Heaven! as _Adam_ too forbids, who with a justice
God-like and peculiar to injur'd Parents, _Abel_'s Pride resents, and
gives his high Command to thee to punish.
_Cain._ To punish? say you, did he use the Word, the very Word? am I
commission'd then to punish _Abel_?
_D._ Not _Abel_ only, but his rebel Race, as they alike in Crime alike
are join'd in Punishment.
_Cain._ The Race indeed have shar'd the Merit with him; how did they all
insult, and with a Shout of Triumph mock my Sorrow, when they saw me
from my Sacrifice dejected come, as if my Disappointment was their Joy?
_D._ This too the venerable Prince resents, and to preserve the Race in
Bounds of Laws subordinate and limited to Duty, Commands that this first
Breach be not pass'd by, lest the Precedent upon Record stand to future
Times to encourage like Rebellion.
_Cain._ And is it then my Sovereign Parent's Will?
_D._ It is his Will, that thou his eldest Son, his Image, his belov'd,
should be maintain'd in all the Rights of Sovereignty deriv'd to thee
from him; and not be left expos'd to injury and Power usurped, but
should do thy self Justice on the rebel Race.
_Cain._ And so I will; _Abel_ shall quickly know what 'tis to trample on
his elder Brother; shall know that he's thus sentenc'd by his Father,
and I'm commission'd but to execute his high Command, his Sentence,
which is God's, and that he falls by the Hand of Heavenly Justice.
* * * * *
So now Satan had done his Work, he had deluded the Mother to a Breach
against the first and only Command, he had drawn _Adam_ to the same
Snare, and now he brings in _Cain_ prompted by his own Rage, and deluded
by his, (Satan's,) Craft, to commit Murder, nay a Fratricide, an
aggravated Murther.
Upon this he sends out _Cain_, while the bloody Rage was in its Ferment,
and wickedly at the same Time bringing _Abel_, innocent and fearing no
ill, just in his Way, he suggests to his Thoughts such Words as these.
Look you _Cain_, see how Divine Justice concurs with your Father's
righteous Sentence, see there's thy Brother _Abel_ directed by Heaven to
fall into thy Hands unarm'd, unguarded, that thou may'st do thy self
Justice upon him without Fear; see thou may'st kill him, and if thou
hast a Mind to conceal it, no Eyes can see, or will the World ever know
it, so that no Resentment or Revenge upon thee, or thy Posterity, can be
apprehended, but it may be said some wild Beast had rent him; nor will
any one suggest that thou, his Brother, and Superior, could possibly be
the Person.
_Cain_ prepar'd for the Fact, by his former avow'd Rage and Resolution
of Revenge, was so much the less prepar'd to avoid the Snare thus
artfully contriv'd by the Master of all Subtilty, the _Devil_; so he
immediately runs upon his Brother _Abel_, and after a little unarm'd
Resistance, the innocent poor Man expecting no such Mischief, was
conquer'd and murther'd; after which, as is to be supposed, the
exasperated Crew of _Cain_'s outrageous Race, over-run all his Family
and Houshold, killing Man, Woman and Child.
It is objected here that we have no Authority in Scripture to prove this
Part of the Story; but I answer, 'tis not likely but that _Abel_, as
well as _Cain_, being at Man's Estate long before this, had several
Children by their own Sisters, for they were the only Men in the World
who were allow'd the Marrying their own Sisters, there being no other
Women then in the World; and as we never read of any of _Abel_'s
Posterity, 'tis likewise as probable they were all murther'd, as that
they should kill _Abel_ only, whose Sons might immediately fall upon
_Cain_ for the Blood of their Father, and so the World have been
involv'd in a Civil War as soon as there were two Families in it.
But be it so or not, 'tis not doubted the Devil wrought with _Cain_ in
the horrid Murther, or he had never done it; whether it was directly or
by Agents is not material, nor is the Latter unlikely; and if the
Latter, then there is no Improbability in the Story, for why might not
he that made Use of the Serpent to tempt _Eve_, be as well supposed to
make a Tool of some of _Cain_'s Sons or Grandsons to prompt him in the
wicked Attempt of murthering his Brother? and why must we be oblig'd to
bring in a Miracle or an Apparition into the Story, to make it probable
that the _Devil_ had any Hand in it, when 'twas so natural to a
degenerate Race to act in such a Manner?
However it was, and by whatever Tool the _Devil_ wrought, 'tis certain
that this was the Consequence, poor _Abel_ was butcher'd, and thus the
_Devil_ made a second Conquest in God's Creation; for _Adam_ was now, as
may be said, really Childless, for his two Sons were thus far lost,
_Abel_ was killed, and _Cain_ was curst and driven out from the Presence
of the Lord, and his Race blasted with him.
It would be a useful enquiry here, and worthy our giving an 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 upon by _Abel_'s
Friends or Relations? but as this does not belong to the _Devil_'s
History, and it was God's Mark, not the _Devil_'s, I have nothing to do
with it here.
The _Devil_ had now gain'd his Point, the Kingdom of Grace, so newly
erected, had been as it were extinct without a new Creation, had not
_Adam_ and _Eve_ been alive, and had not _Eve_, tho' now 130 Years of
Age, been a breeding young Lady, for we must suppose the Woman, in that
State of Longevity, bare Children till they were seven or eight hundred
Year old: This Teeming of _Eve_ peopled not the World so much as it
restored the blessed Race; for tho' _Abel_ was kill'd _Cain_ had a
numerous Offspring presently, which had _Seth_, (_Adam_'s third Son)
never been born, would soon have replenish'd the World with People, such
as they were; the Seed of a Murtherer, cursed of God, branded with a
Mark of Infamy, and who afterwards fell all together in the universal
Ruine of the Race by the Deluge.
But after the Murther of _Abel_, _Adam_ had another Son born, namely,
_Seth_, the Father of _Enos_, and indeed the Father of the holy Race;
for during his Time and his Son _Enos_, the Text says that Men began to
call on the Name of the Lord; that is to say, they began to look back
upon _Cain_ and his wicked Race, and being convinc'd of the Wickedness
they had committed, and led their whole Posterity into, they began to
sue to Heaven for Pardon of what was past, and to lead a new sort of
Life.
But the _Devil_ had met with too much Success in his first Attempts, not
to go on with his general Resolution of debauching the Minds of Men, and
bringing them off from God; and therefore as he kept his Hold upon
_Cain_'s cursed Race, embroil'd already in Blood and Murther; so he
proceeded with his degenerate Offspring, till in a Word he brought both
the holy Seed and the degenerate Race to joyn in one universal Consent
of Crime, and to go on in it with such aggravating Circumstances, as
that it repented the Lord that he had made Man, and he resolv'd to
overwhelm them again with a general Destruction, and clear the World of
them.
The Succession of Blood in the royal original Line of _Adam_, is
preserv'd in the sacred Histories and brought down as low as _Noah_ and
his three Sons, for a continu'd series of 1450 Years, say some, 1640
say others; in which Time Sin spread it self so generally thro' 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_, that is, join'd themselves to the curs'd Race of _Cain_, and
married promiscuously with them, according to their Fancies, the Women
it seems being beautiful and tempting; and tho' the Devil could not make
the Women handsome or ugly in one or other Families, yet he might work
up the Gust of wicked Inclination on either Side, so as to make both the
Men and Women tempting and agreeable to one another, where they ought
not to have been so; and perhaps, as it is often seen to this Day, the
more tempting for being under legal Restraint.
It is objected here, that we do not find in the Scripture that the Men
and Women of either Race were at that Time forbidden intermarrying with
one another; and it is true, that literally it is not forbid; but if we
did not search rather to make doubts than to explain them, we might
suppose it was forbidden by some particular Command at that Time; seeing
we may reasonably allow every Thing to be forbidden, which they are
tax'd with a Crime in committing; and as the Sons of God taking them
Wives as they thought fit to choose, tho' from among the Daughters of
the cursed Race, is there charg'd upon them as a general Depravation,
and a great Crime; and for which, 'tis said, GOD even repented that he
had made them, we need go no farther to satisfy our selves that it was
certainly forbidden.
_Satan_ no doubt too had a Hand in this Wickedness; for as it was his
Business to prompt Men to do every Thing which God had prohibited, so
the Reason given why the Men of those Days did this Thing was, they saw
the Daughters of Men, that is of the wicked Race or forbidden Sort,
_were fair_, he tempted them by the Lust of the Eye; in a word, the
Ladies were beautiful and agreeable, and the _Devil_ knew how to make
use of the Allurement; the Men liked and took them by the meer Direction
of their Fancy and Appetite, without regarding the supreme Prohibition;
_They took them Wives of all which they chose_, or such as they lik'd to
choose.
But the Text adds, that this promiscuous Generation went farther than
the meer outward Crime of it, for it shew'd that the Wickedness of the
Heart of Man was great before God, and that he resented it; In short,
God perceived a Degeneracy or Defect of Virtue had seiz'd upon the whole
Race, that there was a general Corruption of Manners, a Depravity of
Nature upon them, that even the holy Seed was tainted with it, that the
Devil had broken in upon them, and prevail'd to a great Degree; that not
only the Practice of the Age was corrupt, for that God could easily have
restrain'd, but that the very Heart of Man was debauch'd, his Desires
wholly vitiated, and his Senses engag'd in it; so that in a Word, it
became necessary to shew the divine Displeasure, not in the ordinary
Manner, by Judgment and Reproofs of such kind as usually reclaim Men,
but by a general Destruction to sweep them away, clear the Earth of
them, and put an End to the Wickedness at once, removing the Offence and
the Offenders all together; this is signify'd at large, Gen. vi. 5. _God
saw that the Wickedness of Man was great in the Earth, and that every
Imagination of the Thoughts of his Heart was only evil continually._ And
again ver. 11, 12. _The Earth also was corrupt before God; and the
Earth was fill'd with Violence. And God look'd upon the Earth and
behold it was corrupt; for all Flesh had corrupted his Way upon the
Earth._
It must be confess'd it was a strange Conquest the _Devil_ had made in
the Antediluvian World, that he had, as I may say, brought the whole
Race of Mankind into a general Revolt from God; _Noah_ was indeed a
Preacher of Righteousness, and he had preach'd about 500 Years to as
little Purpose as most of the good Ministers ever did; for we do not
read there was one Man converted by him, or at least not one of them
left, for that at the Deluge there was either none of them alive, or
none spar'd but _Noah_ and his three Sons, and their Wives; and even
they are ('tis evident) recorded, not so much to be sav'd for their own
Goodness, but because they were his Sons; Nay, without Breach of Charity
we may conclude, that at least one went to the _Devil_ even of those
three, namely, _Ham_ or _Cham_ for triumphing in a brutal Manner over
his Father's Drunkenness; for we find the Special Curse reach'd to him
and his Posterity for many Ages; and whether it went no farther than the
present State of Life with them, we cannot tell.
We will suppose now that thro' this whole 1500 Years the Devil having so
effectually debauch'd Mankind, had advanc'd his infernal Kingdom to a
prodigious Height; for the Text says, _the whole Earth was fill'd with
violence_; in a Word, Blood, Murder, Rape, Robbery, Oppression and
Injustice prevail'd every where, and Man, like the wild Bear in the
Forest, liv'd by Prey, biting and devouring one another.
At this Time _Noah_ begins to preach a new Doctrine to them, for as he
had before been a Preacher of Righteousness, now he becomes a Preacher
of Vengeance; first he tells them they shall be all overwhelm'd with a
Deluge, that for their Sins God repented they were made, and that
he would destroy them all, adding, that to prevent the Ruin of himself
and Family, he resolv'd to build him a Ship to have recourse to when the
Water should come over the Rest of the World.
What Jesting, what Scorn, what Contempt did this Work expose the good
old Man to for above a 100 Years? for so long the Work was building, as
antient Authors say; let us represent to our selves in the most lively
Manner how the witty World at that Time behav'd to poor old _Noah_; how
they took their Evening Walks to see what he was doing, and passed their
Judgment upon it, and upon the Progress of it; I say, to represent this
to our selves, we need go no farther than to our own Witicisms upon
Religion, and upon the most solemn Mysteries of Divine Worship; how we
damn the Serious for Enthusiasts, think the Grave mad, and the Sober
melancholy; call Religion it self Flatus and Hyppo; make the Devout
ignorant, the Divine mercenary, and the whole Scheme of Divinity a Frame
of Priestcraft; and thus no doubt the building an Ark or Boat, or
whatever they call'd it, to float over the Mountains, and dance over the
Plains, what could it be but a religious Frenzy, and the Man that so
busied himself, a Lunatick? 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 upon Mankind to obliterate all
the Reverence, which but a little before was so strangely impress'd upon
them concerning their Maker.
This was certainly the Height of the _Devil_'s Kingdom, and we shall
never find 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 arbitrary absolute sway; and had not
God thought fit to give him a Writ of Ejectment, and afterwards drown
him out of Possession I know not what would have been the Case, he might
have kept his Hold for ought I know till the Seed of the Woman came to
bruise his Head, that is to say, cripple his Government, Dethrone him
and Depose his Power, as has been fulfill'd in the Messiah.
But as he was, I say, drown'd out of the World, his Kingdom for the
present was at an End; at least, if he had a Dominion he had no
Subjects, and as the Creation was in a Manner renewed, so the _Devil_
had all his Work to do over again: Unhappy Man! how has he, by his weak
Resistance, made the _Devil_, recovering his Hold too easy to him, and
given him all the Advantages, except as before excepted, which he had
before? Now whether he retired in the mean Time, and how he got footing
again after _Noah_ and his Family were landed upon the New Surface, that
we come next to enquire.
CHAP. X.
_Of the Devil's second Kingdom, and how he got footing in the renew'd
World by his Victory over_ Noah _and his Race_.
The Story of _Noah_, his building the Ark, his embarking himself and all
Nature's Stock for a new World on board it; the long Voyage they took,
and the bad Weather they met with, tho' it would embellish this Work
very well, and come in very much to the Purpose in this Place, yet as
it does not belong to the _Devil_'s Story, for I cannot prove what some
suggest (_viz._) that he was in the Ark among the Rest, I say, for that
Reason I must omit it.
And now having mention'd Satan's being in the Ark; as I say, I cannot
prove it, so there are, I think, some good Reasons to believe he was not
there: _First_, I know no Business he had there; _secondly_, we read of
no Mischief done there, and these joyn'd together make me conclude he
was absent; the last I chiefly insist upon, that we read of no Mischief
done there, which if he had been in the Ark, would certainly have
happen'd; and therefore I suppose rather, that when he saw his Kingdom
dissolv'd, his Subjects all ingulph'd in an inevitable Ruin and
Desolation, a Sight suitable enough to him, except as it might unking
him for a Time; _I say_, when he saw this, he took care to speed himself
away as well as he could, and make his Retreat to a Place of Safety,
where that was, is no more difficult 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 that Region. It is most rational to suppose he went no further
on many Accounts, of which I shall speak by and by: Here he stay'd
hovering in the Earth's Atmosphere, as he has often done since, and
perhaps now does; or if the Atmosphere of this Globe was affected by the
Indraft of the Absorption, as some think, then he kept himself upon the
Watch, to see what the Event of the new Phænomenon would be, and this
Watch, wherever it was, I doubt not, was as near the Earth as he could
place himself, perhaps in the Atmosphere of the Moon, or in a Word, the
next Place of Retreat he could find.
From hence I took upon me to insist, that _Satan_ has not a more certain
Knowledge of Events than we; I say, he has not a _more certain
Knowledge_; that he may be able to make stronger Conjectures and more
rational Conclusions from that he sees, I will not deny; and that which
he most outdoes us in is, that he sees more to conclude from than we
can, but I am satisfied he knows nothing of Futurity more than we can
see by Observation and Inference; nor, _for Example_, did he know
whether God would repeople the World any more or no.
I must therefore allow that he only waited to see what would be the
Event of this strange Eruption of Water, and what God propos'd to do
with the Ark, and all that was in it.
Some Philosophers tell us, besides what I hinted above, that the _Devil_
could have no Retreat in the Earth's Atmosphere, for that the Air being
wholly condens'd into Water, and having continually pour'd down its
Streams to deluge the Earth, that Body was become so small, and had
suffer'd such Convulsions, that there was but just enough Air left to
surround the Water, or as might serve by its Pressure to preserve the
natural Position of Things, and supply the Creatures in the Ark with a
Part to breath in.
The Atmosphere indeed might suffer some strange and unnatural Motions at
that Time, but not (I believe) to that Degree, however, I will not
affirm that there could be room in it, or is now for the Devil, much
less for all the numberless Legions of Satan's Host; but there was, and
now certainly is, sufficient Space to receive him, and a sufficient Body
of his Troops for the Business he had for them at that time, and that's
enough to the Purpose; or if the Earth's Atmosphere did suffer any
particular Convulsion on that Occasion, he might make his Retreat to
the Atmosphere of the Moon, or of _Mars_, or of _Venus_, or of any of
the other Planets; or to any other Place, for he that is Prince of the
Air could not want Retreats in such a Case, from whence he might watch
for the issue of Things; certainly he did not go far, because his
Business lay here, and he never goes out of his Way of doing Mischief.
In particular, his more than ordinary Concern was, to see what would
become of the Ark; he was wise enough doubtless to see, that GOD, who
had directed its making, nay even the very Structure of it, would
certainly take Care of it, preserve it upon the Water, and bring it to
some Place of Safety or other; tho' where it should be, the _Devil_ with
all his Cunning could not resolve, whether on the same Surface the
Waters drawing off, or in any other created or to be created Place; and
this State of Uncertainty being evidently his Case, and which proves his
Ignorance of Futurity, it was his Business, _I say_, to watch with the
utmost vigilance for the Event.
If the Ark was (as Mr. _Burnet_ thinks) guided by two Angels, they not
only held it from foundering or being swallow'd up in the Water, but
certainly kept the Waters calm about it, especially when the Lord
brought a strong Wind to blow over the whole Globe, which by the Way was
the first, and, I suppose, the only universal Storm that ever blew, for
to be sure it blew over the whole Surface at once; I say, if it was thus
guided, to be sure the _Devil_ saw it, and that with Envy and Regret
that he could do it no Injury, for doubtless had it been in the Devil's
Power, as God had drown'd the whole Race of Man, except what was in the
Ark, he would have taken care to have dispatch'd them too, and so made
an End of the Creation at once; but either he was not empower'd to go
to the Ark, or it was so well guarded by Angels, that when he came near
it he could do it no harm: So it rested at length, the Waters abating on
the Mountains of _Arrarat_ in _Armenia_, or some where else that Way,
and where they say a Piece of the Keel is remaining to this Day; of
which, however with Dr. ------ I say, I believe not one Word.
The Ark being safe landed, 'tis reasonable to believe _Noah_ prepared to
go on Shore, as the Seamen call it, as soon as the dry Land began to
appear; and here you must allow me to suppose Satan, tho' himself
cloth'd with a Cloud, so as not to be seen, came immediately, and
pearching on the Roof, saw all the Heaven-kept Houshold safely landed,
and all the Host of living Creatures dispersing themselves down the
Sides of the Mountain, as the Search of their Food or other proper
Occasions directed them.
This Sight was enough; Satan was at no Loss to conclude from hence that
the Design of God was to repeople the World by the Way of ordinary
Generation, from the Posterity of these eight Persons, without creating
any new Species.
Very well, says the _Devil_, then my Advantage over them, by the Snare I
laid for poor _Eve_, is good still; and I am now just where I was after
_Adam_'s Expulsion from the Garden, and when I had _Cain_ and his Race
to go to work with; for here is the old expung'd Corrupted Race still,
as _Cain_ was the Object then, so _Noah_ is my Man now, and if I do not
master him one way or another, I am mistaken in my Mark. _Pardon me for
making a Speech for_ the Devil.
_Noah_ big with a Sense of his late Condition, and while the Wonders of
the Deluge were fresh in his Mind, spent his first Days in the Extasies
of his Soul, giving Thanks, and praising the Power that had been his
Protection, in and thro' the Flood of Waters, and which had in so
miraculous a Manner, safely landed him on the Surface of the newly
discover'd Land; and the Text tells us, as one of the first Things he
was employ'd in, _He built an Altar unto the Lord, and offered
Burnt-Offerings upon the Altar_. Gen. viii. 20.
While _Noah_ was thus employ'd he was safe, the _Devil_ himself could no
where break in upon him; and we may suppose very reasonably, as he found
the old Father invulnerable, he left him for some Years, watching
notwithstanding all possible Advantages against his Sons and their
Children; for now the Family began to encrease, and _Noah_'s Sons had
several Children; whether himself had any more Children after the Flood
or not, that we are not arriv'd to any Certainty about.
Among his Sons the _Devil_ found _Japhet_ and _Shem_, good, pious,
religious, and very devout Persons; serving God daily, after the Example
of their good old Father _Noah_, and he could make nothing of them or of
any of their Posterity; but _Ham_ the second, or according to some, the
younger Son of _Noah_, had a Son who was nam'd _Canaan_, a loose young
profligate Fellow, his Education was probably but cursory and
superficial, his Father _Ham_ not being near so religious and serious a
Man as his Brothers _Shem_ and _Japhet_ were; and as _Canaan_'s
Education was defective, so he prov'd, as untaught Youth generally do, a
wild, and in short a very wicked Fellow, and consequently a fit Tool for
the _Devil_ to go to work with.
_Noah_, a diligent industrious Man, being with all his Family thus
planted in the rich fruitful Plains of _Armenia_, or wherever you
please, let it be near the Mountains of _Caucasus_ or _Arrarat_; went
immediately to work, cultivating and improving the Soil, encreasing his
Cattle and Pastures, sowing Corn, and among other Things planting Trees
for Food, and among the Fruit Trees he planted Vines, of the Grapes
thereof he made no doubt, as they still in the same Country do make,
most excellent Wine, rich, luscious, strong, and pleasant.
I cannot come into the Notion of our Criticks, who to excuse _Noah_ from
the guilt of what followed, or at least from the Censure, tell us, he
knew not the Strength or the Nature of Wine, but that gathering the
heavy Clusters of the Grapes, and their own weight crushing out their
balmy Juices into his Hand, he tasted the tempting Liquor, and that the
_Devil_ assisting he was charm'd with the delicious Fragrance, and
tasted again and again, pressing it out into a Bowl or Dish, that he
might take a larger Quantity; till at length the heady Froth ascended
and seizing his Brain, he became intoxicate and drunk, not in the least
imagining there was any such Strength in the Juice of that excellent
Fruit.
But to make out this Story, which is indeed very favourable for _Noah_,
but in it self extremely ridiculous, you must necessarily fall into some
Absurdities, and beg the Question most egregiously in some particular
Cases, which way of arguing will by no means suppose what is suggested;
at first you must support there was no such Thing as Wine made before
the Deluge, and that no Body had been ever made drunk with the Juice of
the Grape before _Noah_, which, I say, is begging the Question in the
grossest Manner.
If the Contrary is true, as I see no Reason to question, if, _I say_, it
was true that there was Wine drank, and that Men were or had been drunk
with it before, they cannot then but suppose that _Noah_, who was a
wise, a great and a good Man, and _a Preacher of Righteousness_, both
knew of it, and without doubt had in his preaching against their Crimes,
preach'd against this among the rest, upbraided them with it, reprov'd
them for it, and exhorted them against it.
_Again_, 'tis highly probable they had Grapes growing, and consequently
Wines made from them, in the Antediluvian World, how else did _Noah_
come by the Vines which he planted? For we are to suppose, he could
plant no Trees or Shrubs, but such as he found the Roots of in the
Earth, and which no doubt had been there before in their highest
Perfection, and had consequently grown up and brought forth the same
luscious Fruit before.
Besides, as he found the Roots of the Vines, so he understood what they
were, and what Fruit they bore, or else it may be supposed also he would
not have planted them; for he planted them for their Fruit, as he did it
in the Provision he was making for his Subsistence, and the Subsistence
of his Family: and if he did not know what they were, he would not have
set them, for he was not planting for Diversion but for Profit.
Upon the whole it seems plain to me he knew what he did, as well when he
planted the Vines as when he pressed out the Grapes; and also when he
drank the Juice that he knew it was Wine, was strong and would make him
drunk if he took enough of it: He knew that other Men had been drunk
with such Liquor before the Flood, and that he had reprehended them for
it; and therefore it was not his Ignorance, 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 _Eve_ said, _the Serpent
beguilded her_, and she DID EAT, so the Devil beguiled _Noah_, and _he_
DID DRINK; the Temptation was too strong for _Noah_, not the Wine; he
knew well enough what he did, but as the Drunkards say to this Day, it
was so good he could not forbear it, and so he got drunk before he was
aware; or as our ordinary Speech expresses it, _he was overtaken with
drink_; and Mr. _Pool_ and other Expositors are partly of the same Mind.
No sooner was the poor old Man conquer'd, and the Wine had lighten'd his
Head, but it may be supposed he falls off from the Chair or Bench where
he sate, and tumbling backward his Clothes, which in those hot Countries
were only loose open Robes, like the Vests which the _Armenians_ wear to
this Day, flying abroad, or the _Devil_ so assisting on purpose to
expose him, he lay there in a naked indecent Posture not fit to be seen.
In this juncture who should come by but young _Canaan_, say some; or as
others think, this young Fellow first attack'd him by way of Kindness
and pretended Affection; prompted his Grandfather to drink, on Pretence
of the Wine being good for him, and proper for the Support of his old
Age, and subtilly set upon him, drinking also with him, and so (his Head
being too strong for the old Man's) drank him down, and then, _Devil_
like, triumph'd over him; boasted of his Conquest, insulted the Body as
it were dead, uncovered him on purpose to expose him, and leaving him in
that indecent Posture, went and made Sport with it to his Father _Ham_,
who in that Part, wicked like himself, did the same to his Brethren
_Japhet_ and _Shem_; but they like modest and good Men, far from
carrying on the wicked Insult on their Parent, went and cover'd him, as
the Scripture expresses it, and as may be supposed inform'd him how he
had been abus'd, and by whom.
Why else should _Noah_, when he came to himself, shew his Resentment so
much against _Canaan_ his Grandson, rather than against _Ham_ his
Father, and who 'tis supposed in the Story the guilt chiefly lay upon?
we see the Curse is (as it were) laid wholly upon _Canaan_ the Grandson,
and not a Word of the Father is mention'd, Gen. ix. 25, 26, 27, _Cursed
be_ Canaan, _a Servant of Servants shall he be_, &c.
That _Ham_ was Guilty, that's 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 have made _Canaan_ the Instrument or Tool to delude
_Noah_, and draw him in to Drunkenness, as he made the Serpent the Tool
to beguile _Eve_, and draw her into Disobedience.
Possibly _Canaan_ might do it without Design at first, but might be
brought in to ridicule and make a Jest of the old Patriarch afterward,
as is too frequent since in the Practice of our Days; but I rather
believe he did it really with a wicked Design, and on Purpose to expose
and insult his Reverend old Parent; and this seems more likely too,
because of the great Bitterness with which _Noah_ resented it, after he
came to be inform'd of it.
But be that as it will, the _Devil_ certainly made a great Conquest
here, and as to outward Appearance no less than that which he gain'd
before over _Adam_; nor did the _Devil_'s Victory consist barely in his
having drawn in the only righteous Man of the whole Antediluvian World,
and so beginning or initiating the new young Progeny with a Crime; but
here was the great Oracle silenc'd at once; the Preacher of
Righteousness, for such no doubt he would have been to the new World, as
he was to the old, I say, the Preacher was turn'd out of Office, or his
Mouth stopt, which was worse; nay, it was a stopping of his Mouth in the
worst kind, far worse than stopping his Breath, for had he died, the
Office had descended to his sons _Shem_ and _Japhet_, but he was dead to
the Office of an Instructor, tho' alive as to his Being; For of what
Force could his Preachings be, who had thus fallen himself into the most
shameful and beastly Excess?
Besides some are of the Opinion, tho' I hope without Ground, that _Noah_
was not 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 was this which is the meaning of his being uncovered in his
Tent, and that his Son saw his Nakedness; that is, he continually
exposed himself for a long Time, a hundred Years, say they, and that his
Son _Ham_, and his Grandson _Canaan_ having drawn him into it, kept him
in it, encourag'd and prompted it, and all the while Satan still
prompting them, join'd their Scoffs and contempt of him, with their
wicked Endeavours to promote the Wickedness; and both with as much
Success as the Devil himself could wish for.
Then as for his two Sons modestly and decently covering their Father,
they tell us, that Represents _Shem_ and _Japhet_ applying themselves in
an humble and dutiful Manner to their Father, to entreat and beseech him
to consider his ancient Glory, his own pious Exhortations to the late
drowned World, and to consider the Offence which he gave by his evil
Courses to God, and the Scandal to his whole Family, and also that they
are brought in effectually prevailing upon him; and that then _Noah_
cursed the Wickedness of _Ham_'s degenerate Race, in Testimony of his
sincere Repentance after the Fact.
The Story is not so very unlikely as it is certain that it is not to be
proved, and therefore we had better take it as we find it (_viz._) for
one single Act; but suppose it was so, 'tis still certain that _Noah_'s
Preaching was sadly interrupted, the Energy of his Words flatter'd, and
the Force of his Persuasions enervated and abated, by this shameful
Fall; that he was effectually silenc'd for an Instructor ever after, and
this was as much as the Devil had Occasion for; and therefore indeed we
read little more of him, except that he lived three hundred and fifty
Years after the Flood; nay, we do not so much as read that he had any
more Children, but the contrary, nor indeed could _Noah_ have any more
Children, except by his old and perhaps super-annuated Wife, who it was
very likely he had had four or five hundred Year, unless you will
suppose he was allow'd to marry some of his own Progeny, Daughters or
Grandaughters, which we do not suppose was allow'd, no not to _Adam_
himself.
This was certainly a Master-piece of the _Devil_'s Policy, and a fatal
Instance of his unhappy Diligence, (_viz._) that the Door of the Ark was
no sooner open, and the Face of the World hardly dry from the universal
Destruction of Mankind, but he was at work among them; and that not only
to form a general Defection among the Race, upon the Foot of the
original Taint of Nature, but like a bold _Devil_ he strikes at the very
Root, and flies at the next general Representative of Mankind, attacks
the Head of the Family, that in his Miscarriage the Rise and Progress of
a Reformation of the new World should receive an early Check, and should
be at once prevented; I say, like a bold Devil, he strikes at the Root,
and _alas!_ poor unhappy _Noah_, he proved too weak for him, _Satan_
prevail'd in his very first Attempt, and got the Victory over him at
once.
_Noah_ thus overcome, and Satan's Conquest carried on to the utmost of
his own Wishes, the _Devil_ had little more to do in the World for some
Ages, than to carry on an universal Degeneracy among Mankind, and to
finish it by a like diligent Application, in deluding the Generality of
the Race, and them as they came on gradually into Life; this he found
the less difficult, because of the first Defection which spread like a
Contagion upon the Earth immediately after.
The first Evidence we have of his Success in this mischievous Design was
in the Building that great stupendious Stair-case, for such it seems it
was intended, call'd _Babel_, which if the whole World had not been
drunk, or otherwise infatuated, they would never have undertaken; even
Satan himself could never have prevail'd with them to undertake such a
preposterous Piece of Work, for it had neither End or Means, Possibility
or Probability in it.
I must confess I am sometimes apt to vindicate our old Ancestors, in my
Thoughts, from the Charge it self, as we generally understand it,
namely, that they really design'd to build a Tower which should reach up
to Heaven, or that it should secure them in case of another Flood; and
Father _Casaubon_ is of my Opinion, whether I am of his or no, is a
Question by it self; his opinion is that the Confusion was nothing but a
Breach among the Undertakers and Directors of the Work, and that the
Building was design'd chiefly for a Store-house for Provisions, 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 little, and only to
mean that it should be exceeding high; perhaps they might not be
Astronomers enough to measure the Distance of Space between the Earth
and Heaven, as we pretend to do now; but as _Noah_ was then alive, and
as we believe all his three Sons were so too, they were able to have
inform'd them how absurd it was to suppose either the one or the other
(_viz_.) (1.) that they could build up to Heaven, or (2.) that they
could build firm enough to resist, or high enough to overtop the Waters,
supposing such another Flood should happen; I would rather think it was
only that they intended to build a most glorious and magnificent 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 for a
Store-house to lay up vast Magazines of Provisions, in Case of
extraordinary Floods or other Events, the City being built in a great
Plain, namely, the Plains of _Shimar_ near the River _Euphrates_.
But 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 every
Thing that was contrary to the Happiness of Man, so the more
preposterous it was, and the more inconsistent with common Sense, the
more to his Purpose; and it shew'd the more what a compleat Conquest he
had gain'd over the Reason as well as the Religion of Mankind at that
Time.
Again, 'tis evident in this Case, they were not only acting contrary to
the Nature of Things, but contrary to the Design and to the Command of
Heaven; for God's Command was that they should replenish the Earth, that
is, that they should spread their Habitations over it, and People the
whole Globe; whereas they were pitching in one Place, as if they were
not to multiply sufficient to take up any more.
But what car'd the Devil for that, or to put it a little handsomer, that
was what _Satan_ aimed at; for it was enough to him, to bring Mankind
to act just contrary to what _Heaven_ had directed or commanded them in
any thing, and if possible in every Thing.
But God himself put a stop to this foolish Piece of Work, and it was
time indeed to do so, for a madder thing the Devil himself never
proposed to them; I say, God himself put a stop to this new Undertaking,
and disappointed the Devil; and how was it done? not in Judgment and
Anger, as perhaps the Devil expected and hop'd for, but as pitying the
Simplicity of that dreaming Creature Man, he confused their Speech, or
as some say, divided and confused their Councils, so that they could not
agree with one another, which would be the same Thing as not to
understand one another; or he put a new Shibboleth upon their Tongues,
thereby separating them into Tribes or Families, for by this every
Family found themselves under a Necessity of keeping together, and this
naturally encreased that Differing Jargons of Language, for at first it
might be no more.
What a Confusion this was to them we all know, by their being oblig'd to
leave off their building, and immediately separating one from another;
but what a Surprize it was to the old Serpent, that remains to be
considered of, for indeed it belongs to his History.
Satan had never met with any Disappointment in all his wicked Attempts
till now; for first, he succeeded even to triumph upon _Eve_, he did the
like upon _Cain_, and in short upon the whole World, _one Man_ (Noah)
_excepted_; when he blended the Sons of God, and the Daughters of Hell,
for so the Word is understood, together, in promiscuous voluptuous
Living as well as Generation.
As to the Deluge, Authors are not agreed whether it was a Disappointment
to the Devil or no, it might be indeed a Surprize to him, for tho'
_Noah_ had preach'd of it for a hundred Year together, yet as he
(_Satan_) daily prompted the People not to heed or believe what that old
Fellow _Noah_ said to them, and to ridicule his whimsical Building a
monstrous Tub to swim or float in, when the said Deluge should come; so
I am of the Opinion he did not believe it himself, and am positive he
could not foresee it, by any insight into Futurity that he was Master
of.
'Tis true the Astronomers tell us, there was a very terrible Comet seen
in the Air, that it appeared for 180 Days before the Flood continually;
and that as it approach'd nearer and nearer every Day all the while, so
that at last it burst and fell down in a continual Spout or Stream of
Water, being of a watry Substance, and the Quantity so great, that it
was forty Days a falling; so that this Comet not only foretold the
Deluge or drowning of the Earth, but actually perform'd it, and drown'd
it from it self.
But to leave this Tale to them that told it, let us consider the Devil,
surpris'd, and a little amaz'd at the Absorption or Inundation, or
whatever we are to call it, of the Earth in the Deluge, not, I say, that
he was much concern'd at it, perhaps just the Contrary; and if God would
drown it again, and as often as he thought fit, I do not see by any
thing I meet with in Satan's History, or in the Nature of him, that he
would be at all disturb'd at it; all that I can see in it, that could
give Satan any Concern, would be that all his Favourites were gone, and
he had his Work to do over again, to lay a Foundation for a new Conquest
in the Generation that was to come; But in this his Prospect was fair
enough, for why should he be discouraged, when he had now eight People
to work upon, who met with such Success when he had but two? and why
should he question breaking in now where Nature was already vitiated and
corrupted, when he had before conquer'd the same Nature, when in its
primitive Rectitude and Purity, just come out of the Hands of its Maker,
and fortify'd with the Awe of his high and solemn Command just given
them, and the threatning of Death also annext to it, if broken?
But I go back to the Affair of _Babel_: This Confusion of Language or of
Councils, take it which way you will, as the first Disappointment that I
find the Devil met with, in all his Attempts and Practices upon Mankind,
or upon the new Creature, which I mentioned above; for now he foresaw
what would follow; namely, that the People would separate and spread
themselves over the whole Surface of the Earth, and a thousand new
Scenes of Actions would appear, in which he therefore prepares himself
to behave as he should see Occasion.
How the Devil learn'd to speak all the Languages that were now to be
used, and how many languages they were, the several ancient Writers of
the _Devil_'s Story have not yet determined; some tell us they were
divided only into fifteen, some into seventy two, others into one
hundred and eighty, and others again into several Thousands.
It also remains a doubt with me, and, I suppose, will be so with others
also, whether Satan has yet found out a Method to converse with Mankind,
without the Help of Language and Words, or not: Seeing Man has no other
Medium of Conversing, no not with himself: This I have not time to enter
upon here; however, this seems plain to me (_viz._) that the _Devil_
soon learn'd to make Mankind understand him, whatever Language he spoke,
and no doubt but he found Ways and Means to understand them, whatever
Language they spoke.
After the Confusion of Languages, the People necessarily sorted
themselves into Families and Tribes, every Family understanding their
own particular Speech, and that only; and these Families multiplying
grew into Nations, and those Nations wanting Room, and seeking out
Habitations wandred some this Way, some that, till they found out
Countries respectively proper for their settling, and there they became
a Kingdom, spreading and possessing still more and more Land as their
People encreased, till at last the whole Earth was scarce big enough for
them: This presented _Satan_ with an Opportunity to break in upon their
Morals at another Door, (_viz._) their Pride; for Men being naturally
Proud and Envious, Nations and Tribes began to jostle with one another
for Room; either one Nation enjoy'd better Accommodations, or had a
better Soil or a more favourable Climate than another; and these being
numerous and strong thrust the other out, and encroach'd upon their
Land; the other liking their Situation, prepare for their Defence, and
so began Oppression, Invasion, War, Battle and Blood, Satan all the
while beating the Drums, and his Attendants clapping their Hands, as Men
do when they set Dogs on upon one another.
The bringing Mankind thus to _War_ and _Confusion_, as it was the first
Game the Devil play'd after the confounding of Languages and Divisions
at _Babel_ so it was a Conquest upon Mankind, purely devilish, born from
Hell, and so exactly tinctured with Satan's original Sin _Ambition_,
that it really transform'd Men into meer Devils; for when is Man
transform'd into the very Image of Satan himself, when is he turn'd into
a meer Devil, if it is not when he is fighting with his fellow
Creatures and dipping his Hands in the Blood of his own Kind? Let his
Picture be consider'd, the Fire of Hell flames or sparkles in his Eyes,
a voracious Grin sits upon his Countenance; Rage and Fury distort the
Muscles of his Face; his Passions agitate his whole Body, and he is
metamorphos'd from a comely Beauteous angelic Creature into a _Fury_, a
_Satyr_, a terrible and frightful Monster, nay, into a _Devil_; for
_Satan_ himself is describ'd by the same Word which on his very Account
is chang'd into a Substantive, and the Devils are call'd _Furies_.
This sowing the Seeds of Strife in the World, and bringing Nations to
fight and make War upon one another, would take up a great Part of the
_Devil_'s History, and abundance of extraordinary Things would occur in
relating the particulars; for there have been very great Conflagrations
kindled in the World, by the Artifice of Hell, under this Head, (_viz._)
of making War; in which it has been the _Devil_'s Master-piece, and he
has indeed shewn himself a Workman in it, that he has wheedled Mankind
into strange unnatural Notions of things, in order to propagate and
support the fighting Principle in the World; such as Laws of War, fair
Fighting, behaving like Men of Honour, fighting at the last Drop, and
the like, by which killing and murdering is understood to be
justifiable. Virtue and a true Greatness in Spirit is rated now by Rules
which God never appointed, and the Standard of Honour is quite different
from that of Reason and of Nature: Bravery is denominated not from a
fearless undaunted Spirit in the just Defence of Life and Liberty, but
from a daring Defiance of God and Man, fighting, killing and treading
under Foot his fellow Creatures, at the ordinary Command of the Officer,
whether it be right or wrong, and whether it be in a just Defence of
Life, and our Country's Life, that is Liberty, or whether it be for the
Support of Injury and Oppression.
A prudent avoiding causeless Quarrels is call'd Cowardice, and to take
an affront Baseness, and Meanness of Spirit; to refuse fighting, and
putting Life at a Cast on the Point of a Sword, a Practice forbid by the
Laws of God and of all good Government, is yet call'd Cowardice; and a
Man is bound to die duelling, or live and be laugh'd at.
This trumping up these imaginary Things call'd Bravery and Gallantry,
naming them Virtue and Honour, is all from the _Devil_'s new Management,
and his subtil influencing the Minds of Men to fly in the Face of God
and Nature, and to act against his Senses; nor but for his Artifice in
the Management, could it be possible that such Inconsistencies could go
down with Mankind, or they could pass such absurd Things among them for
reasoning; for Example, A is found in Bed with B's Wife, B is the Person
injur'd, and therefore offended, and coming into the Chamber with his
Sword in his Hand, A exclaims loudly, _Why Sir, you won't murder me,
will you? as you are a Man of Honour let me rise and take my Sword_.
A very good Story indeed! fit for no body but the Devil to put into any
Man's Head; But so it is, B being put in mind, forsooth, that he is _a
Man of Honour_, starts back and must act the honourable Part; so he lets
A get up, put on his Clothes and take his Sword; then they fight, and B
is kill'd for his Honour; whereas had the Laws of God, of Nature and of
Reason taken Place, the Adulterer and the Adulteress should have been
taken Prisoners and carried before the Judge, and being taken in the
Fact, should have been immediately sentenc'd, he to the Block and she to
the Stake, and the innocent abus'd Husband had no Reason to have run
any Risque of his Life for being made a Cuckold.
But thus has _Satan_ abus'd the Reason of Man; and if a Man does me the
greatest Injury in the World, I must do my self Justice upon him, by
venturing my life upon an even Lay with him, and must fight him upon
equal Hazard, in which the injur'd Person is as often kill'd as the
Person offering the Injury: Suppose now it be in the same Case _as
above_, a Man abuses my Wife, and then to give me Satisfaction, tells
me, he will fight me, which the _French_ call _doing me Reason_; _No
Sir_, say I, _let me lie with your Wife too, and then if you desire it,
I may fight you; then I am upon even Terms with you_; but this indeed is
the Reasoning which the _Devil_ has brought Mankind too at this Day: But
to go back to the Subject, _viz._ the Devil bringing the Nations to fall
out, and to quarrel for Room in the World, and so to fight in order to
dispossess one another of their Settlements: This began at a Time when
certainly there were Places enough in the World for every one to choose
in, and therefore the _Devil_, not the want of Elbow-room, must be the
Occasion of it; and 'tis carried on ever since, as apparently from the
same Interest, and by the same original.
But we shall meet with this Part again very often in the _Devil_'s
Story, and as we bring him farther on in the Management of Mankind, I
therefore lay it by for the Present, and come to the next Steps the
_Devil_ took with Mankind after the Confusion of Languages, and this was
in the Affair of Worship; It does not appear yet that ever the _Devil_
was so bold, as either,
1. To set himself up to be worship'd as a God, or which was still worse,
2. To persuade Man to believe there was no God at all to worship.
Both these are introduc'd since the Deluge, _one_ indeed by the _Devil_,
who soon found Means to set himself up for a God in many Parts of the
World, and holds it to this Day; but the _last_ is brought in by the
Invention of Man, in which it must be confess'd Man has out-sin'd the
Devil; for to do Satan justice, he never thought it could ever 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 our Days, have, _I
say_, out-sin'd the _Devil_.
As then both these are modern Inventions, _Satan_ went on gradually, and
being to work upon human Nature by Stratagem, not by Force, it would
have been too gross to have set himself up as an Object of Worship at
first, it was to be done Step by Step; _for Example_.
1. It was sufficient to bring Mankind to a Neglect of God, to
worship him by halves, and give little or no Regard to his Laws,
and so grow loose and immoral, in direct Contradiction to his
Commands; this would not go down with them at first, so the Devil
went on gradually.
2. From a Negligence in worshiping the true GOD, he by Degrees
introduc'd the worship of false GODs; and to introduce this he
began with the _Sun_, _Moon_, and _Stars_, call'd in the holy Text
the Host of Heaven; these had greater Majesty upon them, and seem'd
fitter to command the Homage of Mankind; so it was not the hardest
Thing in the World, to bring Men, when they had once forgotten the
true God, to embrace the Worship of such Gods as those.
3. Having thus debauch'd their Principles in Worship, and led them
from the true and only Object 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 Idolatry he proceeded
gradually too; for he began with awful Names, such as were
venerable in the Thoughts of Men, as BAAL or BELL, which, in
_Chaldaick_ and _Hebrew_, signifies Lord or Sovereign, or Mighty
and Magnificent, and this was therefore a Name ascrib'd at first to
the true God; but afterwards they descended to make Images and
Figures to represent him, and then they were call'd by the same
Name, as _Baal_, _Baalim_, and afterwards _Bell_; from which, by a
hellish Degeneracy, Saturn brought Mankind to adore every Block of
their own hewing, and to worshipping Stocks, Stones, Monsters,
Hobgoblins, and every sordid frightful Thing, and at last the
_Devil_ himself.
What Notions some People may entertain of the Forwardness of the first
Ages of the World, to run into Idolatry, I do not enquire here; I know
they tell us strange Things, of its being the Product of meer Nature,
one remove from its primitive State; but I, who pretend to have so
critically enquir'd into _Satan_'s History, can assure you, and that
from very good Authority, that the _Devil_ did not find it so easy a
task to obliterate 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 Patriarchal
Government of the first Ages, but still he was sixteen hundred Years
bringing it to pass; and tho' we have Reason to believe the old World,
before the Flood was arrived to a very great Height of Wickedness, and
_Ovid_ very nobly describes it by the War of the _Titans_ against
_Jupiter_, yet we do not read that ever Satan was come to such a Length
as to bring them to Idolatry; indeed we do read of Wars carried on among
them, whether it was one Nation against another, or only Personal, we
cannot tell; But the World seem'd to be swallow'd up in a Life of
Wickedness, that is to say, of Luxury and Lewdness, Rapine and Violence,
and there were _Giants_ among them, and Men of Renown, that is to say,
Men fam'd for their mighty Valour, great Actions of War we may suppose,
and their Strength, who personally oppos'd others. We read of no
considerable Wars indeed, but 'tis not to be doubted but there was such
Wars, or else it is to be understood that they liv'd (in common) a Life
somewhat like the Brutes, the Strong devouring the Weak; for the Text
says, _the whole Earth was filled with Violence_, hunting and tearing
one another in Pieces, either for Dominion or for Wealth, either for
Ambition or for Avarice, we know not well which.
Thus far the old Antediluvian World went, and very wicked they were,
there is no doubt of that; but we have Reason to believe that was no
Idolatry, the _Devil_ had not brought them to that Length yet: perhaps
it would soon have follow'd, but the Deluge interven'd.
After the Deluge, _as I have said_, he had all his Work to do over
again, and he went on by the same Steps; _first_ he brought them to
Violence and War, then to Oppression and Tyranny, then to neglect of
true Worship, then to false worship, and then Idolatry by the meer
natural Consequence of the Thing; who were the first Nation or People
that fell from the Worship of the true God, is something hard to
determine; the _Devil_, who certainly of all _God_'s Creatures is best
able to inform us, having left us nothing upon Record upon that
Subject, but we have Reason to believe it was thus introduc'd.
_Nimrod_ was the Grandson of _Ham_, _Noah_'s second Son, the same who
was cursed by his Father for exposing him in his Drunkenness: This
_Nimrod_ was the first who it seems _Satan_ pick'd out for a Hero: Here
he inspir'd him with ambitious Thoughts, dreams of Empire, and having
the Government of all the Rest, _that is to say_, universal Monarchy;
the very same Bait with which he has plaid upon the Frailty of Princes,
and ensnar'd the greatest of them ever since, even from his most August
Imperial Majesty King _Nimrod_ the first, to his most Christian Majesty
_Louis_ the XIV. and many a mighty Monarch between.
When these mighty Monarchs and Men of Fame went off the Stage, the World
had their Memories in esteem many Ages after; and as their great Actions
were no otherwise recorded than by oral Tradition, and the Tongues and
Memories of fallible Men, Time and the Custom of magnifying the past
Actions of Kings, Men soon fabl'd up their Histories, _Satan assisting_,
into Miracle and Wonder: Hence their Names were had in Veneration more
and more; Statues and Bustoes representing their Persons and great
Actions were set up in public Places, till from Heroes and Champions
they made Gods of them, and thus (_Satan_ prompting) the World was
quickly fill'd with Idols.
This _Nimrod_ is he, who according to the received Opinion, tho' I do
not find Satan's History exactly concurring with it, was first call'd
_Belus_, then _Baal_, and worship'd in most of the eastern Countries
under those Names; sometimes with Additions of Sir-names, according to
the several countries, or People, or Towns where he was particularly
set up, as _Baal Peor_, _Baal Zephon_, _Baal Phegor_, and in other
Places plain _Baal_, as _Jupiter_ in after Times had the like Additions;
as _Jupiter Ammon_, _Jupiter Capitolinus_, _Jupiter Pistor_, _Jupiter
Feretrius_, and about ten or twelve _Jupiters_ more.
I must acknowledge, that I think it was a Master-piece of Hell to bring
the World to Idolatry so soon after they had had such an eminent Example
of the infinite Power of the true God, as was seen in the Deluge, and
particularly in the Escape of _Noah_ in the Ark, to bring them (even
before _Noah_ or his Sons were dead) to forget whose Hand it was, and
give the Homage of the World to a Name, and that a Name of a mortal Man
dead and rotten, who was famous for nothing when he was alive but Blood
and War; I say, to bring the World to set up this Nothing, this meer
Name, nay the very Image and Picture of him for _a God_, it was _first_
a Mark of most prodigious Stupidity in the whole Race of Men, a
monstrous Degeneracy from Nature, and even from common Sense; and in the
next Place 'twas a token of an inexpressible Craft and Subtilty in the
_Devil_, who had now gotten the People into so full and compleat a
Management, that in short, he could have brought them, by the same Rule,
to have worship'd any thing; and in a little while more, did bring many
of them to worship himself, _plain Devil as he was_, and knowing him to
be such.
As to the Antiquity of this horrible Defection of Mankind, tho' we do
not find the beginning of it particularly recorded, yet we are certain
it was not long after the Confusion of _Babel_; for _Nimrod_, as is
said, was no more than _Noah_'s great Grandson and _Noah_ himself, I
suppose, might be alive some Years after _Nimrod_ was born; and as
_Nimrod_ was not long dead, before they forgot that he was a Tyrant and
a Murtherer, and made a _Baal_, that is a Lord or Idol of him, I say, he
was not long dead, for _Nimrod_ was born in the Year of the World 1847,
and built _Babylon_ the Year 1879; and we find _Terah_ the Father of
_Abraham_, who liv'd from the Year 1879 was an Idolater, as was
doubtless _Bethuel_, who was _Terah_'s Grandson; for we find _Laban_,
who was _Bethuel_'s Son, was so, and all this was during the Life of the
first Post-Diluvian Family, for _Terah_ was born within one hundred
ninety three Years after the Flood, and one hundred fifty seven Years
before _Noah_ was dead; and even _Abram_ himself was eight and fifty
Years old before _Noah_ died, and yet Idolatry had been then, in all
probability, above an hundred Years practised in the World.
N. B. It is worth Remark here, what a terrible Advantage the Devil
gain'd by the debauching poor _Noah_, and drawing him into the Sin
of Drunkenness; for by this, as I said, he silenc'd and stop'd the
Mouth of the great Preacher of Righteousness, that Father and
Patriarch of the whole World, who not being able for the Shame of
his own foul Miscarriage, to pretend to instruct or reprove the
World any more, the _Devil_ took hold of them immediately, and for
want of a Prophet to warn and admonish, ran that little of Religion
which there might be left in _Shem_ and _Japhet_, quite out of the
World, and delug'd them all in IDOLATRY.
How long the whole World may be said to be thus overwhelm'd in Ignorance
and Idolatry, we may make some tolerable guess at by the History of
_Abraham_; for it was not till God call'd him from his Father's House,
that any such Thing as a Church was establish'd in the World; nor even
then, except in his own Family and Successors for almost four hundred
Years after that Call; and till God brought the _Israelites_ back out of
_Egypt_, the whole World may be said to be involv'd in Idolatry and
_Devil_ worship.
So absolute a Conquest had the _Devil_ made over Mankind immediately
after the Flood, and all taking its Rise and Beginning at the fatal
Defeat of _Noah_, who had he liv'd untainted and invulnerable, as he had
done for six hundred Years before, would have gone a great way to have
stem'd the Torrent of Wickedness which broke in upon Mankind; and
therefore the _Devil_, I say, was very cunning and very much in the
Right of it, take him as he is a meer _Devil_, to attack _Noah_
personally, and give him a Blow so soon.
It is true, the _Devil_ did not immediately raze out the Notion of
Religion and of a GOD from the Minds of Men, nor could he easily
suppress the Principle of Worship and Homage to be paid to a Sovereign
Being, the Author of Nature and Guide of the World; the _Devil_ saw this
clearly in the first Ages of the new World, and therefore, as I have
said, he proceeded politically and by Degrees: That it was so, is
evident from the Story of _Job_ and his three Friends, who, if we may
take it for a History, not a Fable, and may judge of the Time of it by
the Length of _Job_'s Life, and by the Family of _Eliphaz_ the
_Temanite_, who it is manifest was at least Grandson or Great Grandson
to _Esau Isaac_'s eldest Son, and by the Language of _Abimilech_ King of
_Gerar_ to _Abraham_, and of _Laban_ to _Jacob_, both the Latter being
at the same Time Idolaters; I say, if we may judge of it by all these,
there were still very sound Notions of Religion in the Minds of Men; nor
could Satan with all his Cunning and Policy deface those _Ideas_, and
root them out of the Minds of the People.
And this put him upon taking new Measures to keep up his Interest and
preserve the Hold he got upon Mankind; and his Method was like himself,
subtle and politick to the last Degree, as his whole History makes
appear; for seeing he found they could not but believe the Being of a
God, and that they would needs worship something, it is evident, he had
no Game left him to play but this, namely, to set up wrong Notions of
Worship, and bring them to a false Worship instead of a True, supposing
the Object worship'd to be still the same.
To finish this Stratagem, he first insinuates that the true God was a
terrible, a dreadful, unapproachable Being; that to see him was so
frightful, that it would be present Death; that to worship him
immediately, was a Presumption which would provoke his Wrath; and that
as he was a _consuming Fire_ in himself, so he would burn up those in
his Anger that dar'd to offer up any Sacrifice to him, but by the
Interposition of some Medium which might receive their Adorations in his
Name.
Hence it occur'd presently, that subordinate Gods were to be found out
and set up, to whom the People might pay the Homage due to the supreme
God, and who they might worship in his Name; this I take from the most
ancient Account of Idolatry in the World; nor indeed could the Devil
himself find out any other Reason why Men should Cannonise or rather
Deify their Princes and Men of Fame, and worship them after they were
dead, as if they could save them from Death and Calamity, who were not
able to save themselves when they were alive; much less could _Satan_
bring Men to swallow so gross, so absurd a Thing as the bowing the Knee
to a Stock or a Stone, a Calf, an Ox, a Lion, nay the Image or Figure
of a Calf, such as the _Israelites_ made at Mount _Sinai_, and say,
_These be thy Gods, O_ Israel, _who brought thee out of the Land of_
Egypt.
Having thus, I say, brought them to satisfy themselves that they
worship'd the true God and no other, under the Figures and Appearances
which they made to represent him, it was easy after that to worship any
thing for the true God; and thus in a few Ages they worship'd nothing
but Idols, even throughout the whole World; nor has the _Devil_ lost
this hold in some Parts of the World, nay not in most Parts of the World
to this Day; He holds still all the Eastern Parts of _Asia_, and the
Southern Parts of _Africa_, and the Northern Parts of _Europe_, and in
them the vast Countries of _China_ and _Tartary_, _Persia_ and _India_,
_Guinea_, _Ethiopia_, _Zanquebar_, _Congo_, _Angola_, _Monomotapa_, &c.
in all which, _except Ethiopia_, we find no Vestiges of any other
worship but that of Idols, Monsters, and even the _Devil_ himself; till
after the very coming of our Saviour, and even then, if it be true that
the Gospel was preach'd in the _Indies_ and _China_ by St. _Thomas_, and
in other remote Countries by other of the Apostles; we see that whatever
Ground _Satan_ lost, he seems to have recovered it again; and all _Asia_
and _Africa_ is at present overrun with Paganism or Mahometanism, which
I think of the two is rather the worst; Besides all _America_, a Part of
the World, as some say, equal in Bigness to all the other, in which the
_Devil_'s Kingdom was never interrupted from its first being inhabited,
_whenever it was_, to the first Discovery of it by the _European_
Nations in the sixteenth Century.
In a Word, the _Devil_ got what we may call an entire Victory over
Mankind, and drove the Worship of the true God, in a Manner quite out
of the World, forcing, _as it were_, his Maker in a new kind of
Creation, the old one proving thus ineffectual to recover a certain
Number by Force and meer Omnipotence to return to their Duty, serve him
and worship him; _But of that hereafter_.
CHAP. XI.
_Of God's calling a Church out of the midst of a degenerate World, and of
Satan's new Measures upon that Incident: How he attack'd them
immediately, and his Success in those Attacks._
_Satan_ having, as I have said in the preceding Chapter, made, as it
were, a full Conquest of Mankind, debauch'd them all to Idolatry, and
brought them at least to worshiping the true God by the wretched Medium
of corrupt and idolatrous Representations; God seem'd to have no true
Servants or Worshippers left in the World, but if I may be allow'd to
speak so, was oblig'd, in order to restore the World to their Senses
again, to call a select Number out from among the rest, who he himself
undertook should own his Godhead or supreme Authority, and worship him
as he requir'd to be worship'd; this, _I say_, God was oblig'd to do,
because 'tis evident it has not been done so much by the Choice and
Council of Men, _for Satan would have over-rul'd that Part_, as by the
Power and Energy of some irresistible and invincible Operation, and this
our Divines give high Names to; but be it what they will, it is the
second Defeat or Disappointment that the _Devil_ he met with in his
Progress in the World; the first I have spoken of already.
It is true, Satan very well understood what was threatn'd to him in the
original Promise to the Woman, immediately after the Fall, namely, _thou
shalt bruise his Head_, &c. but he did not expect it so suddenly, but
thought himself sure of Mankind, till the Fullness of Time when the
Messiah should come; and therefore it was a great Surprize to him, to
see that _Abraham_ being call'd was so immediately receiv'd and
establish'd, tho' he did not so immediately follow the Voice that
directed him, yet in him, in his Loins was all God's Church at that time
contain'd.
In the calling _Abraham_, it is easy to see that there was no other way
for God to form a Church, that is to say, to single out a People to
himself, as the World was then stated, but by immediate Revelation and a
Voice from Heaven: All Mankind were gone over to the Enemy, overwhelmed
in Idolatry, in a Word, were engag'd to the _Devil_; God Almighty, or as
the Scripture distinguishes him, _the Lord_, the true GOD, was out of
the Question; Mankind knew little or nothing of him, much less did they
know any thing of his Worship, or that there was such a Being in the
World.
Well might it be said the _Lord_ appeared to _Abraham_, Gen. xii. 7. for
if God had not appear'd himself, he must have sent a Messenger from
Heaven, _and perhaps it was so too_, for he had not one true Servant or
Worshiper that we know of then on Earth, to send on that Errand; no
Prophet, no Preacher of Righteousness, _Noah_ was dead, and had been so
above seventeen Year; and if he had not, his preaching, as I observed
after his great Miscarriage, had but little Effect; we are indeed told,
that _Noah_ left behind him certain Rules and Orders for the true
Worship of God, which were call'd the Precepts of _Noah_, and remain'd
in the World for a long Time; tho' how written, when neither any
Letters, much less Writing were known in the World, is a Difficulty
which Remains to be solv'd; and this makes me look upon those Laws
call'd the Precepts of _Noah_ to be a modern Invention, as I do also the
_Alphabetum Noachi_, which _Bochart_ pretends to give an Account of.
But to leave that Fiction, and come back to _Abraham_; God call'd him,
whether at first by Voice without any Vision, whether in a Dream or
Night Vision, which was very Significant in those Days, or whether by
some awful Appearance, we know not; the second Time, 'tis indeed said
expressly GOD appeared to him; Be it which Way it will, GOD himself
call'd him, shew'd him the Land of _Canaan_, gave him the Promise of it
for his Posterity, and withal gave him such a Faith, that the _Devil_
soon found there was no room for him to meddle with _Abraham_. This is
certain, we do not read that the _Devil_ ever so much as attempted
_Abraham_ at all; some will suggest that the Command to _Abraham_ to go
and offer up his Son _Isaac_, was a Temptation of the _Devil_, if
possible to defeat the glorious Work of GOD's calling a holy Seed into
the World; for the _first_, if _Abraham_ had disobey'd that Call, the
new Favourite had been overcome and made a Rebel of, or _secondly_, if
he had _obey'd_, then the promis'd Seed had been cut off, and _Abraham_
defeated; but as the Text is express that GOD himself proposed it to
_Abraham_, I shall not start the Suggestions of the Criticks, in Bar of
the sacred Oracle.
Be it one way or other, _Abraham_ shew'd a Hero-like Faith and Courage,
and if the _Devil_ had been the Author of it, he had seen himself
disappointed in both his Views; (1.) by _Abraham_'s ready and bold
Compliance, as believing it to be GOD's Command; and (2.) by the divine
Countermand of the Execution, just as the fatal Knife was lifted up.
But if the _Devil_ left _Abraham_, and made no attack upon him, seeing
him invulnerable, he made himself amends upon the other Branch of his
Family, his poor _Nephew_ LOT; who, notwithstanding he was so
immediately under the particular Care of Heaven, as that the Angel who
was sent to destroy _Sodom_, could do nothing till he was out of it; and
who, tho' after he had left _Zoar_, and was retir'd into a Cave to
dwell, yet the subtle _Devil_ found him out, deluded his two Daughters,
took an Advantage of the Fright they had been in about _Sodom_ and
_Gomorrah_, made them believe the whole World was burnt too, as well as
those Cities, and that in short, they could never have any _Husbands_,
&c. and so in their abundant Concern to repeople the World, and that the
Race of Mankind might not be destroyed, they go and lie with their own
_Father_; the _Devil_ telling them doubtless how to do it, by
intoxicating his Head with Wine; in all which Story, whether they were
not as drunk as their Father, seems to be a Question, or else they could
not have supposed all the Men in the Earth were consum'd, when they knew
that the little City _Zoar_ had been preserv'd for their Sakes.
This now was the third Conquest _Satan_ obtain'd by the Gust of humane
Appetite; that is to say, once by Eating and twice by Drinking, or
Drunkenness, and still the last was the worst and most shameful; for
_Lot_, however his Daughters manag'd him, could not pretend he did not
understand what the Strength of Wine was; and one would have thought
after so terrible a Judgment as that of _Sodom_ was, which was, as we
may say, executed before his Face, his Thoughts should have been too
solemnly engag'd in praising God for sparing his Life, to be made drunk,
and that two Nights together.
But the _Devil_ play'd his Game sure, he set his two Daughters to work,
and as the _Devil_'s Instruments seldom fail, so he secur'd his by that
hellish Stratagem of deluding the Daughters, to think all the World was
consum'd but they two and their Father: To be sure the old Man could not
suspect that his Daughters Design was so wicked as indeed it was, or
that they intended to debauch him with Wine, and make him drink till he
knew not what he did.
Now the _Devil_ having carried his Game here, gain'd a great Point; for
as there were but two religious Families in the World before, from
whence a twofold Generation might be supposed to rise religious and
righteous like their Parents, (_viz._) that of _Abraham_ and this of
_Lot_; this Crime ruin'd the Hopes of one of them; it could no more be
said that just _Lot_ was in Being, who vex'd his _righteous Soul_ from
Day to Day with the wicked Behaviour of the People of _Sodom_; righteous
_Lot_ was degenerated into drunken incestuous _Lot_, LOT fallen from
what he was, to be a wicked and unrighteous Man; no pattern of Virtue,
no Reprover of the Age, but a poor fallen Degenerate Patriarch, who
could now no more reprove or exhort, but look down and be asham'd, and
nothing to do but to repent; and see the poor mean Excuses of all the
three.
Eve says, _The Serpent beguil'd me, and I did eat_.
Noah says, ---- _My Grandson beguil'd me, or the Wine beguil'd me,
and I did drink_.
Lot says, _My Daughters beguil'd me, and I also did drink_.
It is observable, that as I said above, _Noah_ was silenc'd, and his
Preaching at an End, after that one Action, so the like may be said of
_Lot_; and in short, you never hear one Word more of either of them
after it; as for Mankind, both were useless to them, and as to
themselves, we never read of any of their Repentance, nor have we much
Reason to believe they did repent.
From this Attack of the _Devil_ upon _Lot_, we hear no more of the
_Devil_ being so busily employ'd as he had been before in the World; he
had indeed but little to do, for all the rest of the World was his own,
lull'd asleep under the Witchcraft of Idolatry, and are so still.
But it could not be long that the _Devil_ lay idle; as soon as God
call'd himself a People, the _Devil_ could not be at Rest; till he
attack'd them.
'Wherever God sets up a House of Prayer,
'The Devil always builds a Chapel there.
_Abraham_ indeed went off the Stage free, and so did _Isaac_ too, they
were a Kind of first Rate Saints; we do not so much as read of any
failing they had, or of any Thing the _Devil_ had ever the Face to offer
to them; no, or with _Jacob_ either, if you will excuse him for
beguiling his Brother _Esau_, of both his Birthright and his Blessing,
but he was busy enough with all his Children; for Example,
* * * * *
He sent _Judah_ to his Sheep-shearing, and placed a Whore (_Tamar_)
in his Way, in the Posture of Temptation, so made him commit
Incest and Whoredom both together.
He sent incestuous _Reuben_ to lie with his Father's Concubine
_Billah_.
He sent _Dinah_ to the Ball, to dance with the _Sichemite_ Ladies,
and play the Whore with their Master.
He enrag'd _Simeon_ and _Levi_, at the supposed Injury, and then
prompted them to Revenge, for which their Father heartily cursed
them.
He set them all together to fall upon poor _Joseph_, first to
murther him intentionally, and then actually sell him to the
_Midianites_.
He made them shew the Party-colour'd Coat, and tell a lie to their
Father, to make the poor old Man believe _Joseph_ was kill'd by a
Lion, _&c._
He sent _Potiphar_'s Wife to attack _Joseph_'s Chastity, and fill'd
her with Rage at the Disappointment.
He taught _Joseph_ to swear by the Life of _Pharoah_.
* * * * *
In a Word, he debauch'd the whole Race, except _Benjamin_, and never Man
had such a Set of Sons, so wicked and so notorious, after so good an
Introduction into the World as they all of them had, _to be sure_; for
_Jacob_, no doubt, gave them as good Instruction as the Circumstances of
his wandring Condition would allow him to do.
We must now consider the _Devil_ and his Affairs in a quite differing
Situation: When the World first appeared peopled by the creating Power
of God, he had only _Adam_ and _Eve_ to take care of, and I think he
ply'd his Time with them to purpose enough: After the Deluge he had
_Noah_ only to pitch upon, and he quickly conquer'd him by the
Instigation of his _Grandson_.
At the Building of _Babel_ he guided them by their acting all in a Body
as one Man; so that in short he manag'd them with ease, taking them as a
Body politic; and we find they came into his Snare as one Man; but Now,
the Children of _Israel_ multiplying in the Land of their Bondage, and
God seeming to shew a particular Concern for them, the _Devil_ was
oblig'd to new Measures, stand at a Distance, and look on for some Time.
The _Egyptians_ were plagued even without his Help, nor tho' the cunning
Artist, as I said, stood and looked on, yet he durst not meddle; nor
could he make a few Lice, the least and meanest of the Armies of Insects
raised to afflict the _Egyptians_.
However, when he perceiv'd that God resolved to bring the _Israelites_
out, he prepar'd to attend them, to watch them, and be at Hand upon all
the wicked Occasions that might offer, as if he had been fully satisfied
such Occasions would offer, and that he should not fail to have an
Opportunity to draw them into some Snare or another, and that therefore
it was his Business not to be out of the Way, but to be ready (as we
say) to make his Market of them in the best Manner he could: How many
Ways he attempted them, nay, how many Times he conquer'd them in their
Journey, we shall see presently.
First he put them in a fright at _Baal-Zephon_, where he thought he had
drawn them into a Noose, and where he sent _Pharoah_ and his Army to
block them up between the Mountains of _Piahiroth_ and the _Red Sea_;
but there indeed _Satan_ was outwitted by _Moses_, so far as it appeared
to be a humane Action, for he little thought of their going dry footed
_thro' the Sea_, but depended upon having them all cut in Pieces the
next Morning by the _Egyptians_; an eminent Proof, _by the Way_, that
the _Devil_ has _no Knowledge of Events_, or any Insight into Futurity;
nay that he has not so much as a second Sight, or knows to Day what his
Maker intends to do to Morrow; for had _Satan_ known that God intended
to Ford them over the Sea, if he had not been able to have prevented the
Miracle, he would certainly have prevented the Escape, by sending out
_Pharoah_ and his Army time enough to have taken the Strand before them,
and so have driven them to the Necessity of travelling on Foot round the
North Point of that Sea, by the Wilderness of _Etan_, where he would
have pursu'd and harrass'd them with his Cavalry, and in all Probability
have destroy'd them: But the blind short-sighted Devil, perfectly in the
Dark, and unacquainted with Futurity, knew nothing of the Matter, was as
much deceiv'd as _Pharoah_ himself, stood still flattering himself with
the Hopes of his Booty, and the Revenge he should take upon them the
next Morning; till he saw the frighted Waves in an Uproar, and to his
utter Astonishment and Confusion saw the Passage laid open, and _Moses_
leading his vast Army in full March over the dry Space; nay even then
'tis very propable Satan did not know that if the _Egyptians_ follow'd
them, the Sea would return upon and overwhelm them; for I can hardly
think so hard of the _Devil_ himself, that if he had, he would have
suffer'd, much less prompted _Pharoah_ to follow the Chase at such an
Expence; so that either he must be an ignorant unforeseeing Devil, or a
very ungrateful false _Devil_ to his Friends the _Egyptians_.
I am enclin'd also to the more charitable Opinion of Satan too, because
the Escape of the _Israelites_ was really a Triumph over himself; for
the War was certainly his, or at least he was auxiliary to _Pharoah_,
it was a Victory over _Hell_ and _Egypt_ together, and he would never
have suffer'd the Disgrace, if he had known it beforehand; that is to
say, tho' he could not have prevented the Escape of _Israel_, or the
dividing the Water, yet he might have warn'd the _Egyptians_, and
cautioned them not to venture in after them.
But we shall see a great many weak Steps taken by the Devil in the
Affair of this very People and their forty Years Wandring in the
Wilderness; and tho' he was in some things successful, and wheedled them
into many foolish and miserable Murmurings and Wranglings against God,
and Mutinies against poor _Moses_, yet the _Devil_ was oftentimes
baulk'd and disappointed; and 'tis for this Reason that I choose to
finish the first Part of his History with the particular Relation of his
Behaviour among the _Jews_, because also, we do not find any
extraordinary Things happening any where else in the World for above one
thousand five hundred Years, no Variety, no Revolutions; all the Rest of
Mankind lay still under his Yoke, quietly submitted to his Government,
did just as he bad them, worship'd every Idol he set up, and in a Word,
he had no Difficulty with any Body but the _Jews_, and for this Reason,
I say, this Part of his Story will be the more useful and instructing.
To return therefore to _Moses_ and his dividing the _Red Sea_; that the
People went over or thro' it, that we have the sacred History for; but
how the Devil behav'd, that you must come to me for, or I know not where
you will find a true Account of it, at least not in Print.
1. It was in the Night they march'd thro', whether the _Devil_ saw it in
the Dark or no, that's not my Business.
But when he had Day-Light for it, and view'd the next Day's Work, I make
no Question but _all Hell felt the Surprise_, the Prey being thus
snatch'd out of their Hands unexpectedly. 'Tis true the _Egyptians_ Host
was sent to him in their Room, but that was not what he aim'd at; for he
was sure enough of them his own Way, and if it was not _just at that
Time_, yet he knew what and who they were; but as he had devour'd the
whole _Israelitish_ Host in his Imagination, to the Tune of at least a
Million and a half of Souls; Men, Women and Children; it was, no doubt,
a great Disappointment to the Devil to miss of his Prey, and to see them
all triumphing on the other Side in Safety.
It is true, _Satan_'s Annals do not mention this Defeat, for Historians
are generally backward to register their own Misfortunes; but as we have
an Account of the Fact from other Hands, so as we 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 the _Devil_'s Story
very entertaining, because of the great Variety of Incidents which
appear in every Part of it; sometimes he is like a hunted Fox,
curvetting and counter-running to avoid his being pursued and found out,
while at the same time he is carrying on his secret Designs to draw the
People he pretends to manage, into some Snare or other to their Hurt; at
another time, tho' the Comparison is a little too low for his Dignity,
like a Monkey that has done Mischief, and who making his own Escape sits
and chatters at a Distance, as if he had triump'd in what he had done;
so Satan, when he had drawn them in to worship a Calf, to offer strange
Fire, to set up a Schism, and the like; and so to bring the Divine
Vengeance upon themselves, leaving them in their Distress, kept at a
Distance, as if he look'd on with Satisfaction to see them Burnt,
swallow'd up, swept away, and the like; as the several Stories relate.
His indefatigable Vigilance is, on the other hand, a useful Caveat, as
well as an improving View to us; no sooner is he routed and expos'd,
defeated and disappointed in one Enterprize, but he begins another, and,
like a cunning Gladiator, warily defends himself, and boldly attacks his
Enemy at the same time. Thus we see him, up and down, conquering and
conquered, thro' this whole Part of his Story, till at last he receives
a total Defeat; of which you shall hear in its place: In the mean time,
let us take up his Story again at the _Red Sea_, where he receiv'd a
great Blow, instead of which he expected a compleat Victory; for
doubtless the Devil and the King of _Ægypt_ too, thought of nothing but
Conquest at _Piahiroth_.
However, tho' the Triumph of the _Israelites_ over the _Egyptians_ must
needs be a great Mortification to the _Devil_, and exasperated him very
much, yet the Consequence was only this, _viz._ that _Satan_, like an
Enemy who is baulk'd and defeated, but not overcome, redoubles his Rage,
and reinforces his Army, and what the _Egyptians_ could not do for him,
he resolves to do for himself; in order then to take his Opportunity for
what Mischief might offer, being defeated, and provok'd, I say, at the
Slur that was put upon him, he resolves to follow them into the
Wilderness, and many a vile Prank he plaid them there; as first, he
straitens them for Water, and makes them murmur against GOD, and against
_Moses_, within a very few Days, nay, Hours, of their great Deliverance
of all.
Nor was this all, but in less than one Year more we find them, (at his
Instigation too) setting up a _golden Calf_, and making all the People
dance about it at Mount _Sinai_; even when God himself had but just
before appear'd to them in the Terrors of a burning Fire upon the Top of
the Mountain; _and what was the Pretence?_ Truly, nothing but that they
had lost _Moses_, who used to be their Guide, and he had hid himself in
the Mount, and had not been seen in forty Days, so that they could not
tell what was become of him. This put them all into Confusion; a poor
Pretence indeed, to turn them all back to Idolatry! but the _watchful
Devil_ took the Hint, push'd the Advantage, and insinuated that they
should never see _Moses_ again, that he was certainly devour'd by
venturing too near the Flashes of Fire in the Mount, and presuming upon
the Liberty he had taken before; in a word, that God had destroyed
_Moses_, or he was starved to Death for want of Food, having been forty
Days and forty Nights absent.
All these were, it's true, in themselves most foolish Suggestions,
considering _Moses_ was admitted to the Vision of God, and that God had
been pleased to appear to him in the most intimate manner; that as they
might depend God would not destroy his faithful Servant, so they might
have concluded he was able to support his Being without Food as long as
he thought fit; but to a People so easy to believe any thing, what could
be too gross for the _Devil_ to persuade them to?
A People who could dance round a Calf, and call it their God, might do
any thing; that could say to one another, that this was the Great
JEHOVAH, _that brought them out of the Land of Egypt_; and that within
so few Days after God's miraculous Appearance to them, and for them; I
say, such a People were really fitted to be imposed upon, nothing could
be too gross for them.
This was indeed his first considerable Experiment upon them as _a
People_, or as _a Body_; and the Truth is, his Affairs requir'd it, for
_Satan_, who had been a Successful Devil in most of his Attempts upon
Mankind, could hardly doubt of Success in any thing after he had carried
his Point at Mount _Sinai_: To bring them to Idolatry in the very Face
of their Deliverer, and just after their Deliverance! It was more
astonishing in the main than even their passing _the Red Sea_: In a
Word, the _Devil_'s whole History does not furnish us with a Story
equally surprising.
And how was poor _Aaron_ bewilder'd in it too? He that was _Moses_'s
Partner in all the great Things that _Moses_ did in _Pharaoh_'s Sight,
and that was appointed to be his Assistant and Oracle, _or Orator
rather_, upon all public Occasions; that he, above all the rest, should
come into this absurd and ridiculous Proposal, he that was singled out
for the sacred Priesthood, for him to defile his holy Hands with a
polluted abominable Sacrifice, and with making the Idol for them too,
(for 'tis plain that he made it,) how monstrous it was!
And see what an Answer he gives to his Brother _Moses_, how weak! how
simple! _I did so and so, indeed_, I bad them bring the Ear-rings, _&c._
and I cast the Gold into the Fire, and _it came out this Calf_.
Ridiculous! as if the Calf came out by meer fortuitous Adventure,
without a Mould to cast it in; which could not be supposed: And if it
had not come out so without a Mould, _Moses_ would certainly have known
of it; had _Aaron_ been innocent, he would have answered after quite
another manner, and told _Moses_ honestly that the whole Body of the
People came to him in a Fright, that they forced him to make them an
Idol; which he did, by making first a proper Mould to cast it in, and
then taking the proper Metal to cast it from: That indeed he had sinn'd
in so doing, but that he was mobb'd into it, and the People terrified
him, perhaps they threatned to kill him; and if he had added, that the
_Devil_ prompting his Fear beguil'd him, he had said nothing but what
was certainly true; for if it was in Satan's Power to make the People
insolent and outrageous enough to threaten and bully the old venerable
Prophet (_for he was not yet a Priest_) who was the Brother of their
Oracle _Moses_, and had been Partner with him in so many of his
Commissions; I say, if he cou'd bring up the Passions of the People to a
Height to be rude and unmannerly to him (_Aaron_) and perhaps to
threaten and insult him, he may be easily suppos'd to be able to
intimidate _Aaron_, and terrify him into a Compliance.
See this cunning Agent, when he has Man's Destruction in his View, how
securely he acts! he never wants a handle; the best of Men have one weak
place or other, and he always finds it out, takes the Advantage of it,
and conquers them by one Artifice or another; only take it with you as
you go, 'tis always _by Stratagem_, never _by Force_; a Proof that he is
not empower'd to use Violence: He may tempt, and he does prevail; but
'tis all _Legerdemain_, 'tis all Craft and Artifice, he is still Diabolè,
the _Calumniator_ and Deceiver, that is, the Misrepresenter; he
misrepresents _Man_ to GOD, and misrepresents GOD to _Man_, also he
misrepresents Things; he puts false Colours, and then manages the Eye to
see them with an imperfect View, raising Clouds and Fogs to intercept
our Sight; in short, he deceives all our Senses, and imposes upon us in
Things which otherwise would be the easiest to discern and judge of.
This indeed is in part the Benefit of the _Devil_'s History, to let us
see that he has used the same Method all along; and that ever since he
has had any thing to do with Mankind, he has practis'd upon them with
Stratagem and Cunning; also 'tis observable that he has carried his
Point better that way than he would have done by Fury and Violence, if
he had been allowed to make use of it; for by his Power indeed he might
have laid the World desolate, and made a Heap of Rubbish of it long ago;
but, as I have observed before, that would not have answered his Ends
half so well, for by destroying Men he would have made Martyrs, and sent
abundance of good Men to Heaven, who 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 not a few: But
this was none of _Satan_'s Business; his Design lies quite another Way;
his Business is to make Men _sin_, not to make them _suffer_; to make
_Devils_ of them, not _Saints_; to delude them, and draw them away from
their Maker, not send them away to him; and therefore he works by
Stratagem, not by Force.
We are now come to his Story, as it relates to the _Jewish_ Church in
the Wilderness, and to the Children of _Israel_ in their travelling
Circumstances; and this was the first Scene of publick Management that
the Devil had upon his Hands in the World; for, as I have said, _till
now_, he dealt with Mankind either in their separate Condition, one by
one, or else carried all before him, engrossing whole Nations in his
Systems of Idolatry, and overwhelming them in an ignorant Destruction.
But having now a whole People as it were snatch'd away from him, taken
out of his Government, and, which was still worse, having a View of a
Kingdom being set up independent of him, and superior to his Authority,
it is not to be wondred at if he endeavour'd to overthrow them in the
Infancy of their Constitution, and tried all possible Arts to bring them
back into his own Hands again.
He found them not only carried away from the Country where they were
even in his Clutches, surrounded with Idols, and where we have Reason to
believe the greatest part of them were polluted with the Idolatry of the
_Egyptians_; for we do not read of any stated Worship which they had of
their own, or if they did worship the true God, we scarce know in what
manner they did it; they had no Law given them, nothing but the Covenant
of Circumcision, and even _Moses_ himself had not strictly observ'd
that, till he was frighted into it; we read of no Sacrifices among them,
no Feasts were ordain'd, no solemn Worship appointed, and how, or in
what manner they perform'd their Homage, we know not; the Passover was
not ordain'd till just at their coming away; so that there was not much
Religion among them, at least that we have any Account of; and we may
suppose the _Devil_ was pretty easy with them all the while they were in
the House of their Bondage.
But now, to have a Million of People fetch'd out of his Hands, as it
were all at once, and to have the immediate Power of Heaven engaged in
it, and that _Satan_ saw evidently God had singled them out in a
miraculous manner to favour them, and call them _his own_; this allarm'd
him at once, and therefore he resolves to follow them, lay close Siege
to them, and take all the Measures possible to bring them to rebel
against, and disobey GOD, that he might be provok'd to destroy them; and
how near he went to bring it to pass, we shall see presently.
This making a Calf, and paying an idolatrous Worship to it (for they
acted the Heathens and Idolaters, not in the setting up the Calf only,
but in the manner of their Worshiping, _viz._ _Dancing_ and _Musick_,
Things they had not been acquainted with in the Worship of the true God)
I mention here, to observe how the Devil not only imposed upon their
Principles, but upon their Senses too; as if the awful Majesty of
Heaven, whose Glory they had seen in Mount _Sinai_, where they stood,
and whose Pillar of Cloud and Fire was their Guide and Protection, would
be worship'd by dancing round a Calf! and that not a living Creature, or
a real Calf, but the mere Image of a _Calf_ cast in Gold, or, as some
think, in Brass gilded over.
But this was the _Devil_'s Way with Mankind, namely, to impose upon
their Senses, and bring them into the grossest Follies and Absurdities;
and then, having first made them Fools, it was much the easier to make
them Offenders.
In this very manner he acted with them thro' all the Course of their
Wilderness Travels; for as they were led by the Hand like Children,
defended by Omnipotence, fed by Miracles, instructed immediately from
Heaven, and in all things had _Moses_ for their Guide; they had no room
to miscarry, but by acting the greatest Absurdities, and committing the
greatest Follies in Nature; and even these, the _Devil_ brought them to
be guilty of, in a surprising manner: 1. As GOD himself reliev'd them in
every Exigence, and supply'd them in every Want, one would think 'twas
impossible they should be ever brought to question either his
Willingness or his Ability, and yet they really objected against both;
which was indeed very provoking, and I doubt not, that when the _Devil_
had brought them to act in such a preposterous Manner, he really hoped
and believed God would be provok'd effectually: The Testimonies of his
Care of them, and Ability to supply them, were miraculous and
undeniable; he gave them Water from the Rock, Bread from the Air, sent
the Fowls to feed them with Flesh, and supported them all the Way by
Miracles; their Health was preserv'd, none were sick among them, their
clothes did not wear out, nor their Shoes grow old upon their Feet;
could any thing be more absurd, than to doubt whether he could provide
for them who had never let them want for so many Years?
But the _Devil_ managed them in spight of Miracles; nor did he ever give
them over till he had brought six hundred thousand of them to provoke
God so highly that he would not suffer 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 Carcasses fell in the Wilderness. Let us take
but a short View to what a Height he brought 'em, and in what a rude,
absurd Manner they acted; how he set them upon murmuring upon every
Occasion, now for Water, then for Bread; nay, they murmured _at their
Bread_ when they had it; _Our Soul loaths this light Bread._
He sow'd the Seeds of Church-Rebellion in the Sons of _Aaron_, and made
_Nadab_ and _Abihu_ offer strange Fire till they were strangely consumed
by Fire for the doing it.
He set them a complaining at _Taberah_, and a lusting for Flesh at the
first three Days Journey from Mount _Sinai_.
He planted Envy in the Hearts of _Miriam_ and _Aaron_, against the
Authority of _Moses_, to pretend GOD had spoke by them as well as by
him, till he humbled the Father, and made a Leper of the Daughter.
He debauch'd ten of the Spies, frighted them with sham Appearances of
Things, when they went out to search the Land; and made them fright the
whole People out of their Understanding as well as Duty, for which six
hundred thousand of their Carcasses fell in the Wilderness.
He rais'd the Rebellion of _Korah_, and the two hundred and fifty
Princes, till he brought them to be swallowed up alive.
He put _Moses_ into a Passion at _Meribah_, and ruffled the Temper of
the meekest Man upon Earth, by which he made both him and _Aaron_
forfeit their Share of the Promise, and be shut out from the _Holy
Land_.
He rais'd a Mutiny among them when they travelled from Mount _Hor_, till
they brought fiery Serpents among them to destroy them.
He tried to make _Baalim_ the Prophet 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 _Cosbi_.
He tempted _Achan_ with the Wedge of Gold, and the _Babylonish_ Garment,
that he might take of the accursed thing, and be destroy'd.
He tempted the whole People, not effectually to drive out the cursed
Inhabitants of the Land of Promise, that they might remain, and be Goads
in their Sides, till at last they often oppress'd them for their
Idolatry; and, which was worse, debauched them to Idolatry.
He prompted the _Benjamites_ to refuse Satisfaction to the People, in
the Case of the Wickedness of the Men of _Gibeah_, to the Destruction of
the whole Tribe, four hundred Men excepted in the Rock _Rimmon_.
At last he tempted them to reject the Theocracy of their Maker, and call
upon _Samuel_ to make them a King; and most of those Kings he made
Plagues and Sorrows to them in their time, as you shall hear in their
Order.
Thus he plagued the whole Body of the People continually, making them
sin against God, and bring Judgments upon themselves, to the consuming
some Millions of them, first and last, by the Vengeance of their Maker.
As he did with the whole Congregation, so he did with their Rulers, and
several of the Judges, who were made Instruments to deliver the People,
yet were drawn into snares by this _subtil Serpent_, to ruin themselves
or the People they had delivered.
He tempted _Gideon_ to make an _Ephod_, contrary to the Law of the
Tabernacle, and made the Children of _Israel_ go a whoring (that is, a
worshiping) after it.
He tempted _Sampson_ to debauch himself with a Harlot, and betray his
own happy Secret to a Whore, at the Expence of both his Eyes, and at
last of his Life.
He tempted _Eli_'s Sons to lie with the Women, in the very Doors of the
Tabernacle, when they came to bring their Offerings to the Priest; and
he tempted poor _Eli_ to connive at them, or not sufficiently reprove
them.
He tempted the People to carry the Ark of God into the Camp, that it
might fall into the Hands of the _Philistines_. And
He tempted _Uzzi_ to reach out his Hand to hold it up; as if he that had
preserved it in the House of _Dagon_ the Idol of the _Philistines_,
could not keep it from falling out of the Cart.
When the People had gotten a King, he immediately set to work in diverse
Ways to bring that King to load them with Plagues and Calamities not a
few.
He tempted _Saul_ to spare the King of _Amaliek_, contrary to God's
express Command.
He not tempted _Saul_ only, but possessed him with an evil Spirit, by
which he was left to wayward Dispositions, and was forced to have it
fiddl'd out of him with a Minstrel.
He tempted _Saul_ with a Spirit of Discontent, and with a Spirit of Envy
at poor _David_, to hunt him like a Partridge upon the Mountains.
He tempted _Saul_ with a Spirit of Divination, and sent him to a Witch
to enquire of _Samuel_ for him; as if God would help him when he was
dead, that had forsaken him when he was alive.
After that, he tempted him to kill himself, on a Pretence that he might
not fall into the Hands of the Uncircumcised; as if _Self-Murther_ was
not half so bad, either for Sin against God, or Disgrace among Men, as
being taken Prisoner by _a Philistine_! A Piece of Madness none but the
_Devil_ could have brought Mankind to submit to, tho' some Ages after
that, he made it a Fashion among the _Romans_.
After _Saul_ was dead, and _David_ came to the Throne, by how much he
was a Man chosen and particularly savoured by Heaven, the _Devil_ fell
upon him with the more Vigour, attack'd him so many Ways, and conquer'd
him so very often, that as no Man was so good a King, so hardly any good
King was ever a worse Man; in many Cases one would have almost thought
the _Devil_ had made Sport with _David_, to shew how easily he could
overthrow the best Man _God_ could choose of the whole Congregation.
He made him distrust his Benefactor so much as to feign himself mad
before the King of _Gath_, when he had fled to him for Shelter.
He made him march with his four hundred Cut-throats, to cut off poor
_Nabal_, and all his Houshold, only because he would not send him the
good Chear he had provided for his honest Sheep-shearers.
He made him, for his Word's sake, give _Ziba_ half his Master's Estate
for his Treachery, after he knew he had been the Traitor, and betray'd
poor _Mephibosheth_ for the sake of it; in which
'The good old King, it seems, was very loth
'To break his Word, and therefore broke his Oath.
Then he tempted him to the ridiculous Project of numbring the People,
tho' against God's express Command; a Thing _Joab_ himself was not
wicked enough to do, till _David_ and the _Devil_ forc'd him to it.
And to make him compleatly wicked, he carried him to the Top of his
House, and shew'd him a naked Lady bathing her self in her Garden, in
which it appear'd that the _Devil_ knew _David_ too well, and what was
the particular Sin of his Inclination; and so took him by the Right
Handle; drawing him at once into the Sins of _Murther_ and _Adultery_.
Then, that he might not quite give him over, (tho' _David_'s Repentance
for the last Sin kept the _Devil_ off for a while) when he could attack
him no farther 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 Destruction before his Face, and another after his
Death.
First, he tempted _Ammon_ to ravish his Sister _Tamar_; so, there was an
End of her (_poor Girl!_) as to this World, for we never hear any more
of her.
Then he tempted _Absalom_ to murther his Brother _Amnon_, in Revenge for
_Tamar_'s Maidenhead.
Then he made _Joab_ run _Absalom_ thro' the Body, contrary to _David_'s
Command.
And after _David_'s Death he brought _Adonija_ (weak Man!) to the Block,
for usurping King _Solomon_'s Throne.
As to _Absalom_, he tempted him to Rebellion, and raising War against
his Father, to the turning him shamefully out of _Jerusalem_, and almost
out of the Kingdom.
He tempted him, for _David_'s farther Mortification, to lie with his
Father's Wives, in the Face of the whole City; and had _Achitophel_'s
honest Council been follow'd, he had certainly sent him to Sleep with
his Fathers, long before his time--But there _Satan_ and _Achitophel_
were both out-witted together.
Thro' all the Reigns of the several Successors of _David_, the _Devil_
took care to carry on his own Game, to the continual insulting the
Measures which God himself had taken for the establishing his People in
the World, and especially as a Church; till at last he so effectually
debauch'd them to Idolatry; that Crime which of all others was most
provoking to GOD, as it was carrying the People away from their
Allegiance, and transposing the Homage they ow'd God their Maker, to a
contemptible Block of Wood, or an Image of a brute Beast; and this how
sordid and brutish soever it was in it self, yet so did his Artifice
prevail among them, that, first or last, he brought them all into it,
the ten Tribes as well as the two Tribes; till at last God himself was
provoked to unchurch them, gave them up to their Enemies, and the 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 found their
Way Home again; and some, when they might have come, would not accept of
it, but continued there to the very coming of the Messiah. See Epistles
of St. _James_ and of St. _Peter_, at the Beginning.
But to look a little back upon this Part (for it cannot be omitted, it
makes so considerable a Part of the _Devil_'s History) I mean his
drawing God's People, Kings and all, into all the Sins and Mischiefs
which gradually contributed to their Destruction.
First, (_for he began immediately with the very best and wisest of the
Race_) he drew in King _Solomon_, in the midst of all his Zeal for the
building God's House, and for the making the most glorious and
magnificent Appearance for God's Worship that ever the World saw; I say,
in the middle of all this, he drew him into such immoderate and
insatiable an Appetite for Women, as to set up the first, and perhaps
the greatest _Seraglio_ of Whores that ever any Prince in the World had,
or pretended to before; nay, and to bring whoring so much into
Reputation, that, as the Text says, seven hundred of them were
Princesses; that is to say, Ladies of Quality: Not as the Grand
Seigniors, and Great Moguls, (other Princes of the Eastern World) have
since practised, namely, to pick up their most beautiful Slaves; but
these, it seems, were Women of Rank, King's Daughters, as _Pharaoh_'s
Daughter, and the Daughters of the Princes and prime Men among the
_Moabites_, _Ammonites_, _Zidonians_, _Hittites_, &c. 1 _Kings_ xi. 1.
Nor was this all; but as he drew him into the Love of these forbidden
Women (_for such they were, as to their Nation, as well as Number_) so
he ensnar'd him by those Women to a Familiarity with their Worship; and
by degrees brought that famous Prince (famous for his Wisdom) to be the
greatest and most-impos'd-upon old Fool in the World; Bowing down to
those Idols by the Inticing of his Whores, whom he had abhorr'd and
detested in his Youth, as dishonouring that God for whom, and for whose
Worship he had finish'd and dedicated the most magnificent Building and
Temple in the World: Nothing but the invincible Subtlety of this _Arch
Devil_ could ever have brought such a Man as _Solomon_ to such a
Degeneracy of Manners, and to such Meannesses; no, not the _Devil_
himself, without the Assistance of his Whores, nor the Whores
themselves, without the _Devil_ to help them.
As to _Solomon_, _Satan_ had made Conquest enough there, we need hear no
more of him; the next Advance he made, was in the Person of his Son
_Rehoboam_; had not the _Devil_ prompted his Pride and tyrannical
Humour, he would never have given the People such an Answer as he did;
and when he saw a Fellow at the Head of them too whom he knew wanted and
waited for an Occasion to raise a Rebellion, and had ripened up the
People's Humour to the Occasion: Well might the Text call it _listening
to the Council of the young Heads_; that it was indeed with a Vengeance!
but those young Heads too were acted by an old _Devil_, who for his
Craft is called, as I have observ'd, the _Old Serpent_.
Having thus pav'd the Way, _Jeroboam_ revolts. So far God had directed
him; for the Text says expressly, speaking in the first Person of GOD
himself, _This Thing is of Me_.
But tho' God might appoint _Jeroboam_ to be King, (that is to say, of
ten Tribes,) yet GOD did not appoint him to set up the _two Calves_ in
the two extreme Parts of the Land, _viz._ in _Dan_, and in _Bethel_;
that was _Jeroboam_'s own doing, and done on purpose to keep the People
from falling back to _Rehoboam_, by being obliged to go to _Jerusalem_
to the publick Worship: And the Text adds, _Jeroboam made Israel to
sin_. This was indeed a Master-piece of the _Devil_'s Policy, and it was
effectual to answer the End, nothing could have been more to the
Purpose; what Reason he had to expect the People would so universally
come into it, and be so well satisfied with a couple of Calves, instead
of the true Worship of GOD at _Jerusalem_; or what Arts and Management
he (_Satan_) made use of afterwards, to bring the People in, to join
with such a Delusion, that we find but little of in all the Annals of
_Satan_; not is it much to the Case: 'Tis certain the _Devil_ found a
strange kind of Propensity to worshiping Idols rooted in the Temper of
that whole People, even from their first breaking away from the
_Egyptian_ Bondage; so that he had nothing to do but to work upon the
old Stock, and propagate the Crime that he found was so natural to them.
And this is _Satan_'s general Way of working, not with them only, but
with us also, and with all the World, even then, and ever since.
When he had thus secur'd _Jeroboam_'s Revolt, we need not trace him
among his Successors; for the same Reason of State that held for the
setting up the Calves at _Bethel_ and _Dan_, held good for the keeping
them up, to all _Jeroboam_'s Posterity; nor had they one good King ever
after; even _Jehu_, who call'd his Friends to come and see his _Zeal for
the Lord_, and who fulfill'd the Threatnings of God upon _Ahab_ and his
Family, and upon Queen _Jezabel_ and her Offspring, and knew all the
while that he was executing the Judgment of the true God upon an
idolatrous Race; yet he would not part with his Calves, but would have
thought it to have been parting with his Kingdom, and that as the People
would have gone up to _Jerusalem_ to worship, so they would at the same
Time have transfer'd their civil Obedience to the King of _Judah_,
(whose Right it really was, as far as they could claim by Birth and
right Line); so that by the way, _Satan_ any more than other
Politicians, is not for the _jus divinum_ of lineal Succession, or what
we call hereditary Right, any farther than serves for his Purpose.
Thus Satan ridded his Hands of ten of the twelve Tribes; let us now see
how he went on with the rest, for his Work was now brought into a
narrower Compass; the Church of God was now reduc'd to two Tribes,
except a few religious People, who separated from the Schism of
_Jeroboam_, and came and planted themselves among the Tribes of _Judah_
and _Benjamin_: The first thing the Devil did after this, was to foment
a War between the two Kings, while _Judah_ was governed by a Boy or
Youth, _Abija_ by Name, and he none of the best neither; but God's Time
was not come, and the Devil receiv'd a great Disappointment; when
_Jeroboam_ was so entirely overthrown; that if the Records of those Ages
do not mistake, no less than 500000 Men of _Israel_ were kill'd, such a
Slaughter, that one would think the Army of _Judah_, had they known how
to improve as well as gain a Victory, might have brought all the rest
back again, and have intirely reduc'd the House of _Jeroboam_ and the
ten Tribes that follow'd him to their Obedience; nay they did take a
great deal of the Country from them, and among the rest _Bethel_ it
self; and yet so cunningly did _Satan_ manage, that the King of _Judah_,
who was himself a wicked King, and perhaps an Idolater in his Heart, did
not take down the golden Calf that _Jeroboam_ had there, no nor destroy
the Idolatry it self, so that in short, his Victory signified nothing.
From hence to the Captivity, we find the _Devil_ busy with the Kings of
_Judah_, especially the best of them; as for such as _Manasseth_, and
those who transgress'd by the general Tenor of their Lives, those he had
no great trouble with.
But such as _Asa_, _Jehoshaphat_, _Hezekiah_, and _Josiah_, he hung
about them and their Courts, till he brought every one of them into some
Mischief or another.
As first, good King _Asa_, of whom the Scripture says, his Heart was
perfect all his Days, yet this subtle Spirit, that could break in upon
him no where else, tempted him when the King of _Israel_ came out
against him, to send to hire _Benhadad_ the King of _Syria_ to help him;
as if GOD who had before enabled him to conquer the _Ethiopians_, with
an Army of ten hundred thousand Men, could not have saved him from the
King of the ten Tribes.
In the same manner he tempted _Jehoshaphat_ to join with that wicked
King _Ahab_ against the King of _Syria_, and also to marry his Son to
_Ahab_'s Daughter, which was fatal to _Jehoshaphat_, and to his
Posterity.
_Again_, He tempted _Hezekiah_ to shew all his Riches to the King of
_Babylon_'s Messengers; and who can doubt, but that he (_Satan_) is to
be understood by the wicked Spirit which stood before the Lord, 2
_Chron._ xviii. 20. and offered his Service to entice _Ahab_ the King of
_Israel_ to come out to Battle to his Ruin, by being a lying Spirit in
the Mouths of all his Prophets; and who for that Time had a special
Commission, as he had another Time in the Case of _Job_? and indeed it
was a Commission fit for no body but the _Devil_: _Thou shalt entice_
him, _and thou shalt_ also _prevail: Go out and do_ even _so_, ver. 21.
Even good _Josiah_ himself, of whom it is recorded, that _like him there
was no King before him_, _neither after him arose there any like him_, 2
Kings xxiii. 26. yet the _Devil_ never left him with his Machinations,
till finding he could not tempt him to any Thing wicked in his
Government, he tempted or mov'd him to a needless War with the King of
_Egypt_, in which he lost his Life.
From the Death of this good King, the _Devil_ prevail'd so with the
whole Nation of the _Jews_, and brought them to such an incorrigible
Pitch of Wickedness, that _God_ gave them up, forsook his Habitation of
Glory, the Temple, which he suffer'd to be spoil'd first, then burnt and
demolish'd; destroying the whole Nation of the _Jews_, except a small
Number that were left, and those the Enemy carried away into Captivity.
Nor was he satisfied with this general Destruction of the whole People
of _Israel_, for the ten Tribes were gone before; but he follow'd them
even into their Captivity; those that fled away to _Egypt_, which they
tell us were seventy thousand, he first corrupted, and then they were
destroyed there upon the Overthrow of _Egypt_, by the same King of
_Babylon_.
Also he went very near to have them rooted out, young and old, Man,
Woman and Child, who were in Captivity in _Babylon_, by the Ministry of
that true Agent of Hell, _Haman_ the _Agagite_; but there _Satan_ met
with a Disappointment too, as in the Story of _Hester_, which was but
the fourth that he had met with, in all his Management since the
Creation; I say, there he was disappointed, and his prime Minister
_Haman_ was exalted, as he deserv'd.
Having thus far traced the Government and Dominion of the _Devil_, from
the Creation of Man to the Captivity; I think I may call upon him to set
up his Standard of universal Empire, at that Period; it seem'd just then
as if God had really forsaken the Earth, and given the entire Dominion
of Mankind up to his outrageous Enemy the _Devil_; for excepting the few
_Israelites_ which were left in the Territories of the King of
_Babylon_, and they were but a few; I say, except among them, there was
not one Corner of the World left where the true God was call'd upon, or
his Dominion so much as acknowledg'd; all the World was buried in
Idolatry, and that of so many horrid Kinds, that one would think, the
Light of Reason should have convinc'd Mankind, that he who exacted such
bloody Sacrifices as that of _Moloch_, and such a bloody cutting
themselves with Knives, as the Priests of _Baal_ did, could not be a
GOD, a good and beneficent Being, but must be a cruel, voracious and
devouring Devil, whose End was not the Good, but the Destruction of his
Creatures: But to such a Height was the blind demented World arriv'd to
at that Time, that in these sordid and corrupt Ways, they went on
worshiping dumb Idols, and offering human Sacrifices to them, and in a
Word, committing all the most horrid and absurd Abominations that they
were capable of, or that the _Devil_ could prompt them to, till Heaven
was again put, as it were, to the Necessity of bringing about a
Revolution, in favour of his own forsaken People, by Miracle and
Surprize, as he had done before.
We come therefore to the Restoration or Return of the Captivity: Had
_Satan_ been able to have acted any thing by Force, _as I have observ'd
before_, all the Princes and Powers of the World, having been, as they
really were, at his Devotion, he might easily have made use of them,
arm'd all the World against the _Jews_, and prevented the Rebuilding the
Temple, and even the Return of the Captivity.
But now the _Devil_'s Power manifestly received a Check, and the Hand of
God appear'd in it, and that he was resolv'd to reestablish his People
the _Jews_, and to have a second Temple built: the _Devil_, who knew the
Extent of his own Power too well, and what Limitations were laid upon
him, stood still as it were looking on, and not daring to oppose the
Return of the Captivity, which he very well knew had been prophesied,
and would come to pass.
He did indeed make some little Opposition to the Building, and to the
fortifying the City, but as it was to no Purpose, so he was soon oblig'd
to give it over; and thus the Captivity being return'd, and the Temple
rebuilt, the People of the _Jews_ encreased and multiplied to an infinite
Number and Strength; and from this Time we may say, the Power of the
_Devil_ rather declin'd and decreas'd, than went on with Success, as it
had done before; It is true the _Jews_ fell into Sects and Errors, and
Divisions of many Kinds, after the Return from the Captivity, and no
doubt the _Devil_ had a great Hand in those Divisions; but he could
never bring them back to Idolatry, and his not being able to do that,
made him turn his Hand so many Ways to plague and oppress them; as
particularly by _Antiochus_ the Great, who brought the Abomination of
Desolation into the holy Place; and there the Devil triumph'd over them
for some Time; but they were deliver'd many Ways, till at last they came
peaceably under the Protection rather than the Dominion of the _Roman_
Empire: When _Herod_ the Great govern'd them as a King, and reedified,
nay almost rebuilt their Temple, with so great an Expence and
Magnificence, that he made it, as some say, greater and more glorious
than that of _Solomon_'s, tho' that I take to be a great ---- Fable, to
say no worse of it.
In this Condition the _Jewish_ Church stood, when the Fullness of Time,
as 'tis call'd in Scripture, was come; and the _Devil_ was kept at Bay,
tho' he had made some Encroachments upon them as above; for there was a
glorious Remnant of Saints among _them_, such as old _Zacharias_ the
Father of _John_ the Baptist, and old _Simeon_, who waited for the
Salvation of _Israel_; I say, in this Condition the _Jewish_ Church
stood when the _Messiah_ came into the World, which was such another
mortal Stab to the Thrones and Principalities infernal, as that of which
I have spoken already in Chap. III. at the Creation of Man; and
therefore with this I break off the Antiquities of the _Devil_'s
History, or the antient Part of his Kingdom; for from hence downward we
shall find his Empire has declin'd gradually; and tho' by his wonderful
Address, his prodigious Application, and the Vigilance and Fidelity of
his Instruments, as well human as infernal and diabolical, and of the
Human as well the Ecclesiastick as the Secular; he has many Times
retriev'd what he has lost, and sometimes bid fair for recovering the
universal Empire he once possess'd over Mankind; yet he has been still
defeated again, repulst and beaten back, and his Kingdom has greatly
declin'd in many Parts of the World; and especially in the Northern
Parts, except _Great Britain_; and how he has politically maintain'd his
Interest and encreased his Dominion among the wise and righteous
Generation that we cohabit with and among, will be the Subject of the
_modern_ Part of _Satan_'s _History_, and of which we are next to give
an Account.
PART II.
OF THE
MODERN HISTORY
OF THE
DEVIL.
CHAP. I.
I have examined the Antiquities of Satan's History in the former Part of
this Work, and brought his Affairs down from the Creation, as far as to
our blessed Christian Times; especially to the Coming of the _Messiah_,
when one would think the _Devil_ could have nothing to do among us. I
have indeed but touch'd at some Things which might have admitted of a
farther Description of Satan's Affairs, and the Particulars of which we
may all come to a farther Knowledge of hereafter; yet I think I have
spoken to the material Part of his Conduct, as it relates to his Empire
in this World: What has happen'd to his more sublimated Government, and
his Angelic Capacities, I shall have an Occasion to touch at in several
solid Particulars as we go along.
The _Messiah_ was now born, _the Fulness of Time was come_, that the old
Serpent was to have his _Head broken_, that is to say, his Empire or
Dominion over Man, which he gain'd by the Fall of our first Father and
Mother in _Paradise_, receiv'd a Downfal or Overthrow.
It is worth observing, in order to confirm what I have already mention'd
of the Limitation of Satan's Power, that not only his Angelic Strength
seems to have received a farther Blow 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 _Devil-like_ Subtilty seems to have been
circumscrib'd and cut short; and instead of his being so cunning a
Fellow as before, when, _as I said_, 'tis evident he outwitted all
Mankind, not only _Eve_, _Cain_, _Noah_, _Lot_, and all the Patriarchs,
but even Nations of Men, and that in their publick Capacity; and thereby
led them into absurd and ridiculous Things, such as the Building of
_Babel_, and deifying and worshiping their Kings, when dead and rotten;
idolizing _Beasts_, _Stocks_, _Stones_, _any Thing_, and even _Nothing_;
and in a Word, when he manag'd Mankind just as he pleased.
Now and from this Time forward he appeared a weak, foolish, ignorant
_Devil_, compar'd to what he was before; He was upon almost every
Occasion resisted, disappointed, baulk'd and defeated, especially in all
his Attempts to thwart or cross the Mission and Ministry of the
_Messiah_, while he was upon Earth, and sometimes upon other and very
mean Occasions too.
And first, how foolish a Project was it, and how below Satan's
celebrated Artifice in like Cases, to put _Herod_ upon sending to kill
the poor innocent Children in _Bethlehem_, in hopes to destroy the
Infant? for I take it for granted, it was the _Devil_ put into
_Herod_'s Thoughts that Execution, how simple and foolish soever; now we
must allow him to be very ignorant of the Nativity himself, or else he
might easily have guided his Friend _Herod_ to the Place where the
Infant was.
This shews that _either_ the _Devil_ is in general ignorant as we are,
of what is to come in the World, before it is really come to pass; and
consequently can foretel nothing, no not so much as our famous old
_Merlin_ or _Mother Shipton_ did, _or else_ that great Event was hid
from him by an immediate Power superior to his, which I cannot think
neither, considering how much he was concern'd in it, and how certainly
he knew that it was once to come to pass.
But be that as it will, 'tis certain the _Devil_ knew nothing where
Christ was born, or when; nor was he able to direct _Herod_ to find him
out, and therefore put him upon that foolish, as well as cruel Order, to
kill all the Children, that he might be sure to destroy the _Messiah_
among the rest.
The next simple Step that the _Devil_ took, and indeed the most foolish
one that he could ever be charg'd with, unworthy the very Dignity of a
_Devil_, and below the Understanding that he always was allow'd to act
with, was that of coming to tempt the _Messiah_ in the Wilderness; it is
certain, and he own'd it himself afterwards, upon many Occasions, that
the _Devil_ knew our Saviour to be the Son of God; and 'tis as certain
that he knew, that _as such_ he could have no Power or Advantage over
him; how foolish then was it in him to attack him in that Manner, _if
thou beest the Son of_ GOD? why he knew him to be the _Son of_ GOD well
enough; he said so afterwards, _I know thee who thou art, the holy One
of_ GOD; how then could he be so weak a Devil as to say, _if thou art_,
then do _so_ and _so_?
The Case is plain, the _Devil_, tho' he knew him to be the Son of GOD,
did not fully know the Mystery of the Incarnation; nor did he know how
far the _Inanition_ of Christ extended, and whether, _as Man_, he was
not subject to fall as _Adam_ was, tho' his reserv'd Godhead might be
still immaculate and pure; and upon this Foot, as he would leave no
Method untried, he attempts him three Times, one immediately after
another; but then, finding himself disappointed he fled.
This evidently proves that the _Devil_ was ignorant of the great Mystery
of Godliness, _as the Text calls it_, God manifest in the Flesh, and
therefore made that foolish Attempt upon Christ, thinking to have
conquer'd his human Nature as capable of Sin, which it was not; and at
this Repulse _Hell_ groan'd, the whole Army of regimented _Devils_
receiv'd a Wound, and felt the Shock of it; 'twas a second Overthrow to
them, they had had a long Chain of Success, carried a _devilish_
Conquest over the greatest Part of the Creation of GOD; but now they
were cut short, _the Seed of the Woman_ was now come _to break the
Serpent's Head_, that is, to cut short his Power, to contract the Limits
of his Kingdom, and in a Word, to dethrone him in the World: No doubt
the _Devil_ receiv'd a Shock, for you find him always afterward, crying
out in a horrible Manner, whenever Christ met with him, or else very
humble and submissive, as when he begg'd leave to go into the Herd of
Swine, a Thing he has often done since.
Defeated here, the first Stratagem I find him concern'd in after it, was
his entring into _Judas_, and putting him upon betraying Christ to the
Chief Priest; but here again he was entirely mistaken, for he did not
see, _as much a Devil as he was_, what the Event would be; but when he
came to know, that if Christ was put to Death, he would become a
Propitiatory and be the great Sacrifice of Mankind, so to rescue the
fallen Race from that Death they had incurr'd the Penalty of, by the
Fall, that this was the fulfilling of all Scripture Prophesy, and that
thus it was that Christ was to be _the End of the Law_, I say, as soon
as he perceiv'd this, he strove all he could to prevent it, and
disturb'd _Pilate_'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 knew how Christ was to vanquish Hell by the Power of his
Cross.
Thus the _Devil_ was disappointed and exposed in every Step he took, and
as he now plainly saw his Kingdom declining, and even the temporal
Kingdom of Christ, rising up upon the Ruins of his (_Satan_'s) Power; he
seem'd to retreat into his own Region the Air, and to consult there with
his fellow _Devils_, what Measures he should take next to preserve his
Dominion among Men; Here it was that he resolv'd upon that truly hellish
Thing call'd Persecution, by which, _tho' he prov'd a foolish Devil in
that too_, he flatter'd himself he should be able to destroy God's
Church, and root out its Professors from the Earth, even almost as soon
as it was establish'd; whereas on the contrary, Heaven counter-acted him
there too, and tho' he arm'd the whole _Roman_ Empire against the
Christians, _that is say_, the whole World, and they were fallen upon
every where, with all the Fury and Rage of some of the most flaming
Tyrants that the World ever saw, of whom _Nero_ was the first; yet in
spight of Hell, GOD made all the Blood, which the Devil caus'd to be
spilt, to be _semen Ecclesiæ_, and the DEVIL had the Mortification to
see, that the Number of Christians encreased even under the very Means
he made use of to root them out and destroy them: This was the Case
thro' the Reign of all the _Roman_ Emperors, for the first three hundred
Years after Christ.
Having thus tried all the Methods that best suited his Inclination, I
mean those of Blood and Death, complicated with Tortures and all Kinds
of Cruelty, and that for so long a Stage of Time as above; the _Devil_
all on a suddain, as if glutted with Blood, and satiated with
Destruction, sits still and becomes a peaceable Spectator for a good
while; as if he either found himself unable, or had no Disposition to
hinder the Progress of Christianity in the first Ages of its Settlement
in the World: In this interval the Christian Church was establish'd
under _Constantine_, Religion flourished in Peace, and under the most
perfect Tranquillity: The _Devil_ seem'd to be at a Loss what he should
do next, and Things began to look as if Satan's Kingdom was at an End;
but he soon let them see that he was the same indefatigable _Devil_ that
ever he was, and the Prosperity of the Church gave him a large Field of
Action; for knowing the Disposition of Mankind to Quarrel and Dispute,
the universal Passion rooted in Nature, especially among the Church-Men
for Precedency and Dominion, he fell to work with them immediately; so
that turning the Tables, and reassuming the Subtilty and Craft, which, I
say, he seem'd to have lost in the former four hundred Years, he gain'd
more Ground in the next Ages of the Church, and went farther towards
restoring his Power and Empire in the World, and towards overthrowing
that very Church which was so lately establish'd, than all he had done
by Fire and Blood before.
His Policy now seem'd to be edg'd with Resentment for the Mistakes he
had made; as if the Devil looking back with Anger at himself, to see
what a Fool he had been to expect to crush Religion by Persecution,
rejoyc'd for having discover'd that Liberty and Dominion was the only
way to ruin the Church, not Fire and Faggot; and that he had nothing to
do but to give the zealous People their utmost Liberty in Religion, only
sowing Error and Variety of Opinion among them, and they would bring
Fire and Faggot in fast enough among themselves.
It must be confess'd these were devilish Politicks; and so sure was the
Aim, and so certain was the _Devil_ to hit his Mark by them, that we
find he not only did not fail then, but the same hellish Methods have
prevail'd 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 show in many Examples, besides that of the
Dissenters in _England_, who are evidently weaken'd by the late
Toleration: Whether the _Devil_ had any hand in baiting his Hook with an
A--- of Parliament or no, History is silent, but 'tis too evident he has
catch'd the Fish by it; and if the honest Church of _England_ does not
in Pity and Christian Charity to the Dissenters, straighten her Hand a
little, I cannot but fear the _Devil_ will gain his Point, and the
Dissenter will be undone by it.
Upon this new foot of Politicks the _Devil_ began with the Emperors
themselves: _Arius_, the Father of the Hereticks of that Age, having
broach'd his Opinions, and _Athanasius_ the orthodox Bishop of the East
opposing him, the _Devil_ no sooner saw the Door open to Strife and
Imposition, but he thrust himself in, and raising the Quarrel up to a
suited Degree of Rage and Spleen, he involv'd the good Emperor himself
in it first and _Athanasius_ was banish'd and recall'd, and banish'd
and recall'd again, several times, as Error ran high, and as the _Devil_
either got or lost Ground: After _Constantine_, the next Emperor was a
Child of his own, (_Arian_) and then the Court came all into the
Quarrel, as Courts often do, and then the _Arians_ and the _Orthodox_
persecuted one another as furiously as the Pagans persecuted them all
before. To such a Height the _Devil_ brought his Conquest in the very
Infancy of the Question, and so much did he prevail over the true
Christianity of the Primitive Church, even before they had enjoy'd the
Liberty of the pure Worship twenty Years.
Flush'd with this Success, the _Devil_ made one Push for the restoring
_Paganism_, and bringing on the old Worship of the Heathen Idols and
Temples; but like our King _James_ II. he drove too hard, and _Julian_
had so provok'd the whole _Roman_ Empire, which was generally at that
time become Christian, that had the Apostate liv'd, he would not have
been able to have held the Throne; and as he was cut off in his
Beginning, Paganism expir'd with him, and the _Devil_ himself might have
cry'd out, as _Julian_ did, and with much more Propriety, _Vicisti
Galileane_.
_Jovian_, the next Emperor, being a glorious Christian, and a very good
and great Man, the _Devil_ abdicated for a while, and left the Christian
Armies to re-establish the Orthodox Faith; nor could he bring the
Christians to a Breach again among themselves a great while after.
However, Time and a diligent _Devil_ did the Work at last, and when the
Emperors concerning themselves one way or other, did not appear
sufficient to answer his End, he chang'd Hands again, and went to work
with the Clergy: To set the Doctors effectually together by the Ears,
he threw in the new Notion of _Primacy_ among them, for a Bone of
Contention; the Bait took, the Priests swallow'd it eagerly down, and
the _Devil_, a cunninger Fisherman than ever St. _Peter_ was, _struck
them_ (as the Anglers call it) with a quick Hand, and hung them fast
upon the Hook.
Having them thus in his Clutches, and they being now, as we may say, his
own, they took their Measures afterwards from him, and most obediently
follow'd his Directions; nay, I will not say but he may have had pretty
much the Management of the whole Society ever since, of what Profession
or Party soever they may have been, with Exception only to the Reverend
and Right Reverend among our selves.
The Sacred, as above, being thus hook'd in, and the DEVIL being at the
Head of their Affairs, Matters went on most gloriously his own way;
first, the Bishops fell to bandying 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 on, as the worst of those
Tyrants ever had done before them.
At last Satan declar'd for the _Roman_ Pontiff, and that upon excellent
Conditions, in the Reign of the Emperor _Mauritius_; for _Boniface_, who
had long contended for the Title of Supreme, fell into a Treaty with
_Phocas_, Captain of the Emperor's Guards; whether the Bargain was from
Hell or not, let any one judge, the Conditions absolutely entitle the
_Devil_ to the Honour of making the Contract, _viz._ That _Phocas_ first
murthering his Master (the Emperor) and his Sons, _Boniface_ should
countenance the Treason, and declare him Emperor; and in Return,
_Phocas_ should acknowledge the Primacy of the Church of _Rome_, and
declare _Boniface_ universal Bishop. A blessed Compact! which at once
set the _Devil_ at the Head of Affairs in the Christian World, as well
Spiritual as Temporal, Ecclesiastick and Civil. Since the Conquest over
_Eve_ in Paradise, by which Death and the DEVIL, Hand in Hand,
establish'd their first Empire upon Earth, the _Devil_ never gain'd a
more important Point than he gain'd at this time.
He had indeed prospered in his Affairs tolerably well for some time
before this, and his Interest among the Clergy had got Ground for some
Ages; but that was indeed a secret Management, was carried on privately,
and with Difficulty; as in sowing Discord and Faction among the People,
perplexing the Councils of their Princes, and secretly wheedling in with
the dignified Clergy.
Also he had raised abundance of little Church-Rebellions, by setting up
Hereticks of several Kinds, and raising them Favourers among the Clergy,
such as _Ebion_, _Cerinthius_, _Pelagius_, and others.
He had drawn in the Bishops of _Rome_ to set up the ridiculous Pageantry
of the KEY; and while he, the DEVIL, set open the Gates of Hell to
them all, set them upon locking up the Gates of Heaven, and giving the
Bishop the Key; a Cheat which, as gross as it was, the DEVIL so gilded
over, or so blinded the Age to receive it, that like _Gideon's Ephod_,
all the Catholick World went a whoring after the Idol; and the Bishop of
_Rome sent_ more Fools to the _Devil_ by it than ever he pretended to
let into Heaven, though he open'd the Door as wide as his Key was able
to do.
The Story of this Key being given to the Bishop of _Rome_ by St.
_Peter_, (who, by the way, never had it himself,) and of its being lost
by Somebody or other, (the _Devil_ it seems did not tell them who) and
its being found again by a _Lombard_ Soldier in the Army of King
_Antharis_, who attempting to cut it with his Knife, was miraculously
forced to direct the Wound to himself, and cut his own Throat; that King
_Antharis_ and his Nobles happened to see the Fellow do it, and were
converted to Christianity by it, and that the King sent the Key, with
another made like it, to Pope _Pelagius_, then Bishop of _Rome_, who
thereupon assum'd the Power of opening and shutting Heaven's Gates; and
he afterwards setting a Price or Toll upon the Entrance, as we do here
at passing a Turn-pike; these fine things, I say, were successfully
managed for some Years before this I am now speaking of, and the Devil
got a great deal of Ground by it too; but now he triumph'd openly, and
having set up a Murtherer upon the temporal Throne, and a Church Emperor
upon the Ecclesiastic Throne, and both of his own choosing, the _Devil_
may be said to begin his new Kingdom from this Epocha, and call it the
_Restoration_.
Since this time indeed the Devil's Affairs went very merrily on, and the
Clergy brought so many Gewgaws into their Worship, and such devilish
Principles were mixt with that which we call'd the Christian Faith, that
in a Word, from this Time the Bishop of _Rome_ commenc'd _Whore of
Babylon_, in all the most express Terms that could be imagin'd: Tyranny
of the worst sort crept into the Pontificate, Errors of all sorts into
the Profession, and they proceeded from one thing to another, till the
very Popes, for so the Bishop of _Rome_ was now called, by way of
Distinction; I say, the Popes themselves, their spiritual Guides,
profess'd openly to confederate with the _Devil_, and to carry on a
personal and private Correspondence with him at the same time, taking
upon them the Title of Christ's Vicar, and the infallible Guide of the
Consciences of Christians.
This we have sundry Instances of in some merry Popes, who, _if Fame lies
not_, were Sorcerers, Magicians, had familiar Spirits, and immediate
Conversation with the Devil, as well visibly as invisibly, and by this
means became what we call _Devils incarnate_: Upon this account it is
that I have left the Conversation that passes between _Devils and Men_
to this Place, as well because I believe it differs much now in his
modern State, from what it was in his ancient State, and therefore that
which most concerns us belongs rather to this part of his History; as
also because, as I am now writing to the present Age, I choose to bring
the most significant Parts of his History, especially as they relate to
our selves, into that Part of Time that we are most concern'd in.
The _Devil_ had once, as I observ'd before, the universal Monarchy or
Government of Mankind in himself, and I doubt not but in that
flourishing State of his Affairs, he governed them like what he is
(_viz._) an absolute Tyrant; during this _Theocracy_ of his, _for_ Satan
_is call'd the God of this World_, he did not familiarize himself to
Mankind so much, as he finds Occasion to do now, there was not then so
much need of it; he governed then with an absolute Sway; he had his
Oracles, where he gave Audience to his Votaries like a Deity, and he had
his Sub-Gods, who under his several Dispositions receiv'd the Homage of
Mankind in their Names; such were all the Rabble of the Heathen Deities,
from _Jupiter_ the Supreme, to the _Lares_ or Houshold Gods of every
Family; these, I say, like Residents, received the Prostrations, but the
Homage was all Satan's; the Devil had the Substance of it all, which was
the Idolatry.
During this Administration of _Hell_, there was less Witchcraft, less
true literal Magick than there has been since; there was indeed no need
of it, the DEVIL did not stoop to the Mechanism of his more modern
Operations, but rul'd as a Deity, and receiv'd the Vows and the Bows of
his Subjects in more State, and with more Solemnity; whereas since that,
he is content to employ more Agents and take more Pains himself too; now
he runs up and down Hackney in the World, more like a Drudge than a
Prince, and much more than he did then.
Hence all those Things we call Apparitions and Visions of Ghosts,
Familiar-Spirits and Dealings with the Devil, of which there is so great
a Variety in the World at this Time, were not so much known among the
People, in those first Ages of the Devil's Kingdom; _in a Word_, the
Devil seems to be put to his Shifts, and to fly to Art and Stratagem for
the carrying on his Affairs, much more now than he did then.
One Reason for this may be, that he has been more discover'd and expos'd
in these Ages, than he was before; then he could appear in the World in
his own proper Shapes, and yet not be known; when the Sons of GOD
appear'd at the divine Summons, Satan came along with them; but now he
has plaid so many scurvy Tricks upon Men, and they know him so well,
that he is oblig'd to play quite out of sight and act in disguise;
Mankind will allow nothing of his doing, and hear nothing of his saying,
in his own Name; and if you propose any Thing to be done, 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 _Devil_ has a Hand in it, every Body
flies him and shuns him, as the most frightful Thing in the World.
Nay, if any Thing strange and improbable be done or related to be done,
we presently say the _Devil_ was at the doing it: Thus the great Ditch
at _Newmarket Heath_, is call'd the _Devil_'s _Ditch_; so the _Devil_
built _Crowland_ Abby, and the Whispering-Place in _Gloucester_
Cathedral; nay, the Cave at _Castleton_, only because there's no getting
to the farther End of it, is call'd the _Devil_'s A---- and the like:
The poor People of _Wiltshire_, when you ask them how the great Stones
at _Stonehenge_ were brought thither? they'll all tell you the _Devil_
brought them: If any Mischief extraordinary befalls us, we presently say
the _Devil_ was in it, and the _Devil_ would have it so; in a Word, the
_Devil_ has got an ill Name among us, and so he is fain to act more _in
Tenebris_, more _incog._ than he used to do, play out of sight himself,
and work by the Sap, as the Engineers call it, and not openly and
avowedly in his own Name and Person, as formerly, tho' perhaps not with
less Success than he did before; and this leads me to enquire more
narrowly into the manner of the _Devil_'s Management of his Affairs
since the Christian Religion began to spread in the World, which
manifestly differs from his Conduct in more antient Times; in which if
we discover some of the most consummate Fool's Policy, the most profound
simple Craft, and the most subtle shallow Management of Things that can
by our weak Understandings be conceiv'd, we must only resolve it into
this, that in short it is the DEVIL.
CHAP. II.
_Of Hell as it is represented to us, and how the_ Devil _is to be
understood, as being personally in Hell, when at the same Time we
find him at Liberty ranging over the World._
It is true, as that learn'd and pleasant Author, the inimitable Dr.
_Brown_ says, the _Devil_ is his own Hell; one of the most constituting
Parts of his Infelicity is, that he cannot act upon Mankind _brevi
Manu_, by his own inherent Power, as well as Rage; that he cannot
unhinge this Creation, which, _as I have observ'd in its Place_, he had
the utmost Aversion to from its Beginning, as it was a stated Design in
the Creator to supply his Place in Heaven with a new Species of _Beings_
call'd _Man_, and fill the Vacancies occasion'd by his Degeneracy and
Rebellion.
This fill'd him with Rage inexpressible, and horrible Resolutions of
Revenge, and the Impossibility of executing those Resolutions torments
him with Despair; this added to what he was before, makes him a compleat
_Devil_, with a Hell in his own Breast, and a Fire unquenchable burning
about his Heart.
I might enlarge here, and very much to the Purpose, in describing
spherically and mathematically that exquisite Quality call'd _a devilish
Spirit_, in which it would naturally occur to give you a whole Chapter
upon the glorious Articles of _Malice_ and _Envy_, and especially upon
that luscious, delightful, triumphant Passion call'd REVENGE; how
natural to Man, nay even to both Sexes; how pleasant in the very
Contemplation, tho' there be not just at that Time a Power of
Execution; how palatable it is in it self, and how well it relishes when
dish'd up with its proper Sauces, such as Plot, Contrivance, Scheme, and
Confederacy, all leading on to Execution: How it possesses a human Soul
in all the most sensible Parts; how it empowers Mankind to sin in
Imagination, as effectually to all future Intents and Purposes
(Damnation) as if he had sinned actually: How safe a Practice it is too,
as to Punishment in this Life, namely, that it empowers us to cut
Throats clear of the Gallows, to slander Virtue, reproach Innocence,
wound Honour and stab Reputation; and in a Word, to do all the wicked
Things in the World, out of the Reach of the Law.
It would also require some few Words to describe the secret Operations
of those nice Qualities when they reach the human Soul; how effectually
they form a Hell within us, and how imperceptibly they assimilate and
transform us into _Devils_, meer human Devils, as really _Devils_ as
Satan himself, or any of his Angels; and that therefore 'tis not so much
out of the Way, as some imagine, to say, such a Man is an _incarnate_
Devil; for as Crime made Satan a _Devil_, who was before a bright
immortal Seraph, or Angel of Light; how much more easily may the same
Crime make _the same_ DEVIL, tho' every Way meaner and more
contemptible, _of a Man or_ a Woman either? But this is too grave a
Subject for me at this Time.
The _Devil_ being thus, I say, fir'd with Rage and Envy, in consequence
of his Jealousy upon the Creation of Man, his Torment is encreased to
the highest by the Limitation of his Power, and his being forbid to act
against Mankind by Force of Arms; this is, I say, part of his _Hell_,
which, as above, is within him, and which he carries with him wherever
he goes; nor is it so difficult to conceive of _Hell_, or of the
_Devil_, either under this just Description, as it is by all the usual
Notions that we are taught to entertain of them, by (the old Women) our
Instructors; for every Man may, by taking but a common View of himself,
and making a just Scrutiny into his own Passions, on some of their
particular Excursions, see a _Hell_ within himself, and himself a meer
_Devil_ as long as the Inflammation lasts; and that as really, and to
all Intents and Purposes, as if he had the Angel (_Satan_) before his
Face, in his Locality and Personality; that is to say, all Devil and
Monster in his Person, and an immaterial but intense Fire flaming about
and from within him, at all the Pores of his Body.
The Notions we receive of the Devil, _as a Person_ being in Hell _as a
Place_, are infinitely absurd and ridiculous; the first we are certain
is not true in Fact, because he has a certain Liberty, (_however
limited_ that is not to the Purpose) is daily visible, and to be trac'd
in his several Attacks upon Mankind, and has been so ever since his
first Appearance in _Paradise_; as to his corporal Visibility that is
not the present Question neither; 'tis enough that we can hunt him by
the Foot, that we can follow him as Hounds do a Fox upon a hot Scent: We
can see him as plainly by the Effect, by the Mischief he does, and more
by the Mischief he puts us upon doing, _I say_, as plainly, as if we saw
him by the Eye.
It is not to be doubted but the _Devil_ can see us when and where we
cannot see him: and as he has a Personality, tho' it be spirituous, he
and his Angels too may be reasonably supposed to inhabit the World of
Spirits, and to have free Access from thence to the Regions of Life, and
to pass and repass in the Air, as really, tho' not perceptible to us,
as the Spirits of Men do after their release from the Body, pass to the
Place (wherever that is) which is appointed for them.
If the _Devil_ was confin'd to a Place (_Hell_) as a Prison, he could
then have no Business here; and if we pretend to describe _Hell_, as not
a Prison, but that the Devil has Liberty to be there, or not be there as
he pleased, then he would certainly never be there, or _Hell_ is not
such a Place as we are taught to understand it to be.
Indeed according to some, _Hell_ should be a Place of Fire and Torment
to the Souls that are cast into it, but not to the _Devils_ themselves;
who we make little more or less than keepers and Turnkeys to Hell, as a
Goal; that they are sent about to bring Souls thither, lock them in when
they come, and then away upon the Scent to fetch more: That one Sort of
_Devils_ are made to live in the World among Men, and to be busy
continually debauching and deluding Mankind bringing them as it were to
the Gates of _Hell_; and then another Sort are Porters and Carriers to
fetch them in.
This is, _in short_, little more or less than the old Story of _Pluto_,
of _Cerberus_, and of _Charon_; only that our Tale is not half so well
told, nor the Parts of the Fable so well laid together.
In all these Notions of _Hell_ and _Devil_, the Torments of the first,
and the Agency of the last Tormenting, we meet with not one Word of the
main and perhaps only Accent of Horror, which belongs to us to judge of
about Hell, I mean the Absence of Heaven; Expulsion, and Exclusion from
the Presence and Face of the chief Ultimate, the only eternal and
sufficient Good; and this loss sustain'd by a sordid Neglect of our
Concern in that excellent Part, in exchange for the most contemptible
and justly condemn'd Trifles, and all this eternal and irrecoverable:
These People tell us nothing of the eternal Reproaches of Conscience,
the Horror of Desperation, and the Anguish of a Mind hopeless of ever
seeing the Glory, which alone constitutes Heaven, and which makes all
other Places dreadful, and even Darkness it self.
And this brings me directly to the Point in Hand, (_viz._) the State of
that Hell which we ought to have in view when we speak of the _Devil_ as
_in Hell_: This is the very Hell, which is the Torment of the _Devil_;
in short, the _Devil_ is in HELL, and HELL is in the _Devil_; he is
fill'd with this unquenchable Fire, he is expel'd the Place of Glory,
banish'd from the Regions of Light, Absence from the Life of all
Beatitude is his Curse, Despair is the reigning Passion in his Mind, and
all the little Constituent Parts of his Torment, such as Rage, Envy,
Malice, and Jealousy are consolidated in this, to make his Misery
compleat, (_viz._) the Duration of it all, the Eternity of his
Condition; that he is without Hope, without Redemption, without
Recovery.
If any thing can inflame this _Hell_ and make it hotter, 'tis this only,
and this does add an inexpressible Horror to the Devil himself;
_namely_, the seeing Man (the only Creature he hates) placed in a State
of Recovery, a glorious Establishment of Redemption form'd for him in
Heaven, and the Scheme of it perfected on Earth; by which _this Man_,
tho' even the _Devil_ by his Art may have deluded him, and drawn him
into Crime, is yet in a State of Recovery, which the Devil is not; and
that it is not in his (_Satan_'s) Power to prevent it: Now take the
Devil as he is in his own Nature Angelic, a bright immortal Seraph,
Heaven-born, and having tasted the eternal Beatitude, which these are
appointed to enjoy; the Loss of that State to himself, the Possession
of it granted to his Rival tho' wicked like and as himself; I say, take
the Devil as he is, having a quick Sense of his own Perdition, and a
stinging Sight of his Rival's Felicity, 'tis _Hell enough_, and more
than enough, even for an Angel to support; nothing we can conceive can
be worse.
As to any other Fire than this, such and so immaterially intense as to
Torment a Spirit, which is it self Fire also; I will not say it cannot
be, because to Infinite every Thing is possible, but I must say, I
cannot conceive rightly of it.
I will not enter here into the Wisdom or Reasonableness of representing
the Torments of Hell to be Fire, and that Fire to be a Commixture of
_Flame_ and _Sulphur_; it has pleased God to let the Horror of those
eternal Agonies about _a lost Heaven_, be laid before us by those
Similitudes or Allegories, which are most moving to our Senses and to
our 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
Objects of Misery when the _Devil_'s Kingdom in this World ending with
the World it self, that Liberty he has now may be farther abridg'd; when
he may be return'd to the same State he was in between the Time of his
Fall and the Creation of the World; with perhaps some additional
Vengeance on him, such as at present we cannot describe, for all that
Treason and those high Crimes and Misdemeanours which he has been guilty
of here, in his Conversation with Mankind.
As his Infelicity will be then consummated and compleated, so the
Infelicity of that Part of Mankind, who are condemn'd with him, may
receive a considerable Addition from those Words in their Sentence, to
be tormented _with the Devil and his Angels_; for as the Absence of the
Supreme Good is a compleat Hell, so the hated Company of the Deceiver,
who was the great Cause of his Ruine, must be a Subject of additional
Horror, and he will be always saying, as a _Scots_ Gentleman, who died
of his Excesses, said to the famous Dr. _P----_, who came to see him on
his Death-bed, but had been too much his Companion in his Life,
_O tu fundamenta jecisti------_
I would not treat the very Subject it self with any Indecency, nor do I
think my Opinion of that _Hell_, which I say consists in the Absence of
him, in whom is Heaven, one Jot less Solemn than theirs who believe it
all _Fire_ and _Brimstone_; but I must own, that to me nothing can be
more ridiculous than the Notions that we entertain and fill our Heads
with about _Hell_, and about the _Devil_'s being there tormenting of
Souls, broiling them upon Gridirons, hanging them up upon Hooks,
carrying them upon their Backs, and the like, with the several Pictures
of _Hell_, represented by a great Mouth with horrible Teeth, gaping like
a Cave on the Sides of a Mountain; suppose that appropriated to _Satan_
in the _Peak_, which indeed is not much unlike it, with a Stream of Fire
coming out of it, as there is of Water, and smaller Devils going and
coming continually in and out, to fetch and carry Souls the Lord knows
whither, and for the Lord knows what.
These Things, however intended for Terror, are indeed so ridiculous,
that the _Devil_ himself, to be sure, mocks at them, and a Man of Sense
can hardly refrain doing the like, only I avoid it, because I would not
give offence to weaker Heads.
However, I must not Compliment the Brains of other Men, at the Expence
of my own, or talk Nonsense because they can understand no other; I
think all these Notions and Representations of _Hell_ and of the
_Devil_, to be as prophane as they are ridiculous, and I ought no more
to talk prophanely than merrily of them.
Let us learn to talk of these Things then, as we should do; and as we
really cannot describe them to our Reason and Understanding, why should
we describe them to our Senses; we had, I think, much better not
describe them at all, that is to say, not attempt it: The blessed
Apostle St. _Paul_ was, as he said himself, carried up, or caught up
into the _third Heaven_, yet when he came down again, he could neither
tell what he heard or describe what he saw; all he could say of it was,
that what he heard was _inutterable_, and what he saw was
_inconceivable_.
It is the same thing as to the State of the _Devil_ in those Regions
which he now possesses, and where he now more particularly inhabits; my
present Business then is not to enter into those grave Things so as to
make them ridiculous, as I think most People do that talk of them; but
as the _Devil_, let his Residence be where it will, has evidently free
Leave to come and go, not into this World only; (_I mean, the Region of
our Atmosphere_,) but for ought we know, to all the other inhabited
Worlds which God has made, where-ever they are, and by whatsoever Names
they are or may be known or distinguished; for if he is not confined in
one Place, we have no Reason to believe he is excluded from any Place,
Heaven only excepted, from whence he was expell'd for his Treason and
Rebellion.
His Liberty then being thus ascertain'd, three Things seem to be
material for us to give an Account of, in order to form this Part of
his History.
1. What his Business is on this Globe of Earth which we vulgarly
call the World, how he acts among us, what Affairs Mankind and he
have together, and how far his Conduct here relates to Us, and Ours
is, or may be influenc'd by him.
2. Where his Principal Residence is, and whether he has not a
particular Empire of his own, to which he retreats upon proper
Occasions; where he entertains his Friends when they come under his
particular Administration; and where, when he gets any Victory over
his Enemies, he carries his Prisoners of War.
3. What may probably be the great Business this black Emperor has
at present upon his Hands, either in this World or out of it, and
by what Agents he works.
As these Things may perhaps run promiscuously thro' the Course of this
whole Work, and frequently be touch'd at under other Branches of the
_Devil_'s History, so I do not propose them as Heads of Chapters or
Particular Sections, for the Order of Discourse to be handled apart; for
(by the way) as Satan's Actings have not been the most regular Things in
the World, so in our Discourse about him, it must not be expected that
we can always tie our selves down to Order and Regularity, either as to
Time, or Place, or Persons; for Satan being _hic & ubique_, a loose
ungovern'd Fellow, we must be content to trace him where we can find
him.
It is true, in the foregoing Chapter, I shew'd you the DEVIL entred into
the Herd Ecclesiastick, and gave you some Account of the first
successful Step he took with Mankind since the Christian Epocha; how
having secretly managed both Temporal and Spiritual Power apart, and by
themselves, he now united them in Point of Management, and brought the
Church Usurpation and the Army's Usurpation together; the Pope to bless
the General in deposing and murthering his Master the Emperor; and the
General to recognise the Pope in dethroning his Master Christ Jesus.
From this time forward you are to allow the _Devil_ a mystical Empire in
this World; not an Action of Moment done without him, not a Treason but
he has a Hand in it, not a Tyrant but he prompts him, not a Government
but he has a ---- in it; not a Fool but he tickles him, not a Knave but
he guides him; he has a Finger in every Fraud, a Key to every Cabinet,
from the _Divan_ at _Constantinople_, to the _Mississipi_ in _France_,
and to the _South-Sea_ Cheats at ------; from the first Attack upon the
Christian World, in the Person of the _Romish_ Antichrist, down to the
Bull _Unigenitus_; and from the Mixture of St. _Peter_ and _Confucius_
in _China_, to the Holy Office in _Spain_; and down to the _Emlins_ and
_Dodwells_ of the current Age.
How he has managed, and does manage, and how in all Probability he will
manage till his Kingdom shall come to a Period, and how at last he will
probably be managed himself, _Enquire within, and you shall know
farther_.
CHAP. III.
_Of the Manner of_ Satan_'s acting and carrying on his Affairs in this
World, and particularly of his ordinary Workings in the dark, by_
Possession _and_ Agitation.
The Devil being thus reduc'd to act upon Mankind by Stratagem only, it
remains to enquire how he performs, and which way he directs his
Attacks; the Faculties of Man are a kind of a Garrison in a strong
Castle, which as they defend it on the one hand under the Command of the
reasoning Power of Man's Soul, so they are prescribed on the other hand,
and can't sally out without Leave; for the Governor of a Fort does not
permit his Soldiers to hold any Correspondence with the Enemy, without
special Order and Direction. Now the great Enquiry before us is, How
comes the DEVIL to a Parley with us? how does he converse with our
Senses, and with the Understanding? How does he reach us, which way does
he come at the Affections, and which way does he move the Passions? 'Tis
a little difficult to discover this treasonable Correspondence, and that
Difficulty is indeed the _Devil_'s Advantage, and, for ought I see, the
chief Advantage he has over Mankind.
It is also a great Enquiry here, whether the _Devil_ knows our Thoughts
or no? If I may give my Opinion, I am with the negative; I deny that he
knows any thing of our Thoughts, except of those Thoughts which he puts
us upon thinking, for I will not doubt but he has the Art to inject
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 _Devil_ injecting corrupt Desires and wandring Thoughts into the
Head of _Eve_, by Dreams, and that he brought her to Dream whatever he
put into her Thoughts, by whispering to her vocally when she was asleep;
and to this End, he imagines the DEVIL laying himself close to her Ear,
in the Shape of a Toad, when she was fall asleep; I say, this is not so
wild a Scheme, seeing even now, if you can whisper any thing close to
the Ear of a Person in a deep Sleep, so as to speak distinctly to the
Person, and yet not awaken him, as has been frequently tried, the Person
sleeping shall dream distinctly of what you say to him; nay, shall dream
the very Words you say.
We have then no more to ask, but how the DEVIL can convey himself to the
Ear of a sleeping Person, and it is granted then that he may have Power
to make us dream what he pleases: But this is not all, for if he can so
forcibly, by his invisible Application, cause us to dream, what he
pleases, why can he not with the same Facility prompt our Thoughts,
whether sleeping or waking? To dream, is nothing else but to think
sleeping; and we have abundance of deep-headed Gentlemen among us, who
give us ample Testimony that they dream waking.
But if the DEVIL can prompt us to dream, that is to say, to think, yet
if he does not know our Thoughts, how then can he tell whether the
Whisper had its Effect? The answer is plain, the DEVIL, like the Angler,
baits the Hook, if the Fish bite he lies ready to take the Advantage, he
whispers to the Imagination, and then waits to see how it works; as
_Naomi_ said to _Ruth_, Chap. iii. 5, 18. _Sit still, my Daughter, until
thou know how the Matter will fall, for the Man will not be at rest
until he have finished the thing._ Thus when the DEVIL had whisper'd to
_Eve_ in her Sleep, _according to Milton_, and suggested Mischief to her
Imagination, he only sat still to see how the Matter would work, for he
knew if it took with her, he should hear more of it; and then by finding
her alone the next Day, without her ordinary Guard her Husband, he
presently concluded she had swallowed the Bait, and so attack'd her
afresh.
A small deal of Craft, and less by far than we have reason to believe
the _Devil_ is Master of, will serve to discover whether such and such
Thoughts as he knows he has suggested, have taken Place or no; the
Action of the Person presently discovers it, at least to him that lies
always upon the Watch, and has every Word, every Gesture, every Step we
take subsequent to his Operation, open to him; it may therefore, for
ought we know, be a great Mistake, and what most of us are guilty of, to
tell our Dreams to one another in the Morning, after we have been
disturb'd with them in the Night; for if the _Devil_ converses with us
so insensibly as some are of the Opinion he does, _that is to say_, if
he can hear as far as we can see, we may be telling our Story to him
indeed, when we think we are only talking to one another.
This brings me most naturally to the important Enquiry, whether the
_Devil_ can walk about the World invisibly or no? The Truth is, this is
no question to me; for as I have taken away his Visibility already, and
have denied him all Prescience of Futurity too, and have prov'd he
cannot know our Thoughts, nor put any Force upon Persons or Actions, if
we should take away his Invisibility too, we should _undevil_ him quite,
to all Intents and Purposes, as to any Mischief he could do; nay, it
would banish him the World, and he might e'en go and seek his Fortune
some where else; for if he could neither be visible or invisible,
neither act in publick or in private, he could neither have Business or
Being in this Sphere, nor could we be any way concern'd with him.
The _Devil_ therefore most certainly has a Power and Liberty of moving
about in this World, after _some manner or another_; this is verify'd as
well by way of Allegory, as by way of History, in the Scripture it self;
and as the first strongly suggests and supposes it to be so, the last
positively asserts it; and, not to croud this Work with Quotations from
a Book which we have not much to do with in the _Devil_'s Story, at
least not much to his Satisfaction, I only hint his personal Appearance
to our Saviour in the Wilderness, where it is said, _the Devil taketh
him up to an exceeding high Mountain_; and in another Place, _the Devil
departed from him_. What Shape or Figure he appear'd in, we do not find
mentioned, but I cannot doubt his appearing to him there, any more than
I can his talking to our Saviour in the Mouths, and with the Voices of
the several Persons who were under the terrible Affliction of an actual
Possession.
These Things leave us no room to doubt of what is advanced above,
namely, that he, (the _Devil_) has a certain Residence, or Liberty of
residing in, and moving about upon the Surface of this Earth, as well as
in the Compass of the Atmosphere, vulgarly call'd the Air, in some
manner or other: That is the general.
It remains to enquire into the manner, which I resolve into two Kinds;
1. _Ordinary_, which I suppose to be his invisible Motions as a
Spirit; under which Consideration I suppose him to have an
unconfin'd, unlimited, unrestrain'd Liberty, as to the manner of
acting; and this either in Persons, by Possession; or in Things, by
Agitation.
2. _Extraordinary_; which I understand to be his Appearances in
borrowed Shapes and Bodies, or Shadows rather of Bodies; assuming
Speech, Figure, Posture, and Several Powers, of which we can give
little or no Account; in which extraordinary manner of Appearances,
he is either limited by a Superior Power, or limits himself
politically, as being not the Way most for his Interest or Purpose,
to act in his Business, which is more effectually done in his State
of Obscurity.
Hence we must suppose the _Devil_ has it very much in his own Choice,
whether to act in one Capacity, or in the other, or in both; that is to
say, of appearing, and not appearing, as he finds for his Purpose: In
this State of Invisibility, and under the Operation of these Powers and
Liberties, he performs all his Functions and Offices, as _Devil_, as
Prince of Darkness, as God of this World, as Tempter, Accuser, Deceiver,
and all whatsoever other Names of Office, or Titles of Honour he is
known by.
Now taking him in this large unlimited, or little limited State of
Action, he is well call'd, _the God of this World_, for he has very much
of the Attribute of Omnipresence, and may be said, _either by himself or
his Agents_, to be every where, and see every thing; that is to say,
every thing that is visible; for I cannot allow him any Share of
_Omniscience_ at all.
That he ranges about every where, is _with us_, and sometimes _in us_,
sees when he is not seen, hears when he is not heard, comes in without
Leave, and goes out without Noise, is neither to be shut in or shut out,
that when he runs _from us_ we can't catch him, and when he runs _after
us_ we can't escape him, is seen when he is not known, and is known when
he is not seen; all these things, and more, we have Knowledge enough
about to convince us of the Truth of them; so that, as I have said
above, he is certainly walking to and fro thro' the Earth, _&c._ after
_some manner or other_, and in some Figure or other, visible or
invisible, as he finds Occasion. Now in order to make our History of him
complete, the next Question before us is, how, and in what manner he
acts with Mankind? how his Kingdom is carried on, and by what Methods he
does his Business, for he certainly has a great deal of Business to do;
he is not an idle Spectator, nor is he walking about _incognito_, and
cloth'd in Mist and Darkness, purely in Kindness to us, that we should
not be frighted at him; but 'tis in Policy, that he may act
undiscover'd, that he may see and not be seen, may play his Game in the
dark, and not be detected in his Roguery; that he may prompt Mischief,
raise Tempests, blow up Coals, kindle Strife, embroil Nations, use
Instruments, and not be known to have his Hand in any thing, when at the
same time he really has a Hand in every thing.
Some are of Opinion, _and I among the rest_, that if the _Devil_ was
personally and visibly present among us, and we conversed with him Face
to Face, we should be so familiar with him in a little time, that his
ugly Figure would not affect us at all, that his Terrors would not
fright us, or that we should any more trouble our selves about him,
than we did with the last great Comet in 1678, which appear'd so long
and so constantly without any particular known Event, that at last we
took no more Notice of it than of the other ordinary Stars which had
appear'd before we or our Ancestors were born.
Nor indeed should we have much Reason to be frighted at him, or at least
none of those silly Things could be said of him which we now amuse our
selves about, and by which we set him up like a Scare-Crow to fright
Children and old Women, to fill up old Stories, make Songs and Ballads,
and in a Word, carry on the low priz'd Buffoonery of the common People;
we should either see him in his Angelic Form, as he was from the
Original, or if he has any Deformities entail'd upon him by the supreme
Sentence, and in Justice to the Deformity of his Crime, they would be of
a superior Nature, and fitted more for our Contempt as well as Horror,
than those weak fancied Trifles contrived by our antient Devil-raisers
and Devil-makers, to feed the wayward Fancies of old Witches and
Sorcerers, who cheated the ignorant World with a _Devil_ of their own
making, set forth, _in terrorem_, with Bat's Wings, Horns, cloven Foot,
long Tail, fork'd Tongue, and the like.
In the next Place, be his frightful Figure what it would, and his
Legions as numerous as the Host of Heaven, we should see him still, as
the Prince of _Devils_, tho' monstrous as a Dragon, flaming as a Comet,
tall as a Mountain, yet dragging his Chain after him equal to the utmost
of his supposed Strength; always in Custody of his _Jailors_ the Angels,
his Power over-power'd, his Rage cow'd and abated, or at least aw'd and
under Correction, limited and restrain'd; in a Word, we should see him a
vanquish'd Slave, his Spirit broken, his Malice, tho' not abated, yet
Hand-cuff'd and overpower'd, and he not able to work any Thing against
us by Force; so that he would be to us but like the Lions in the Tower,
encag'd and lock'd up, unable to do the Hurt he wishes to do, and that
we fear, or indeed any hurt at all.
From hence 'tis evident, that 'tis not his Business to be public, or to
walk up and down in the World visibly, and in his own Shape; his Affairs
require a quite different Management, as might be made apparent from the
Nature of Things, and the Manner of our Actings, as Men, either with our
selves or to one another.
Nor could he be serviceable in his Generation, as a public Person as now
he is, or answer the End of his Party who employ him, and who, if he was
to do their Business in public, as he does in private, would not be able
to employ him at all.
As in our modern Meetings for the Propagation of Impudence and other
Virtues, there would be no Entertainment and no Improvement for the Good
of the Age, if the People did not all appear in Masque, and conceal'd
from the common Observation; so neither could _Satan_ (from whose
Management those more happy Assemblies are taken as Copies of a glorious
Original) perform the usual and necessary Business of his Profession, if
he did not appear wholly in Covert and under needful Disguises; how, but
for the Convenience of his Habit, could he call himself into so many
Shapes, act on so many different Scenes, and turn so many Wheels of
State in the World, as he has done? as a meer profess'd _Devil_ he could
do nothing.
Had he been oblig'd always to act the meer Devil in his own Clothes, and
with his own Shape, appearing uppermost in all Cafes and Places, he
could never have preach'd in so many Pulpits, presided in so many
Councils, voted in so many Committees, sat in so many Courts, and
influenc'd so many Parties and Factions in Church and State, as we have
Reason to believe he has done in our Nation, and in our Memories too, as
well as in other Nations and in more antient Times. The Share Satan has
had in all the weighty Confusions of the Times, ever since the first
Ages of Christianity in the World, has been carried on with so much
Secresy, and so much with an Air of Cabal and Intrigue, that nothing can
have been manag'd more subtilly and closely, and in the same Manner has
he acted in our Times, in order to conceal his Interest, and conceal the
Influence he has had in the Councils of the World.
Had it been possible for him to have raised the Flames of Rebellion and
War so often in this Nation, as he certainly has done? Could he have
agitated the Parties on both Sides, and inflam'd the Spirits of three
Nations, if he had appears in his own Dress, a meer naked DEVIL? It is
not the Devil as a _Devil_ that does the Mischief, but the _Devil_ in
Masquerade, _Satan_ in full Disguise, and acting at the Head of civil
Confusion and Distraction.
If History may be credited, the _French_ Court at the Time of our old
Confusions was made the Scene of Satan's Politicks, and prompted both
Parties in _England_ and in _Scotland_ also to quarrel, and how was it
done? Will any Man offer to scandalize the _Devil_ so much as to say, or
so much as to suggest that _Satan_ had no Hand in it all? Did not the
_Devil_, by the Agency of Cardinal _Richlieu_, send 400000 Crowns at one
Time, and 600000 at another, to the _Scots_, to raise an Army and march
boldly into _England?_ and did not the same _Devil_ at the same time, by
other Agents, remit 800000 Crowns to the other Party, in order to raise
an Army to fall upon the _Scots_? nay, did not the _Devil_ with the
same Subtilty send down the Archbishop's Order to impose the
Service-Book upon the People in _Scotland_, and at the same Time raise a
Mob against it, in the great Church (at St. _Giles_'s)? Nay, did not he
actually, in the Person of an old Woman (his favourite Instrument) throw
the three-leg'd Stool at the Service-Book, and animate the zealous
People to take up Arms for Religion, and turn Rebels for God Sake?
All these happy and successful Undertakings, tho' 'tis no more to be
doubted they were done by the Agency of _Satan_, and in a very
surprizing Manner too, yet were all done in secret, by what I call
Possession and Injection, and by the Agency and Contrivance of such
Instruments, or by the _Devil_ in the Disguise of such Servants as he
found out fitted to be employ'd in his Work, and who he took a more
effectual Care in concealing of.
But we shall have Occasion to touch all this Part over again, when we
come to discourse of the particular Habits and Disguises which the
_Devil_ has made use of, all along in the World, the better to cover his
Actions, and to conceal his being concern'd in them.
In the mean Time the Cunning or Artifice the _Devil_ makes use of in all
these Things is in it self very considerable; 'tis an old Practice of
his using, and he has gone on in diverse Measures, for the better
concealing himself in it; which Measures, tho' he varies sometimes, as
his extraordinary Affairs require, yet they are in all Ages much the
same, and have the same Tendency; namely, that he may get all his
Business carried on by the Instrumentality of Fools; that he may make
Mankind Agents in their own Destruction, and that he may have all his
Work done in such a Manner as that he may seem to have no Hand in it;
nay he contrives so well, that the very Name _Devil_ is 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, let us enquire into the
common Mistakes about him, see what Use is made of them to his
Advantage, and how far Mankind is imposed upon in those Particulars, and
to what Purpose.
CHAP. IV.
_Of Satan's Agents or Missionaries, and their Actings upon and in the
Minds of Men in his Name._
Infinite Advantages attend the _Devil_ in his retired Government, as
they respect the Management of his Interests, and the carrying on his
absolute Monarchy in the World; particularly as it gives him room to act
by the Agency of his inferior Ministers and Messengers, call'd on many
Occasions _his Angels_, of whom he has an innumerable _Multitude_, at
his Command, enough, for ought we know, to spare one to attend every Man
and Woman now alive in the World; and of whom, if we may believe our
second sight Christians, the Air is always as full, as a Beam of the
Evening Sun is of Insects, where they are ever ready for Business, and
to go and come as their great Governor issues out Orders for their
Directions.
These, as they are all of the same spirituous Quality with himself, and
consequently invisible like him, _except as above_, are ready upon all
Occasions to be sent to _and into_ any such Person, and for such
Purposes, _superior Limitations only excepted_, as the grand Director of
_Devils_, (The _Devil_ properly so call'd guides them;) and be the
Subject or the Object what it will, _that is to say_, be the Person they
are sent to, _or into, as above_, who it will, and the Business the
Messenger is to do what it will, they are sufficiently qualified; for
this is a Particular to Satan's Messengers or Agents, that they are not
like us humane _Devils_ here in the World, some bred up one Way, some
another, some of one Trade, some of another, and consequently some fit
for some Business, some for another, some good for something, and some
good for nothing, but his People are every one fit for every Thing, can
find their Way every where, and are a Match for every Body they are sent
to; in a Word, there are no _foolish Devils_, they are all fully
qualified for their Employment, fit for any thing he sets them about,
and very seldom mistake their Errand or fail in the Business they are
sent to do.
Nor is it strange at all, that the _Devil_ should have such a numberless
Train of Deputy _Devils_ to act under him; for it must be acknowledged
he has a great deal of Business upon his Hands, a vast deal of Work to
do, abundance of public Affairs under his Direction, and an infinite
Variety of particular Cases always before him; _for Example_.
How many Governments in the World are wholly in his Administration? how
many Divans and great Councils under his Direction? nay, I believe,
'twould be hard to prove that there is or has been one Council of State
in the World for many hundred Years past, down to the Year 1713, (we
don't pretend to come nearer home) where the _Devil_ by himself, or his
Agents in one Shape or another, has not sat as a Member, if not taken
the Chair.
And tho' some learn'd Authors may dispute this Point with me, by giving
some Examples where the Councils of Princes have been acted by a better
Hand, and where Things have been carried against _Satan_'s Interest, and
even to his great Mortification, it amounts to no more than this;
namely, that in such Cases the _Devil_ has been out-voted; but it does
not argue but he might have been present there, and have push'd his
Interest as far as he could, only that he had not the Success he
expected; for I don't pretend to say that he has never been
disappointed; but those Examples are so rare, and of so small
Signification, that when I come to the Particulars, as I shall do in the
Sequel of this History, you will find them hardly worth naming; and
that, take it one Time with another, the _Devil_ has met with such a
Series of Success in all his Affairs, and has so seldom been baulk'd;
and where he has met with a little Check in his Politicks, has
notwithstanding, so soon and so easily recover'd himself, regain'd his
lost Ground, or replac'd himself in another Country when he has been
supplanted in one, that his Empire is far from being lessen'd in the
World, for the last thousand Years of the Christian Establishment.
Suppose we take an Observation from the Beginning of _Luther_, or from
the Year 1420, and call the Reformation a Blow to the _Devil_'s Kingdom,
which before that was come to such a Height in Christendom, that 'tis a
Question not yet thorowly decided, whether that Medley of Superstition
and horrible Heresies, that Mass of Enthusiam and Idols call'd the
Catholick Hierarchy, was a Church of God or a Church of the _Devil_;
whether it was an Assembly of Saints or a Synagogue of Satan: I say,
take that Time to be the _Epocha_ of Satan's Declension and of
Lucifer's falling from Heaven, that is, from the Top of his terrestrial
Glory, yet whether he did not gain in the Defection of the _Greek_
Church about that Time and since, as much as he lost in the Reformation
of the _Roman_, is what Authors are not yet agreed about, not reckoning
what he has regain'd since of the Ground which he had lost even by the
Reformation, (_viz._) the Countries of the Duke of _Savoy_'s Dominion,
where the Reformation is almost eaten out by Persecution; the whole
_Valtoline_ and some adjacent Countries; the whole Kingdom of _Poland_
and almost all _Hungary_; for since the last War the Reformation, as it
were, lies gasping for Breath, and expiring in that Country, also
several large Provinces in _Germany_, as _Austria_, _Carinthia_, and the
whole Kingdom of _Bohemia_, where the Reformation once powerfully
planted, receiv'd its Death's Wound at the Battle of _Prague_, _Ann._
1627, and languish'd but a very little while, died and was buried, and
good King POPERY reign'd in its stead.
To these Countries thus regain'd to Satan's infernal Empire, let us add
his modern Conquests and the Encroachments he has made upon the
Reformation in the present Age, which are, _however light we make of
them_, very considerable (_viz._) the Electorate of the _Rhine_ and the
_Palatinate_, the one fallen to the House of _Bavaria_, and the other to
that of _Neuburgh_, both Popish; the Dutchy of _Deux Ponts_ fallen just
now to a popish Branch, the whole Electorate of _Saxony_ fallen under
the Power of popish Government by the Apostacy of their Princes, and
more likely to follow the Fate of _Bohemia_, whenever the diligent
_Devil_ can bring his new Project in _Poland_ to bear, as 'tis more than
probable he will do so some time or other, by the growing Zeal as well
as Power of (that House of Bigots) the House of _A----_.
But to sum up the dull Story; we must add in the Roll of the _Devil_'s
Conquests, the whole Kingdom of _France_, where we have in one Year
seen, to the immortal Glory of the _Devil_'s Politicks, that his
Measures have prevailed to the total Extirpation of the Protestant
Churches without a War; and that Interest which for 200 Years had
supported it self in spight of Persecutions, Massacres, five civil Wars
and innumerable Battles and Slaughters, at last receiv'd its mortal
Wound from its own Champion _Henry_ IV. and sunk into utter Oblivion, by
_Satan_'s most exquisite Management under the Agency of his two prime
Ministers Cardinal _Richlieu_ and _Lewis_ the XIV, whom he entirely
possess'd.
Thus far we have a melancholy View of the _Devil_'s new Conquests, and
the Ground he has regain'd upon the Reformation, in which his secret
Management has been so exquisite, and his Politicks so good, that could
he bring but one Thing to pass, which by his own former Mistake, (for
the _Devil_ is not infallible) he has rendred impossible, he would bring
the Protestant Interest so near its Ruin, that Heaven would be, _as it
were_, put to the Necessity of working by Miracle to prevent it; _the
Case is thus_.
Antient Historians tell us, and from good Authority, that the DEVIL
finding it for his Interest to bring his favourite _Mahomet_ upon the
Stage, and spread the victorious Half-Moon upon the Ruin of the Cross,
having with great Success, rais'd first the _Saracen_ Empire, and then
the _Turkish_ to such a Height, as that the Name of Christian seemed to
be extirpated in those two Quarters of the World, which were then not
the greatest only, but by far the most powerful, I mean _Asia_ and
_Africa_; having totally laid wast all those antient and flourishing
Churches of _Africa_, the Labours of St. _Cyprian_, _Tertullian_, St.
_Augustine_, and 670 Christian Bishops and Fathers, who govern'd there
at once, also all the Churches of _Smyrna_, _Philadelphia_, _Ephesus_,
_Sardis_, _Antioch_, _Laodicea_, and innumerable others in _Pontus_,
_Bithynia_, and the Provinces of the lesser _Asia_.
The _Devil_ having, I say, finish'd these Conquests so much to his
Satisfaction, began to turn his Eyes Northward, and tho' he had a
considerable Interest in the _Whore of Babylon_, and had brought his
Power by the Subjection of the _Roman_ Hierarchy to a great Height, yet
finding the Interest of _Mahomet_ most suitable to his _devilish_
Purposes, as most adapted to the Destruction of Mankind, and laying
waste the World, he resolv'd to espouse the growing Power of the _Turk_,
and bring him in upon _Europe_ like a Deluge.
In order to this, and to make Way for an easy Conquest, like a true
_Devil_ he work'd under Ground, and sap'd the Foundation of the
Christian Power, by sowing Discord among the reigning Princes of
_Europe_; that so envying one another they might be content to stand
still and look on while the _Turk_ devoured them one by one, and at last
might swallow them up all.
This _devilish_ Policy took to his Heart's Content; the Christian
Princes stood still, stupid, dozing, and unconcern'd, till the Turk
conquered _Thrace_, over-run _Servia_, _Macedonia_, _Bulgaria_, and all
the Remains of the _Grecian_ Empire, and at last the Imperial City of
_Constantinople_ it self.
Finding this politic Method so well answer his Ends, the _Devil_, who
always improves upon the Success of his own Experiments, resolv'd from
that time to lay a Foundation for the making those Divisions and
Jealousies of the Christian Princes immortal; whereas they were at
first only personal, and founded in private Quarrels between the Princes
respectively; such as _Emulation_ of one another's Glory, _Envy_ at the
extraordinary Valour, or other Merit of this or that Leader, or
_Revenge_ of some little Affront; for which notwithstanding, so great
was the Piety of Christian Princes in those Days, that they made no
Scruple to sacrifice whole Armies, yea, Nations, to their Piques and
private Quarrels, _a certain Sign whose Management they were under_.
These being the Causes by which the DEVIL first sow'd the Seeds of
Mischief among them, and the Success so well answering his Design, he
could not but wish to have the same Advantage always ready at his Hand;
and therefore he resolv'd to order it so, that these Divisions, which,
however useful to him, were only personal, and consequently temporary,
like an Annual in the Garden, which must be rais'd anew every Season,
might for the future be national, and consequently durable and immortal.
To this end it was necessary to lay the Foundation of eternal Feud, not
in the Humours and Passions of Men only, but in the Interests of
Nations: The Way to do this was to form and state the Dominion of those
Princes, by such a Plan drawn in Hell, and laid out from a Scheme truly
political, of which the _Devil_ was chief Engineer; that the Divisions
should always remain, being made a natural Consequence of the Situation
of the Country, the Temper of their People, the Nature of their
Commerce, the Climate, the Manner of living, or something which should
for ever render it impossible for them to unite.
This, I say, was a Scheme truly infernal, in which the _Devil_ was as
certainly the principal Operator, to illustrate great Things by small,
as ever _John_ of _Leyden_ was of the High _Dutch_ Rebellion, or Sir
_John B------t_ of the late Project, called the _South-Sea_ Stock. Nor
did this Contrivance of the _Devil_ at all dishonour his Author, or the
Success appear unworthy of the Undertaker; for we see it not only answer
the End, and made the _Turk_ victorious at the same Time, and formidable
to _Europe_ ever after, but it works to this Day, the Foundation of the
Divisions remains in all the several Nations, and that to such a Degree
that it is impossible they should unite.
This is what I hinted before, in which the _Devil_ was mistaken, and is
another instance that he knows nothing of what is to come; for this very
Foundation of immortal Jealousy and Discord between the several Nations
of _Spain_, _France_, _Germany_, and others, which the _Devil_ himself
with so much Policy contriv'd, and which serv'd his Interests so long,
is now the only Obstruction to his Designs, and prevents the entire Ruin
of the Reformation; for tho' the reform'd Countries are very Powerful,
and some of them, as _Great Britain_ and _Prussia_ is particularly, 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 1623
under the victorious Arms of the _Swede_; On the other Hand, were it
possible that the Popish Powers, to wit, of _France_, _Spain_,
_Germany_, _Italy_ and _Poland_, which are intirely Popish, could
heartily unite their Interests, and should join their Powers to attack
the Protestants, the latter would find it very difficult, if not
impossible, to defend themselves.
But as fatal as such a Union of the Popish Powers would be, and as
useful as it would be to the _Devil_'s Cause at this time, not the
_Devil_ with all his Angels are able to bring it to pass; no, not with
all his Craft and Cunning; he divided them, but he can't unite them; so
that even just as 'tis with Men, so 'tis with _Devils_, they may do in
an Hour what they can't undo in an Age.
This may comfort those faint-hearted Christians among us, who cry out of
the Danger of a religious War in _Europe_, and what terrible Things will
happen when _France_, and _Spain_, and _Germany_, and _Italy_, and
_Poland_ shall all unite; let this Answer satisfy them, The _Devil_
himself can never make _France_ and _Spain_, or _France_ and the Emperor
unite; jarring Humours may be reconcil'd, but jarring Interests never
can: They may unite so as to make Peace, _tho' that can hardly be long_,
but never so as to make Conquests together; they are too much afraid of
one another, for one to bear, that any Addition of Strength should come
to the other. But this is a Digression. We shall find the _Devil_
mistaken and disappointed too on several other Occasions, as we go
along.
I return to Satan's Interest in the several Governments and Nations, by
vertue of his Invisibility, and which he carries on by Possession; 'tis
by this Invisibility that he presides in all the Councils of _foreign
Powers_, (for we never mean our own, that we always premise;) and what
tho' it is alledged by the Criticks, that he does not preside, because
there is always a President; I say, if he is not in the President's
Chair, yet if he be in the President himself, the Difference is not
much; and if he does not vote as a Counsellor, if he votes in the
Counsellor, 'tis much the same; and here, as it was in the Story of
_Ahab_ the King of _Israel_, as he was a _lying Spirit_ in the Mouths of
_all his Prophets_, so we find him a Spirit of some particular evil
Quality or other, in all the Transactions and Transactors on that Stage
of Life we call the State.
Thus he was a dissembling Spirit in _Char._ IX. a turbulent Spirit in
_Char._ V. Emperors; a bigotted Spirit of Fire and Faggot in our Queen
_Mary_; an apostate Spirit in _Hen._ IV.; a cruel Spirit in _Peter_ of
_Castile_; a revengeful Spirit in _Ferdinand_ II.; a _Phaeton_ in
_Lewis_ XIV.; a _Sardanapalus_ in _C------_ II.
In the Great Men of the World, take them a degree lower than the Class
of Crown'd Heads, he has the same secret Influence; and hence it comes
to pass, that the greatest Heroes, and Men of the highest Character for
Atchievements of Glory, either by their Virtue or Valour, however they
have been crowned with Victories, and elevated by human Tongues,
whatever the most consummate Virtues or good Qualities they have been
known by, yet they have always had some Devil or other in them to
preserve _Satan_'s Claim to them uninterrupted, and prevent their Escape
out of his Hands; thus we have seen a bloody Devil in a _D'Alva_; a
profligate Devil in a _Buckingham_; a lying, artful, or politick Devil
in a _Richlieu_; a treacherous Devil in a _Mazarin_; a cruel, merciless
Devil in a _Cortez_; a debauch'd Devil in an _Eugene_; a conjuring Devil
in a _Luxemburg_; and a covetous Devil in a _M---------h_: In a word,
tell me the Man, I tell you the Spirit that reign'd in him.
Nor does he thus carry on his secret Management by Possession in Men of
the first Magnitude only, but have you not had Evidences of it among our
selves? how has he been a _lying_ Spirit in the Mouths of our Prophets,
a factious Spirit in the Heads of our Politicians, a profuse _Devil_ in
a _B-----s_, a corrupt Devil in _M-----_, a proud Spirit in my Lord
_Plausible_, a bullying Spirit in my Lord _Bugbear_, a talkative Spirit
in his Grace the D---- of _Rattle-hall_, a scribling Spirit in my Lord
_H------_, a run-away Spirit in my Lord _Frightful_; and so thro' a long
Roll of Heroes, whose exceeding, and particular Qualifications proclaim
loudly what Handle the _Devil_ took them by, and how fast he held them;
for these were all Men of ancient Fame, I hope you know that.
From Men of Figure, we descend to the Mob, and 'tis there the same
thing; Possession, like the Plague, is _Morbus Plebæi_; not a Family but
he is a Spirit of Strife and Contention among them; not a Man but he has
a Part in him; he is a drunken _Devil_ in one, a whoring _Devil_ in
another, a thieving _Devil_ in a third, a lying _Devil_ in the fourth,
and so on, to a thousand, and a hundred thousand, _ad infinitum_.
Nay, even the Ladies have their Share in the Possession; and if they
have not the _Devil_ in their Heads, or in their Tails, in their Faces
or their Tongues, it must be some poor despicable She-devil that Satan
did not think it worth his while to meddle 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 Place.
From Degrees of Persons, to Professions and Employments, 'tis the same;
we find the _Devil_ is 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 Jack-Boots,
there the Small-Sword; is here an _Enthusiast_, there a _Buffoon_; on
this Side he acts the _Mountebank_, on that Side the _Merry-Andrew_;
nothing comes amiss to him, from the Great _Mogul_, to the _Scaramouch_;
the _Devil_ is in them, more or less, and plays his Game so well that he
makes sure Work with 'em all: He knows where the _Common Foible_ lies,
which is UNIVERSAL PASSION, what Handle to take hold of every Man by,
and how to cultivate his Interest so, as not to fail of his End, or
mistake the Means.
How then can it be deny'd but that his acting thus _in tenebris_, and
keeping out of the sight of the World, is abundantly his Interest, and
that he could do nothing, comparatively speaking, by any other Method?
What would this publick Appearance have signified? Who would have
entertain'd him in his own proper Shape and Person? Even B---- _B----_
himself, tho' all the World knows him to have a foolish _Devil_ in him,
would not have been Fool enough to have taken him into his Service, if
he had known him: And my Lord _Simpleton_ also, who _Satan_ has set up
for a cunning Fool, seems to have it sit much better upon him now he
passes for a Fool of Art, than it should have done if the naked DEVIL
had come and challenged him for a Fool in Nature.
Infinite Variety illustrate the _Devil_'s Reign among the Sons of Men;
all which he manages with admirable Dexterity, and a Slight particular
to himself, by the mere Advantage of his present conceal'd Situation,
and which, had he been obliged to have appear'd in Publick, had been all
lost, and he capable of just nothing at all, or at least of nothing more
than the other ordinary Politicians of Wickedness could have done
without him.
Now, Authors are much divided as to the manner how the _Devil_ manages
his proper Instruments for Mischief; for Satan has a great many Agents
in the Dark, who neither have the DEVIL in them, nor are they much
acquainted with him, and yet he serves himself of them, whether of their
Folly, or of that other Frailty call'd Wit, 'tis all one, he makes them
do his Work, when they think they are doing their own; nay, so cunning
is he in his guiding the weak Part of the World, that even when they
think they are serving God, they are doing nothing less or more than
serving the _Devil_; nay, 'tis some of the nicest Part of his Operation,
to make them believe they are serving God, when they do his Work. Thus
those who the Scripture foretold should persecute Christ's Church in the
latter Days, were to think they do God _good Service_: Thus the
Inquisition, (for Example,) it may be, at this time, in all the acts of
Christian Cruelty which they are so famous for (if any of them are
ignorant enough not to know that they are _Devils_ incarnate) they may,
for ought we know, go on for God's sake; torture, murther, starve to
Death, mangle and macerate, and all for God, and God's Catholic Church;
and 'tis certainly the _Devil_'s Master-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 _Hell-fire_
Judicature as the _Inquisition_ is, by the Name of _the Holy Office_?
And so in Paganism, how could so many Nations among the poor _Indians_
offer human Sacrifices to their Idols, and murther thousands of Men,
Women and Children, to appease this God of the Air, when he is angry, if
the _Devil_ did not act in them under the Vizor of Devotion?
But we need not go to _America_, or to the Inquisition, not to Paganism
or to Popery either, to look for People that are sacrificing to the
_Devil_, or that give their Peace-offerings to him, while they are
offer'd upon God's Altar; are not our Churches (ay, and Meeting-houses
too, as much as they pretend to be more sanctified than their
Neighbours) full of _Devil_ Worshipers? Where do his Devotees gratulate
one another, and congratulate him, more than at Church? where, while
they hold up their Hands, and turn up their Eyes towards Heaven, they
make all their Vows to Satan, or at least to the fair _Devils_ his
Representatives, which I shall speak of in their Place.
Do not the Sons of God make Assignations with the Daughters of Men in
the very House of Worship? Do they not talk to them in the Language of
the Eyes? And what is at the Bottom of it, while one Eye is upon the
Prayer-book, and the other adjusting their Dress? Are they not
sacrificing to _Venus_ and _Mercury_, nay, and the very _Devil_ they
dress at?
Let any Man impartially survey the Church-Gestures, the Air, the
Postures and the Behaviour; let him keep an exact Roll, and if I do not
shew him two _Devil_ Worshipers for one true Saint, then the Word
_Saint_ must have another Signification than I ever yet understood it
by.
The Church (as a Place) is the Receptacle of the Dead, as well as the
Assembly of the Living; what relates to those below, I doubt Satan, if
he would be so kind, could give a better Account of than I can; but as
to the Superficies, I pretend to so much Penetration as to tell you,
that there are more Spectres, more Apparitions always there, than you
that know nothing of the matter may be aware of.
I happen'd to be at an eminent Place of God's most devout Worship the
other Day, with a Gentleman of my Acquaintance, who, I observed, minded
very little the Business he ought to come about; first I saw him always
busy staring about him and bowing this Way and that Way, nay, he made
two or three bows and Scrapes when he was repeating the Responses to the
Ten Commandments, and assure you he made it correspond strangely, so
that the Harmony was not so broken in upon as you would expect it
should; thus; _Lord_, and a Bow to a fine Lady just come up to her Seat,
_have Mercy upon us_; ---- three Bows to a Throng of Ladies that came
into the next Pew altogether, _and incline_ ---- then stop'd to make a
great Scrape to my Lord ----, _our Hearts_, just then the Hearts of all
the Church were gone off from the Subject, for the Response was over, so
he huddled up the rest in Whispers, for _God a Mighty_ could hear him
well enough, _he said_, nay, as well as if he had spoken as loud as his
Neighbours did.
After we were come home, I ask'd him what he meant by all this, and what
he thought of it?
How could I help it, _said he_, I must not be rude.
What, _says I_, rude to who?
Why, _says he_, there came in so many she _Devils_ I could not help it.
What, _said I_, could not you help bowing when you were saying your
Prayers?
O Sir! _says he_, the Ladies would have thought I had slighted them, I
could not avoid it.
Ladies! _said I_, I thought you call'd them _Devils_ just now.
Ay, ay, _Devils_, _said he_, little charming Devils, but I must not be
rude to them however.
Very well, _said I_, then you would be rude to _God a Mighty_, because
you could not be rude to the Devil?
Why that's true, _said he_, but what can we do? there's no going to
Church as the Case stands now, if we must not worship the _Devil_ a
little between whiles.
This is the Case indeed, and Satan carries his Point on every Hand; for
if the fair speaking World, and the fair looking World are generally
_Devils_, that is to say, are in his Management, we are sure the foul
speaking and the foul doing World are all on his Side, and you have then
only the fair-doing Part of the World that are out of his Class, and
when we speak of them, _O how few!_
But I return to the _Devil_'s managing our wicked Part, for this he does
with most exquisite Subtilty; and this is one Part of it, (_viz._) he
thrusts our Vices into our Virtues, by which he mixes the Clean and the
Unclean, and thus by the Corruption of the one, poisons and debauches
the other, so that the Slave he governs cannot account for his own
common Actions, and is fain to be oblig'd to his Maker to accept of the
Heart without the Hands and Feet; to take, as we vulgarly express it,
_the Will_ for the _Deed_, and if Heaven was not so good to come into
that half in half Service, I don't see but the _Devil_ would carry away
all his Servants: Here indeed I should enter into a long Detail of
involuntary Wickedness, which in short, is neither more or less than the
_Devil_ in every Body, ay, in every one of you, (our Governors excepted)
take it as you please.
What is our Language when we look back with Reflection and Reproach on
past Follies? _I think I was bewitch'd_, I was _posses'd_, _certainly
the Devil was in me, or else I had never been such a Sot_: _Devil_ in
you, Sir! Ay, who doubts it; you may be sure the _Devil_ was in you, and
there he is still, and next Time he can catch you in the same Snare,
you'll be just the same SOT that you say you were before.
In short, the _Devil_ is too cunning for us, and manages us his own Way;
he governs the Vices of Men by his own Methods; tho' every Crime will
not 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 us every single Man, every individual has a _Devil_ attending
him, to execute the Orders of the (Grand Signior) Devil of the whole
Clan; that this attending _evil Angel_, for so he is call'd, sees every
Step you take, is with you in every Action, prompts you to every
Mischief, and leaves you to do every Thing that is pernicious to your
self; they also alledge that there is a good Spirit which attends him
too, which latter is always accessary to every Thing that we do that is
good, and reluctant to evil; If this is true, how comes it to pass that
those two opposite Spirits do not quarrel about it when they are
pressing us to contrary Actions, one good and the other evil? and why
does the evil tempting Spirit so often prevail? Instead of answering
this difficult Question, I shall only tell you, as to this Story of good
and evil Angels attending every particular Person, 'tis a good Allegory
indeed to represent the Struggle in the Mind of Man between good and
evil Inclinations; but as to the rest, the best Thing I can say of it
is, _that_ I think _'tis a Fib_.
But to take Things as they are, and only talk by way of natural
Consequence, for to argue from Nature is certainly the best Way to find
out the _Devil_'s Story; if there are good and evil Spirits attending
us, that is to say, a good Angel and a _Devil_, then 'tis no unjust
Reproach upon any Body to say, when they follow the Dictates of the
latter, the _Devil_ is in them; or they are _Devils_; nay, I must carry
it farther still, namely, that as the Generality and greatest Number of
People do follow and obey the evil Spirit and not the good, and that the
predominate Power is allowed to be the nominating Power; you must then
allow, that in short, the greater Part of Mankind has the Devil in
them, and so I come to my Text.
To this Purpose give me leave to borrow a few Lines of a Friend on this
very Part of the Devil's Management.
To Places and Persons he suits his Disguises,
And dresses up all his Banditti,
Who as Pickpockets flock to a Country Assizes,
Croud up to the Court and the City.
They're at every Elbow and every Ear,
And ready at every call, Sir;
The vigilant Scout plants his Agents about,
And has something to do with us all, Sir.
In some he has Part, and in some he's the Whole,
And of some (like the Vicar of _Baddow_)
It can neither be said they have Body or Soul,
But only are _Devils_ in Shadow.
The Pretty and Witty, are Devils in Masque,
The Beauties are meer Apparitions;
The homely alone by their Faces are known,
And the Good by their ugly Conditions.
The Beaus walk about like the Shadows of Men.
And wherever he leads 'em they follow,
But tak'em and shak'em, there's not one in ten
But's as light as a Feather and hollow.
Thus all his Affairs he drives on in Disguise,
And he tickles Mankind with a Feather:
Creeps in at our Ears, and looks out at our Eyes,
And jumbles our Senses together.
He raises the Vapours, and prompts the Desires,
And to ev'ry dark Deed holds the Candle;
The Passions enflames and the Appetite fires,
And takes ev'ry Thing by the Handle.
Thus he walks up and down in compleat Masquerade,
And with every Company mixes,
Sells in every Shop, works at every Trade,
And ev'ry Thing doubtful perplexes.
How Satan comes by this governing Influence in the Minds and upon the
Actions of Men, is a Question I am not yet come to, nor indeed does it
so particularly belong to the Devil's History, it seems rather a
Polemick, so it may pass at School among the Metaphysicks, and puzzle
the Heads of our Masters; wherefore I think to write to the learned Dr.
_B----_ about it, imploring his most sublime Haughtiness, that when his
other more momentous Avocations of Pedantry and Pedagogism will give him
an Interval from Wrath and Contention, he will set apart a Moment to
consider human Nature Deviliz'd, and give us a Mathematical Anatomical
Description of it; with a Map of Satan's Kingdom in the Microcosm of
Mankind, and such other Illuminations as to him and his Contemporaries
---- and, ---- _&c._ in their great Wisdom shall seem meet.
CHAP. V.
_Of the_ Devil_'s Management in the Pagan Hierarchy by Omens, Entrails,
Augurs, Oracles, and such like Pageantry of Hell; and how they went
off the Stage at last by the Introduction of true Religion._
I have adjourn'd, not finished, my Account of the _Devil_'s secret
Management by _Possession_, and shall reassume it, in its Place; but I
must take leave to mention some other Parts of his retir'd Scheme, by
which he has hitherto manag'd Mankind, and the first of these is by that
Fraud of all Frauds call'd Oracle.
Here his Trumpet yielded an uncertain Sound for some Ages, and like what
he was, and according to what he practised from the Beginning, he
deliver'd out Falshood and Delusion by Retale: The Priests of _Apollo_
acted this 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 we shall see presently.
There were also some smaller, some greater, some more, some less famous
Places where those Oracles were seated, and Audience given to the
Enquirers, in all which the _Devil_, or some Body for him, _Permissu
Superiorum_, for either vindictive or other hidden Ends and Purposes,
was allow'd to make at least a Pretension to the Knowledge of Things to
come; but, as publick Cheats generally do, they acted in Masquerade, and
gave such uncertain and inconsistent Responses, that they were oblig'd
to use the utmost Art to reconcile Events to the Prediction, even after
things were come to pass.
Here the Devil was a _lying Spirit_, in a particular and extraordinary
manner, in the Mouths of all the Prophets; and yet he had the Cunning to
express himself so, that whatever happen'd, the Oracle was suppos'd to
have meant as it fell out; and so all their Augurs, Omens and Voices, by
which the Devil amus'd the World, not at that Time only, but since, have
been likewise interpreted.
_Julian_ the Apostate dealt mightily in these Amusements, but the Devil,
who neither wish'd his Fall, or presag'd it to him, evidenc'd that he
knew nothing of _Julian_'s Fate; for that, as he sent almost to all the
Oracles of the East, and summon'd all the Priests together to inform him
of the Success of his _Persian_ Expedition, they all, like _Ahab_'s
_Prophets_, having a lying Spirit in them, encourag'd him and promis'd
him Success.
Nay, all the ill Omens which disturb'd him, they presag'd good from;
_for Example_, he was at a prodigious Expence when he was at _Antioch_
to buy up white Beasts, and white Fowls, for Sacrifices, and for
predicting from the Entrails; from whence the _Antiochians_, in
contempt, call'd him _Victimarius_; but whenever the Entrails foreboded
Evil, the cunning Devil made the Priests put a different Construction
upon them, and promise him Good: When he entred into the Temple of the
_Genij_ to offer Sacrifice, one of the Priests dropt down dead; this,
had it had any Signification more than a Man falling dead of an
Apoplectic, would have signified something fatal to _Julian_, who made
himself a Brother Sacrist or Priest; whereas the Priests turn'd it
presently to signify the Death of his Colleague, the Consul _Sallust_
which happen'd just at the same Time, tho' eight hundred Miles off; so
in another Case, _Julian_ thought it ominous that he, who was _Augustus_
should be nam'd with two other Names of Persons, both already dead; the
Case was thus, the Stile of the Emperor was _Julianus Foelix
Augustus_, and two of his principal Officers were _Julianus_ and
_Foelix_; now both _Julianus_ and _Foelix_ died within a few Days of
one another, which disturb'd Him much, who was the third of the three
Names; but his flattering _Devil_ told him it all imported Good to him
(_viz._) that tho' _Julianus_ and _Foelix_ should die, _Augustus_
should be immortal.
Thus whatever happen'd, and whatever was foretold, and how much soever
they differ'd from one another, the lying Spirit was sure to reconcile
the _Prediction_ and the _Event_, and make them at least seem to
correspond in Favour of the Person enquiring.
Now we are told Oracles are ceased, and the _Devil_ is farther limited
for the Good of Mankind, not being allow'd to vent his Delusions by the
Mouths of the Priests and Augurs, as formerly: I will not take upon me
to say how far they are really ceas'd, more than they were before; I
think 'tis much more reasonable to believe there was never any Reality
in them at all, or that any Oracle ever gave out any Answers but what
were the Invention of the Priests and the Delusions of the DEVIL; I have
a great many antient Authors on my Side in this Opinion, as _Eusebius_,
_Tertullian_, _Aristotle_, and others, who as they liv'd so near the
Pagan Times, and when even some of those Rites were yet in Use, they had
much more Reason to know, and could probably pass a better Judgment upon
them; nay _Cicero_ himself ridicules them in the openest manner; again,
other Authors descend to Particular and shew how the Cheat was manag'd
by the Heathen Sacrists and Priests, and in what enthusiastic manner
they spoke; namely, by going into the hollow Images, such as the brazen
Bull and the Image of _Apollo_, and how subtilly they gave out _dubious_
and _ambiguous_ Answers; that when the People did not find their
Expectations answer'd by the Event, they might be imposed upon by the
Priests, and confidently told they did not rightly understand the
Oracle's Meaning: However, I cannot say but that indeed there are some
Authors of good Credit too, who will have it that there was a real
prophetic Spirit in the Voice or Answers given by the Oracles, and that
oftentimes they were miraculously exact in those Answers; and they give
that of the _Delphic_ Oracle answering the Question which was given
about _Croesus_ for an Example, _viz._ what _Croesus_ was doing at
that time? _to wit_, that he was boiling a Lamb and the Flesh of a
Tortoise together, in a brass Vessel, or Boiler, with a Cover of the
same Metal; that is to say, in a Kettle with a brass Cover.
To affirm therefore, that they were all Cheats, a Man must encounter
with Antiquity, and set his private Judgment up against an establish'd
Opinion; but 'tis no matter for that; if I do not see any thing in that
receiv'd Opinion capable of Evidence, much less of Demonstration, I must
be allow'd still to think as I do; others may believe as they list; I
see nothing hard or difficult in the Thing; the Priests, who were always
historically inform'd of the Circumstances of the Enquirer, or at least
something about them, might easily find some ambiguous Speech to make,
and put some double _Entendre_ upon them, which upon the Event solv'd
the Credit of the Oracle, were it one way or other; and this they
certainly did, or we have room to think the DEVIL knows less of Things
now than he did in former Days.
It is true that by these Delusions the Priests got infinite Sums of
Money, and this makes it still probable that they would labour hard, and
use the utmost of their Skill to uphold the Credit of their Oracles; and
'tis a full Discovery, as well of the Subtlety of the Sacrists, as of
the Ignorance and Stupidity of the People, in those early Days of
_Satan_'s Witchcraft; to see what merry Work the _Devil_ made with the
World, and what gross Things he put upon Mankind: Such was the Story of
the _Dordonian_ Oracle in _Epirus_, _viz_. That two _Pigeons_ flew out
of _Thebes_ (_N. B._ it was the _Egyptian Thebes_) from the Temple of
_Belus_, erected there by the antient Sacrists, and that one of these
fled Eastward into _Lybia_, and the Desarts of _Africk_, and the other
into _Greece_, namely, to _Dordona_, and these communicated the divine
Mysteries to one another, and afterwards gave mystical Solutions to the
devout Enquirers; first the _Dordonian_ Pigeon perching upon an Oak
spoke audibly to the People there, that the Gods commanded them to build
an Oracle, or Temple, to _Jupiter_, in that Place; which was accordingly
done: The other Pigeon did the like on the Hill in _Africa_, where it
commanded them to build another to _Jupiter Ammon_, or _Hammon_.
Wise _Cicero_ contemned all this, and, as Authors tell us, ridiculed the
Answer, which, as I have hinted above, the Oracle gave to _Croesus_
proving that the Oracle it self was a _Liar_, that it could not come
from _Apollo_, for that _Apollo_ never spoke _Latin_: In a Word,
_Cicero_ rejected them all, and _Demosthenes_ also mentions the Cheats
of the _Oracles_; when speaking of the Oracle of _Apollo_, he said,
_Pithia Philippiz'd_; that is, that when the Priests were brib'd with
Money, they always gave their Answers in favour of _Philip_ of
_Macedon_.
But that which is most strange to me is, that in this Dispute about the
Reality of Oracles, the Heathen who made use of them are the People who
expose them, and who insist most positively upon their being Cheats and
Impostors, as in particular those mentioned above; while the Christians
who reject them, yet believe they did really foretel Things, answer
Questions, _&c._ only with this Difference, that the Heathen Authors who
oppose them, insist that 'tis all Delusion and Cheat, and charge it upon
the Priests; and the Christian Opposers insist that it was real, but
that the _Devil_, not the Gods, gave the Answers; and that he was
permitted to do it by a superior Power, to magnify that Power in the
total silencing them at last.
But, as I said before, I am with the Heathen here, against the Christian
Writers, for I take it all to be a Cheat and Delusion: I must give my
Reason for it, or I do nothing; my Reason is this, I insist Satan is as
blind in Matters of Futurity, as we are, and can tell nothing of what is
to come; these Oracles often pretending to predict, could be nothing
else therefore but a Cheat form'd by the Money-getting Priests to amuse
the World, and bring Grist to their Mill: If I meet with any thing in my
Way to open my Eyes to a better Opinion of them, I shall tell it you as
I go on.
On the other hand, whether the _Devil_ really spake in those Oracles, or
set the cunning Priests to speak for him; whether they predicted, or
only made the People believe they predicted; whether they gave Answers
which came to pass, or prevail'd upon the People to believe that what
was said did come to pass, it was much at one, and fully answer'd the
_Devil_'s End; namely, to amuse and delude the World; and as to do, or
to cause to be done, is the same Part of Speech, so whoever did it, the
_Devil_'s Interest was carried on by it, his Government preserv'd, and
all the Mischief he could desire was effectually brought to pass, so
that every way they were the _Devil_'s Oracles, that's out of the
Question.
Indeed I have wonder'd sometimes why, since by this Sorcery the _Devil_
perform'd such Wonders, that is, play'd so many Tricks in the World, and
had such universal Success, he should set up no more of them; but there
might be a great many Reasons given for that, too long to tire you with
at present: 'Tis true, there were not many of them, and yet considering
what a great deal of Business they dispatch'd, it was enough, for six or
eight Oracles were more than sufficient to amuse all the World: The
chief Oracles we meet with in History are among the _Greeks_ and the
_Romans_, _viz._
That of _Jupiter Ammon_, in _Lybia_, as above.
The _Dordonian_, in _Epirus_.
_Apollo Delphicus_, in the Country of _Phocis_ in _Greece_.
_Apollo Clavius_, in _Asia Minor_.
_Serapis_, in _Alexandria_ in _Egypt_.
_Trophomis_, in _Bæotia_.
_Sybilla Cumæa_, in _Italy_.
_Diana_, at _Ephesus_.
_Apollo Daphneus_, at _Antioch_.
Besides many of lesser Note, in several other Places, as I have
hinted before.
I have nothing to do here with the Story mentioned by _Plutarch_, of a
Voice being heard at Sea, from some of the Islands call'd the
_Echinades_, and calling upon one _Thamuz_, an _Egyptian_, who was on
board a Ship, bidding him, when he came to the _Palodes_, other Islands
in the _Ionian_ Seas, tell them there that the great God PAN was dead;
and when _Thamuz_ perform'd it, great Groanings, and Howlings, and
Lamentation were heard from the Shore.
This Tale tells but indifferently, tho' indeed it looks more like _a
Christian Fable_, than a Pagan; because it seems as if made to honour
the Christian Worship, and blast all the Pagan Idolatry; and for that
Reason I reject it, the Christian Profession needing no such fabulous
Stuff to confirm it.
Nor is it true in fact, that the Oracles did cease immediately upon the
Death of Christ; but, as I noted before, the Sum of the Matter is this;
the Christian Religion spreading it self universally, as well as
miraculously, and that too _by the Foolishness of Preaching_, into all
Parts of the World, the Oracles ceas'd; that is to say, their Trade
ceas'd, their Rogueries were daily detected, the deluded People being
better taught, came no more after them, and being asham'd, as well as
discourag'd, they sneak'd out of the World as well as they could; in
short the Customers fell off, and the Priests, who were the Shopkeepers,
having no Business to do, shut up their Shops, broke, and went away; the
Trade and the Tradesmen were hiss'd off the Stage together; so that the
_Devil_, who, it must be confess'd, got infinitely by the Cheat, became
bankrupt, and was oblig'd to set other Engines at work, as other Cheats
and Deceivers do, who when one Trick grows stale, and will serve no
longer, are forc'd to try another.
Nor was the _Devil_ to seek in new Measures; for tho' he could not give
out his delusive Trash as he did before, in Pomp and State, with the
Solemnity of a Temple and a Set of Enthusiasts call'd Priests, who plaid
a thousand Tricks to amuse the World, he then had Recourse to his old
_Egyptian_ Method, which indeed was more antient than that of Oracles;
and that was by Magic, Sorcery, Familiars, Witchcraft, and the like.
Of this we find the people of the _South_, that is, of _Arabia_ and
_Chaldea_ were the first, from whence we are told of the Wise Men, that
is to say, Magicians, were call'd _Chaldeans_ and _Southsayers_. Hence
also we find _Ahaziah_ the King of _Israel_ sent to _Baalzebub_ the God
of _Ekron_, to enquire whether he should live or die? This some think
was a kind of an Oracle, tho' others think it was only some over-grown
Magician, who counterfeited himself to be a _Devil_, and obtain'd upon
that Idol-hunting Age to make a Cunning Man of him; and for that Purpose
he got himself made a Priest of _Baalzebub_, the God of _Ekron_, and
gave out Answers in his Name. Thus those merry Fellows in _Egypt_,
_Jannes_ and _Jambres_, are said to mimick _Moses_ and _Aaron_, when
they work'd the miraculous Plagues upon the _Egyptians_; and we have
some Instances in Scripture that support this, such as the Witch of
_Endor_, the King _Manasses_, who dealt with the _Devil_ openly, and had
a Familiar; the Woman mentioned _Acts_ xvi. who had a Spirit of
_Divination_, and who got Money by playing the Oracle; that is,
answering doubtful Questions, _&c._ which Spirit, or _Devil_, the
Apostles cast out.
Now tho' it is true that the old Women in the World have fill'd us with
Tales, some improbable, others impossible; some weak, some ridiculous,
and that this puts a general Discredit upon all the graver Matrons, who
entertain us with Stories better put together, yet 'tis certain, and I
must be allow'd to affirm, that the _Devil_ does not disdain to take
into his Service many Troops of good _Old Women_, and Old Women-Men too,
who he finds 'tis for his Service to keep in constant Pay; to these he
is found frequently to communicate his Mind, and oftentimes we find them
such Proficients, that they know much more than the _Devil_ can teach
them.
How far our antient Friend _Merlin_, or the grave Matron his (Satan's)
most trusty and well-beloved Cousin and Counsellor, Mother _Shipton_,
were commissioned by him to give out their prophetic Oracles, and what
degree of Possession he may have arrived to in them upon their Midnight
Excursions, I will not undertake to prove; but that he might be
acquainted with them both, as well as with several of our modern
Gentlemen, I will not deny neither.
I confess it is not very incongruous with the _Devil_'s Temper, or with
the Nature of his Business, to shift hands; possibly he found that he
had tried the World with Oracular Cheats; that Men began to be forfeited
with them, and grew sick of the Frauds which were so frequently
detected; that it was time to take new Measures, and contrive some new
Trick to Bite the World, that he might not be expos'd to Contempt; or
perhaps he saw the Approach of new Light, which the Christian Doctrine
bringing with it began to spread in the Minds of Men; that it would
out-shine the dim burning _ignis fatuus_, with which he had so long
cheated Mankind, and was afraid to stand it, lest he should be mobb'd
off the Stage by his own People, when their Eyes should begin to open:
That upon this foot he might in Policy withdraw from those old Retreats
the Oracles, and restrain those Responses before they lost all their
Credit; for we find the People seem'd to be at a mighty Loss for some
time, for want of them, so that it made them run up and down to
Conjurers, and _Man-Gossips_, to brazen Heads, speaking Calves, and
innumerable simple Things, so gross that they are scarce fit to be
named, to satisfy the Itch of having their Fortunes told them, as we
call it.
Now as the DEVIL is very seldom blind to his own Interest, and therefore
thought fit to quit his old way of imposing upon the World by his
Oracles, only because he found the World began to be too wise to be
imposed upon that way; so on the other hand, finding there was still a
Possibility to delude the World, tho' by other Instruments, he no sooner
laid down his Oracles, and the solemn Pageantry, magnificent
Appearances, and other Frauds of his Priests and Votaries, in their
Temples and Shrines; but he set up a new Trade, and having, as I have
said, Agents and Instruments sufficient for any Business that he could
have to employ them in, he begins in Corners, as the learned and merry
Dr. _Brown_ says, and exercises his minor Trumperies by way of his own
contriving, lifting a great Number of new-found Operators, such as
Witches, Magicians, Diviners, Figure-casters, Astrologers, and such
inferior Seducers.
Now it is true, as that Doctor says, this was running into Corners, as
if he had been expell'd his more triumphant way of giving Audience in
Form, which for so many Ages had been allow'd him; yet I must add, that
as it seem'd to be the DEVIL's own doing, from a right Judgment of his
Affairs, which had taken a new Turn in the World, upon the shining of
new Lights from the Christian Doctrine, so it must be acknowledged the
_Devil_ made himself amends upon Mankind, by the various Methods he
took, and the Multitude of Instruments he employ'd, and perhaps deluded
Mankind in a more fatal and sensible manner than he did before, tho' not
so universally.
He had indeed before more Pomp and Figure put upon it, and he cheated
Mankind then in a Way of Magnificence and Splendor; but this was not in
above eight or ten principal Places, and not fifty Places in all, public
or private; whereas now fifty thousand of his Angels and Instruments,
visible and invisible, hardly may be said to suffice for one Town or
City; but in short, as his invisible Agents fill the Air, and are at
hand for Mischief on every Emergence, so his visible Fools swarm in
every Village, and you have scarce a Hamlet or a Town but his Emissaries
are at Hand for Business; and which is still worse, in all Places he
finds Business; nay even where Religion is planted and seems to
flourish; yet he keeps his Ground and pushes his Interest according to
what has been said elsewhere upon the same Subject, that wherever
Religion plants, the Devil plants close by it.
Nor, as I say, does he fail of Success, Delusion spreads like a Plague,
and the Devil is sure of Votaries; like a true Mountebank, he can always
bring a Croud about his Stage, and that some Times faster than other
People.
What I observe upon this Subject is this, that the World is at a strange
Loss for want of the Devil; if it was not so, what's the Reason, that
upon the silencing the Oracles, and Religion telling them that Miracles
are ceas'd, and that God has done speaking by Prophets, they never
enquire whether Heaven has established any other or new Way of
Revelation, but away they ran with their Doubts and Difficulties to
these Dreamers of Dreams, Tellers of Fortunes, and personal Oracles to
be resolv'd; as if when they acknowledge the Devil is dumb, these could
speak; and as if the wicked Spirit could do more than the Good, the
_Diabolical_ more than the _Divine_, or that Heaven having taken away
the DEVIL's Voice, had furnish'd him with an Equivalent, by allowing
Scolds, Termagants, and old weak and superannuated Wretches to speak for
him; for these are the People we go to now in our Doubts and
Emergencies.
While this Blindness continues among us, 'tis Nonsense to say that
Oracles are silenced, or the _Devil_ is dumb, for the _Devil_ gives
Audience still by his Deputies; only as _Jeroboam_ made Priests of the
meanest of the People, so he is grown a little humble, and makes use of
meaner Instruments than he did before; for whereas the Priests of
_Apollo_, and of _Jupiter_, were splendid in their Appearance, of grave
and venerable Aspect, and sometimes of no mean Quality; now he makes use
of Scoundrels and Rabble, Beggars and Vagabonds, old Hags, superannuated
miserable Hermits, Gypsies and Strollers, the Pictures of Envy and ill
Luck.
Either the _Devil_ is grown an ill Master, and gives but mean Wages,
that he can get no better Servants; or else Common Sense is grown very
low priz'd and contemptible; that such as these are fit Tools to
continue the Succession of Fraud, and carry on the _Devil_'s Interest in
the World; for were not the Passions and Temper of Mankind deeply
pre-engaged in favour of this dark Prince, we could never suffer our
selves to accept of his Favours by the Hands of such contemptible Agents
as these! How do we receive his Oracles from an old Witch of particular
Eminence, and who we believe to be more than ordinarily inspir'd from
Hell; I say, we receive the Oracle with Reverence; that is to say, with
a kind of Horror, with regard to the Black Prince it comes from, and at
the same time turn our Faces away from the Wretch that mumbles out the
Answers, lest she should cast an _Evil Eye_, as we call it, upon us, and
put a Devil into us when she plays the _Devil_ before us? How do we
listen to the Cant of those worst of Vagabonds the _Gypsies_, when at
the same time we watch our Hedges and Hen-roosts for fear of their
thieving?
Either the DEVIL uses us more like Fools than he did our Ancestors, or
we really are worse Fools than those Ages produced, for they were never
deluded by such low-priz'd _Devils_ as we are; by such despicable
_Bridewell_ DEVILS, that are fitter for a Whipping-post than an Altar,
and instead of being receiv'd as the Voice of an Oracle, should be sent
to the House of Correction for Pick-pockets.
Nor is this accidental, and here and there one of these Wretches to be
seen, but in short, if it has been in other Nations as it is with us, I
do not see that the DEVIL was able to get any better People into his
Pay, or at least very rarely: Where have we seen any thing above a
Tinker turn Wizard? and where have we had a Witch of Quality among us,
Mother _Je------gs_ excepted? and if she had not been more of something
else than a Witch, 'twas thought she had never got so much Money by her
Profession.
Magicians, Southsayers, Devil-raisers, and such People, we have heard
much of, but seldom above the Degree of the meanest of the mean People,
the lowest of the lowest Rank: Indeed the Word _Wise Men_, which the
_Devil_ wou'd fain have had his Agents honour'd with, was used a while
in _Egypt_, and in _Persia_, among the _Chaldeans_, but it continued but
a little while, and never reach'd so far Northward as our Country; nor,
however the _Devil_ has managed it, have many of our great Men, who have
been most acquainted with him, ever been able to acquire the Title of
Wise Men.
I have heard that in older Times, I suppose in good Queen _Bess_'s Days,
or beyond, (for little is to be said here for any thing on this Side of
her time) there were some Counsellors and Statesmen who merited the
Character of _wise_, in the best Sense; that is to say, _good_, and
_wise_, as they stand in Conjunction; but as to what has happen'd since
that, or, as we may call it, from that Queen's Funeral to the late
Revolution, I have little to say; but I'll tell you what honest _Andrew
Marvel_ said of those Times, and by that you may, if you please, make
your Calculation or let it alone, 'tis all one.
"To see a white Staff-maker, a Beggar, a Lord,
"And scarce _a wise Man_ at a long Council-Board.
But I may be told this relates to wise Men in another Constitution, or
wise Men as they are opposed to Fools; whereas we are talking of them
now under another Class, namely, as _Wisemen_ or Magicians,
South-sayers, _&c._ such as were in former Times call'd by that Name.
But to this I answer, that take them in which Sense you please, it may
be the same; for if I were to ask the _Devil_ the Character of the best
States-man he had employ'd among us for many Years past, I am apt to
think that tho' Oracles are ceased, he would honestly, according to the
old ambiguous Way, when I ask'd if they were Christians, answer they
were (his) _Privy-Counsellors_.
It is but a little while ago, that I happen'd (in Conversation) to meet
with a long List of the Magistrates of that Age, in a neighbouring
Country, that is to say, the Men of Fame among them; and it was a very
diverting Thing to see the Judgment which was pass'd upon them among a
great deal of good Company; it is not for me to tell you how many white
Staves, Golden Keys, Mareshals Batoons, Cordons Blue, Gordon Rouge and
Gordon Blanc, there were among them, or by what Titles, as Dukes,
Counts, Marquis, Abbot, Bishop, or Justice they were to be
distinguish'd; but the marginal Notes I found upon most of them were
(being mark'd with an Asterism) as follows.
Such a Duke, such eminent Offices added to his Titles (* in the Margin)
------ _No Saint_.
Such an Arch---- with the Title of Noble added, ------ _No Archangel_.
Such an eminent Statesman and prime Minister, ------ _No Witch_.
Such a Ribbon with a Set of great Letters added, ------ _No Conjurer_.
It presently occurr'd to me that tho' Oracles were ceased, and we had
now no more double _Entendre_ in such a Degree as before, yet that
ambiguous Answers were not at an End; and that whether those Negatives
were meant so by the Writers, or not, 'twas certain Custom led the
Readers to conclude them to be Satyrs, that they were to be rung
backwards like the Bells when the Town's on fire; tho' in short, I durst
not read them backward any where, but as speaking of foreign People, for
fear of raising the _Devil_ I am talking of.
But to return to the Subject; to such mean Things is the DEVIL now
reduc'd in his ordinary Way of carrying on his Business in the World,
that his Oracles are deliver'd now by the Bellmen 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 singl'd them out by their Deformity, or that
there was something particular requir'd in their Aspect to qualify them
for their Employment; whence it is become proverbial, when our Looks are
very dismal and frightful, to say, I look like a Witch, or in other
Cases to say, as ugly as a Witch; in another Case to look as envious as
a Witch; now whether there is any Thing particularly requir'd in the
Looks of the DEVIL's modern Agents, which is assisting in the Discharge
of their Offices, and which make their Answers appear more solemn, this
the _Devil_ has not yet reveal'd, at least not to me; and therefore why
it is that he singles out such Creatures as are fit only to fright the
People that come to them with their Enquiries, I do not take upon me to
determine.
Perhaps it is necessary they should be thus extraordinary in their
Aspect, that they might strike an Awe into the Minds of their Votaries,
as if they were Satan's true and real Representatives; and that the said
Votaries may think when they speak to the Witches they are really
talking to the _Devil_; or perhaps 'tis necessary to the Witches
themselves, that they should be so exquisitely ugly, that they might not
be surpriz'd at whatever Figure the Devil makes when he first appears to
them, being certain they can see nothing uglier than themselves.
Some are of the Opinion that the Communication with the _Devil_, or
between the Devil and those Creatures his Agents, has something
assimulating in it, and that if they were tolerable before, they are,
_ipso facto_, turn'd into DEVILS by talking with him; I will not say but
that a Tremor in the Limbs, a Horror in the Aspect, and a surprizing
Stare in the Eyes may seize upon some of them when they really see the
DEVIL, and that the frequent Repetition may make those Distortions,
which we so constantly see in their Faces becomes natural to them; by
which if it does not continue always upon the Countenance, they can at
least, _like the Posture-Masters_, cast themselves into such Figures and
frightful Dislocations of the Lines and Features in their Faces, and so
assume a Devil's Face suitable to the Occasion, or as may serve the turn
for which they take it up, and as often as they have any use for it.
But be it which of these the Enquirer pleases, 'tis all one to the Case
in Hand; this is certain, that such deform'd _Devil-like_ Creatures,
most of those we call _Hags_ and _Witches_, are in their Shapes and
Aspects, and that they give out their Sentences and frightful Messages
with an Air of Revenge for some Injury receiv'd; for Witches are fam'd
chiefly for doing Mischief.
It seems the _Devil_ has always pick'd out the most ugly and frightful
old Women to do his Business; _Mother Shipton_, our famous _English_
Witch or Prophetess, is very much wrong'd in her Picture, if she was not
of the most terrible Aspect imaginable; and if it be true that _Merlin_,
the famous _Welch_ Fortune-Teller, was a frightful Figure, it will seem
the more rational to believe, if we credit another Story, (_viz._) that
he was begotten by the Devil himself, of which I shall speak by it self:
But to go back to the Devil's Instruments being so ugly; it may be
observed, I say, that the Devil has always dealt in such sort of Cattle;
the _Sybils_, of whom so many strange prophetic Things are recorded,
whether true or no is not to the Question, are (if the _Italian_
Painters may have any Credit given them) all represented as very old
Women; and as if Ugliness were a Beauty to old Age, they seem to paint
them out as ugly and frightful as (not they, the Painters) but even as
the Devil himself could make them; not that I believe there are any
original Pictures of them really extant; but it is not unlikely that the
_Italians_ might have some traditional Knowledge of them, or some
remaining Notions of them, or particularly that antient _Sybil_ named
_Anus_, who sold the fatal Book to _Tarquin_; 'tis said of her that
_Tarquin_ supposed she doated with Age.
I had Thoughts indeed here to have entred into a learned Disquisition of
the Excellency of old Women in all diabolical Operations, and
particularly of the Necessity of having recourse to them for _Satan_'s
more exquisite Administration, which also may serve to solve the great
Difficulty in the natural Philosophy of Hell; namely, why it comes to
pass that the Devil is oblig'd for want of old Women, properly so
call'd, to turn so many antient Fathers, grave Counsellors both of Law
and State, and especially Civilians or Doctors of the Law into old
Women, and how the extraordinary Operation is perform'd; but this, as a
Thing of great Consequence in Satan's Management of humane Affairs, and
particularly as it may lead us into the necessary History, as well as
Characters of some of the most eminent of these Sects among us, I have
purposely reserv'd for a Work by it self, to be published, if _Satan
hinders not_, in fifteen Volumes in Folio, wherein I shall in the first
Place define in the most exact Manner possible, what is to be understood
by a _Male old Woman_, of what heterogeneous Kind they are produced,
give you the monstrous Anatomy of the Parts, and especially those of the
Head, which being fill'd with innumerable Globules of a sublime Nature,
and which being of a fine Contexture without, but particularly hollow in
the Cavity, defines most philosophically that antient paradoxical
Saying, (_viz._) _being full of Emptiness_, and makes it very consistent
with Nature and common Sense.
I shall likewise spend some Time, _and it must be Labour too, I assure
you, when 'tis done_, in determining whether this new Species of
Wonderfuls are not deriv'd from that famous _old Woman Merlin_, which I
prove to be very reasonable for us to suppose, because of the many
several judicious Authors, who affirm the said _Merlin_, as I hinted
before, to have been begotten by the _Devil_.
As to the deriving his Gift of Prophesy from the Devil, by that
pretended Generation, I shall omit that Part, because, as I have all
along insisted upon it, that Satan himself has no prophetic or
predicting Powers of his own, it is not very clear to me that he could
convey it to his Posterity, _nil dat quod not habet_.
However, in deriving this so much magnified Prophet in a right Line 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 no new Thing for a Child to
be like the Father; but all these weighty Things I adjourn for the
present, and proceed to the Affair in Hand, namely, the several Branches
of the _Devil_'s Management since his quitting his Temples and Oracles.
CHAP. VI.
_Of the extraordinary Appearance of the_ Devil, _and particularly of the
Cloven-Foot._
Some People would fain have us treat this Tale of the _Devil_'s
appearing with a Cloven-Foot with more Solemnity than I believe the
_Devil_ himself does; for Satan, who knows how much of a Cheat it is,
must certainly ridicule it, in his own Thoughts, to the last Degree; but
as he is glad of any Way to hoodwink the Understandings, and bubble the
weak Part of the World; so if he sees Men willing to take every
Scarecrow for a Devil, it is not his Business to undeceive them; on the
other Hand, he finds it his Interest to foster the Cheat, and serve
himself of the Consequence: Nor could I doubt but the Devil, if any
Mirth be allow'd him, often laughs at the many frightful Shapes and
Figures we dress him up in, and especially to see how willing we are
first to paint him as black, and make him appear as ugly as we can, and
then stare and start at the Spectrum of our own making.
The Truth is, that among all the Horribles that we dress up Satan in, I
cannot but think we shew the least of Invention in this of a Goat, or a
Thing with a Goat's Foot, of all the rest; for tho' a Goat is a Creature
made use of by our Saviour in the Allegory of the Day of Judgment, and
is said there to represent the wicked rejected Party, yet it seems to be
only on Account of their Similitude to the Sheep, and so to represent
the just Fate of Hypocrisy and Hypocrites, and in particular to form the
necessary Antithesis in the Story; for else, _our whimsical Fancies
excepted_, a Sheep or a Lamb has a Cloven-Foot as well as a Goat; nay,
if the Scripture be of any Value in the Case, 'tis to the _Devil_'s
Advantage, for the dividing the Hoof was the distinguishing Character or
Mark of a clean Beast, and how the Devil can be brought into that Number
is pretty hard to say.
One would have thought if we had intended to have given a just Figure of
the _Devil_, it would have been more apposite to have rank'd him among
the Cat-kind, and given him a Foot (if he is to be known by his Foot)
like a Lion, or like a _red Dragon_, being the same Creatures which he
is represented by in the Text, and so his Claws would have had some
Terror in them as well as his Teeth.
But neither is the _Goat_ a true Representative of the Devil at all, for
we do not rank the Goats among the Subtle or cunning Part of the Brutes;
he is counted a fierce Creature indeed of his Kind, tho' nothing like
those other abovemention'd; and he is emblematically used to represent a
lustful Temper, but even that Part does not fully serve to describe the
Devil, whose Operation lies principally another Way.
Besides it is not the _Goat_ himself that is made use of, 'tis the
Cloven-Hoof only, and that so particularly, that the _Cloven Foot_ of a
Ram or a Swine, or any other Creature, may serve as well as that of a
_Goat_, only that History gives us some Cause to call it the _Goat_'s
_Foot_.
In the next Place 'tis understood by us not as a bare Token to know
_Satan_ by, but as if it were a Brand upon him, and that like the Mark
God put upon _Cain_, it was given him for a Punishment, so that he
cannot get leave to appear without it, nay cannot conceal it whatever
other Dress or Disguise he may put on; and as if it was to make him as
ridiculous as possible, they will have it be, that whenever _Satan_ has
Occasion to dress himself in any humane Shape, be it of what Degree
soever, from the King to the Beggar, be it of a fine Lady or of an _old
Woman_, (the Latter it seems he oftenest assumes) yet still he not only
must have this _Cloven-Foot_ about him, but he is oblig'd to shew it
too; nay, they will not allow him any Dress, whether it be a Prince's
Robes, a Lord Cha---r's Gown, or a Lady's Hoop and long Petticoats, but
the Cloven-Foot must be shew'd from under them; they will not so much as
allow him an artificial _Shoe_ or a _Jack-Boot_, as we often see
contriv'd to conceal a _Club-Foot_ or a _Wooden-Leg_; but that the
_Devil_ may be known wherever he goes, he is bound to shew his Foot;
they might as well oblige him to set a Bill upon his Cap, as Folks do
upon a House to be let, and have it written in capital Letters, _I am
the_ DEVIL.
It must be confess'd this is very particular, and would be very hard
upon the _Devil_, if it had not another Article in it, which is some
Advantage to him, and that is, that _the Fact is not true_; but the
Belief of this is so universal, that all the World runs away with it; by
which Mistake the good People miss the _Devil_ many times where they
look for him, and meet him as often where they did not expect him, and
when for want of this Cloven-Foot they do not know him.
Upon this very Account I have sometimes thought, not that this has been
put upon him by meer Fancy, and the Cheat of a heavy Imagination,
propagated by Fable and Chymny-Corner Divinity, but that it has been a
Contrivance of his own; and that, in short, the Devil rais'd this
Scandal upon himself, that he might keep his Disguise the better, and
might go a Visiting among his Friends without being known; for were it
really so, that he could go no where without this particular Brand of
Infamy, he could not come into Company, could not dine with my Lord
Mayor, nor drink Tea with the Ladies, could not go to the Drawing-R----
at ------, could not have gone to _Fountainbleau_ to the King of
_France_'s Wedding, or to the Diet of _Poland_, to prevent the Grandees
there coming to an Agreement; nay, _which would be still worse than
all_, he could not go to the Masquerade, nor to any of our Balls; the
Reason is plain, he would be always discover'd, expos'd and forc'd to
leave the good Company, or which would be as bad, the Company would all
cry out the _Devil_ and run out of the Room as if they were frighted;
nor could all the Help of Invention do him any Service, no Dress he
could put on would cover him; not all our Friends at _Tavistock Corner_
could furnish him with a Habit that would disguise or conceal him, this
unhappy Foot would spoil it all: Now this would be a great a Loss to
him, that I question whether he could carry on any of his most important
Affairs in the World without it; for tho' he has access to Mankind in
his compleat Disguise, I mean that of his Invisibility, yet the Learned
very much agree in this, that his corporal Presence in the World is
absolutely necessary upon many Occasions, to support his Interest and
keep up his Correspondences, and particularly to encourage his Friends
when Numbers are requisite to carry on his Affairs; but this Part I
shall have Occasion to speak of again, when I come to consider him as a
Gentleman of Business in his Locality, and under the Head of visible
Apparition; but I return to the _Foot_.
As I have thus suggested that the Devil himself has politically spread
about this Notion concerning his appearing with _a Cloven-Foot_, so I
doubt not that he has thought it for his Purpose to paint this
_Cloven-Foot_ so lively in the Imaginations of many of our People, and
especially of those clear sighted Folks who see the _Devil_ when he is
not to be seen, that they would make no Scruple to say, nay and to make
Affidavit 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 advance the rather because 'tis very much for his Interest to do
this, for if we had not many Witnesses, _viva voce_, to testify it, we
should have had some obstinate Fellows always among us, who would have
denied the Fact, or at least have spoken doubtfully of it, and so have
rais'd Disputes and Objections against it, as impossible, or at least as
improbable; buzzing one ridiculous Notion or other into our Ears, as if
the Devil was not so black as he was painted, that he had no more a
_Cloven-Foot_ than a Pope, whose Apostolical Toes have so often been
reverentially kiss'd by Kings and Emperors: but now alas this Part is
out of the Question, not the Man in the Moon, not the Groaning-Board,
not the speaking of Fryar _Bacon_'s Brazen-Head, not the Inspiration of
_Mother Shipton_, or the Miracles of Dr. _Faustus_, Things as certain as
Death and Taxes, can be more firmly believ'd: The Devil not have a
Cloven-Foot! I doubt not but I could, in a short Time, bring you a
thousand old Women together, that would as soon believe there was no
Devil at all; nay, they will tell you, he could not be a Devil without
it, any more than he could come into the Room, and the Candles not burn
blue, or go out and not leave a smell of Brimstone behind him.
Since then the Certainty of the Thing is so well establish'd, and there
are so many good and substantial Witnesses ready to testify that he has
a Cloven-Foot, and that they have seen it too; nay, and that we have
Antiquity on our Side, for we have this Truth confirm'd by the Testimony
of many Ages; why should we doubt it any longer? we can prove that many
of our Ancestors have been of this Opinion, and divers learn'd Authors
have left it upon Record, as particularly that learned Familiarist
Mother _Hazel_, whose Writings are to be found in MS. in the famous
Library at _Pye-Corner_; also the admir'd _Joan_ of _Amesbury_, the
History of the _Lancashire_ Witches, and the Reverend Exorcist of the
_Devil_'s of _London_, whose History is extant among us to this Day; all
these and many more may be quoted, and their Writings referr'd to for
the Confirmation of the Antiquity of this Truth; but there seems to be
no Occasion for farther Evidence, 'tis enough, _Satan_ himself, if he
did not raise the Report, yet tacitly owns the Fact, at least he appears
willing to have it believ'd, and be receiv'd as a general Truth for the
Reasons above.
But besides all this, and as much a Jest as some unbelieving People
would have this Story pass for, who knows but that if _Satan_ is
empower'd to assume any Shape or Body, and to appear to us visibly, as
if really so shap'd; I say, who knows but he may, by the same Authority,
be allow'd to assume the Addition of the Cloven-Foot, or two or four
Cloven-Feet, if he pleased? and why not a _Cloven-Foot_ as well as any
other Foot, if he thinks fit? For if the _Devil_ can assume a Shape, and
can appear to Mankind in a visible Form, it may, I doubt not, with as
good Authority be advanc'd that he is left at Liberty to assume what
Shape he pleases, and to choose _what Case of Flesh and Blood he'll
please to wear_, whether real or imaginary; and if this Liberty be
allow'd him, it is an admirable Disguise for him to come generally with
his _Cloven-Foot_, that when he finds it for his Purpose, on special
Occasions to come without it, as I said above, he may not be suspected;
_but take this with you as you go_, that all this is upon a Supposition
that the _Devil_ can assume a visible Shape, and make a real Appearance,
which however I do not yet think fit to grant or deny.
Certain it is, the first People who bestow'd a _Cloven-Foot_ upon the
Devil, were not so despicable as you may imagine, but were real
Favourites of Heaven; for did not _Aaron_ set up the _Devil_ of a Calf
in the Congregation, and set the People a dancing about it for a God?
Upon which Occasion, Expositors tell us, that particular Command was
given, _Levit._ xvii. 7. _They shall no more offer their Sacrifices
unto_ Devils, _after whom they have gone a Whoring_; likewise King
_Jeroboam_ set up the two Calves, one at _Dan_ and the other at
_Bethel_, and we find them charg'd afterwards with setting up the
Worship of _Devils_ instead of the Worship of _God_.
After this we find some Nations actually sacrificed to the _Devil_ in
the Form of a Ram, and others of a Goat; from which, and that above of
the Calves at _Horeb_, I doubt not the Story of the _Cloven-Foot_ first
derived; and it is plain that the Worship of that Calf at _Horeb_ is
meant in the Scripture quoted above, _Levit._ xvii. 7. _Thou shalt no
more offer Sacrifices unto Devils_: The Original is _Seghnirim_; that
is, rough and hairy _Goats_ or _Calves_; and some think also in this
Shape the _Devil_ most ordinarily appeared to the _Egyptians_ and
_Arabians_, from whence it was derived.
Also in the old Writings of the _Egyptians_, I mean their hieroglyphick
Writing, before the Use of Letters was known, we are told this was the
Mark that he was known by; and the Figure of a _Goat_ was the
_Hieroglyphick_ of the _Devil_; some will affirm that the _Devil_ was
particularly pleased to be so represented; how they came by their
Information, and whether they had it from his own Mouth or not, Authors
have not yet determined.
But be this as it will, I do not see that _Satan_ could have been at a
Loss for some extraordinary Figure to have banter'd Mankind with, tho'
this had not been thought of; but thinking of the _Cloven-Foot_ first,
and the Matter being indifferent, this took place, and easily rooted it
self in the bewildred Fancy of the People, and now 'tis riveted too fast
for the _Devil_ himself to remove it if he was disposed to try; but as I
said above, 'tis none of his Business to solve Doubts or remove
Difficulties out of our Heads, but to perplex us with more, as much as
he can.
Some People carry this Matter a great deal higher still, and will have
the _Cloven-Foot_ be like the great Stone which the _Brasilian
Conjurers_ used to solve all difficult Questions upon, after having used
a great many monstrous and barbarous Gestures and Distortions of their
Bodies, and cut certain Marks or magical Figures upon the Stone; so, _I
say_, they will have this Cloven-Foot be a kind of a Conjuring-Stone,
and tell us, that in former Times, when _Satan_ drove a greater Trade
with Mankind in publick, than he has done of late, he gave this
_Cloven-Foot_ as a Token to his particular Favourites to work Wonders
with, and to conjure by, and that Witches, Fairies, Hobgoblins, and such
Things, of which the Antients had several Kinds, at least in their
Imagination, had all a _Goat's Leg_ with a _Cloven-Foot_ to put on upon
extraordinary Occasions; it seems this Method is of late grown out of
Practice, and so like the melting of Marble and the painting of Glass,
'tis laid aside among the various useful Arts which History tells us are
lost to the World; what may be practised in the Fairy World, if such a
Place there be, we can give no particular Account at present.
But neither is this all, for other wou'd-be-wise People take upon them
to make farther and more considerable Improvements upon this Doctrine of
the _Cloven-Foot_, and treat it as a most significant Instrument of
Satan's private Operation, and that as _Joseph_ is said to _Divine_,
that is to say, to _conjure_ by his Golden Cup which 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 Instrumentality of
the _Cloven-Foot_; accordingly it had a Kind of an hellish Inspiration
in it, and a separate and magical Power by which he wrought his infernal
Miracles; that the Cloven-Foot had a superior Signification, and was not
only emblematic and significative of the Conduct of Men, but really
guided their Conduct in the most important Affairs of Life; and that the
Agents the Devil employ'd to influence Mankind, and to delude them and
draw them into all the Snares and Traps that he lays continually for
their Destruction, were equipp'd with this Foot in Aid of their other
Powers for Mischief.
Here they read us learn'd Lectures upon the sovereign Operations which
the Devil is at present Master of, in the Government of human Affairs;
and how the Cloven-Foot is an Emblem of the true _double Entendre_ or
divided Aspect, which the great Men of the World generally act with, and
by which all their Affairs are directed; from whence it comes to pass
that there is no such Thing as a single hearted Integrity, or an
upright Meaning to be found in the World; that Mankind, worse than the
ravenous Brutes, preys upon his own Kind, and devours them by all the
laudable Methods of Flattery, Whyne, Cheat and Treachery; _Crocodile
like_, weeping over those it will devour, destroying those it smiles
upon, and, in a Word, devours its own Kind, which the very Beasts
refuse, and that by all the Ways of Fraud and Allurement that _Hell_ can
invent; holding out a cloven divided Hoof, or Hand, pretending to save,
when the very Pretence is made use of to ensnare and destroy.
Thus the divided Hoof is the Representative of a divided double Tongue,
and Heart, an Emblem of the most exquisite Hypocrisy, the most fawning
and fatally deceiving Flattery; and here they give us very diverting
Histories, tho' tragical in themselves, of the manner which some of the
_Devil_'s inspired Agents have manag'd themselves under the especial
Influence of the _Cloven-Foot_; how they have made War under the
Pretence of Peace, murther'd Garrisons under the most sacred
Capitulations, massacred innocent Multitudes after Surrenders to Mercy.
Again, they tell us the _Cloven-Foot_ has been made use of in all
Treasons, Plots, Assassinations, and secret as well as open Murthers and
Rebellions. Thus _Joab_ under the Treason of an Embrace, shew'd how
dexterously he could manage the _Cloven-Foot_, and struck _Abner_ under
the fifth Rib: Thus _David_ play'd the Cloven-Foot upon poor _Uriah_,
when he had a Mind to lie with his Wife: Thus _Brutus_ play'd it upon
_Cæsar_; and to come nearer home, we have had a great many retrograde
Motions in this Country by this magical Implement the _Foot_; Such as
that of the Earl of _Essex_'s Fate, beheading the Queen of _Scots_, and
diverse others in Queen _Elizabeth_'s Time: That of the Earl of
_Shrewsbury_ and Sir _Thomas Overbury_, _Gondamor_ and Sir _Walter
Raleigh_, and many others in King _James_ the I.'s Time; in all which,
if the Cloven-Foot had not been dexterously manag'd, those Murthers had
not been so dexterously manag'd, or the Murtherers have so well been
skreen'd from Justice; for which and the imprecated Justice of Heaven
unappeased, some have thought the innocent Branches of the Royal House
of _Stuart_ did not fare the better in the Ages which follow'd.
It must be confess'd, the Cloven-Foot was in its full Exercise in the
next Reign, and the Generation that rose up immediately after them,
arrived to the most exquisite Skill for Management of it; here they
fasted and pray'd, there they plunder'd and murther'd; here they rais'd
War for the King, and there they fought against him, cutting Throats for
_God's Sake_, and deposing both King and kingly Government according to
Law.
Nor was the _Cloven-Foot_ unemployed on all Sides, for 'tis the main
Excellency of this Instrument of Hell, that it acts on every Side, it is
its denominating Quality, and is for that Reason call'd a cloven or
divided Hoof.
This mutilated Apparition has been so publick in other Countries too,
that it seems to convince us the Devil is not confin'd to _England_
only, but that as his Empire extended to all the sublunary World, so he
gives them all Room to see he is qualified to manage them his own Way.
What abundant Use did that Prince of Dissemblers, _Charles_ V. make of
this Foot? 'twas by the Help of this Apparition of the Foot that he
baited his Hook with the City of _Milan_, and tickled _Francis_ I. of
_France_ so well with it, that when he pass'd thro' _France_, and was in
that King's Power, he let him go, and never get the Bait off of the Hook
neither; it Seems the _Foot_ was not on King _Francis_'s Side at that
Time.
How cruelly did _Philip_ II. of _Spain_ manage this Foot in the Murther
of the Nobility of the _Spanish Netherlands_, the Assassination of the
Prince of _Orange_, and at last: in that of his own Son _Don Carlos_
Infant of _Spain_? and yet such was the _Devil_'s Craft, and so nicely
did he bestir his _Cloven-Hoof_, that this Monarch died consolated (tho'
impenitent) in the Arms of the Church, and with the Benediction of the
Clergy too, _those second best Managers of the said Hoof in the World_.
I must acknowledge, I agree with this Opinion thus far; namely, that the
Devil acting by this Cloven-Foot, as a Machine, has done great Things in
the World for the propagating his dark Empire among us; and History is
full of Examples, besides the little low priz'd Things done among us;
for we are come to such a Kind of Degeneracy in Folly, that we have even
dishonour'd the _Devil_, and put this glorious Engine the Cloven-Foot to
such mean Uses, that the _Devil_ himself seems to be asham'd of us.
But to return a little to foreign History, besides what has been
mention'd above, we find flaming Examples of most glorious Mischief done
by this Weapon, when put into the Hands of Kings and Men of Fame in the
World: How many Games have the Kings of _France_ play'd with this
_Cloven-Foot_, and that within a few Years of one another? First,
_Charles_ IX. play'd the _Cloven-Foot_ upon _Gaspar Coligni_ Admiral of
_France_, when he caress'd him, complimented him, invited him to
_Paris_, to the Wedding of the King of _Navarre_, call'd him Father,
kiss'd him, and when he was wounded sent his own Surgeons to take Care
of him, and yet three Days after order'd him to be assassinated and
murther'd, used with a thousand Indignities, and at last thrown out of
the Window into the Street to be insulted by the Rabble?
Did not _Henry_ III. in the same Country, play the Cloven-Foot upon the
Duke of _Guise_, when he call'd him to his Council, and caus'd him to be
murther'd as he went in at the Door? The _Guises_ again plaid the same
Game back upon the King, when they sent out a _Jacobin_ Friar to
assassinate him in his Tent as he lay at the Siege of _Paris_.
In a Word, this Opera of the _Cloven-Foot_ has been acted all over the
Christian World, ever since _Judas_ betray'd the Son of God with a Kiss;
nay, our Saviour says expresly of him, _One of you is a Devil_; and the
sacred Text says in another Place, _The Devil enter'd into Judas_.
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 into all the
Courts of _Europe_, and with what most accurate Hypocrisy _Satan_ has
made use of it upon many Occasions, and with what Success; but as in the
elaborate Work of which I just now gave you a Specimen I design one
whole Volume upon this Subject, and which I shall call, _The compleat
History_ of the _Cloven-Foot_; I say, for that Reason, and diverse
others, I shall say but very little more to it in this Place.
It remains to tell you, that this merry Story of the _Cloven-Foot_ is
very essential to the History which I am now writing, as it has been all
along the great Emblem of the _Devil_'s Government in the World, and by
which all his most considerable Engagements have been answer'd and
executed; for as he is said not to be able to conceal this Foot, but
that he carries it always with him, it imports most plainly, that the
_Devil_ would be no _Devil_ if he was not a Dissembler, a Deceiver, and
carried a _double Entendre_ in all he does or says; that he cannot but
say one Thing and mean another, promise one Thing and do another, engage
and not perform, declare and not intend, and act like a true _Devil_ as
he is, with a Countenance that is no Index of his Heart.
I might indeed go back to Originals, and derive this _Cloven-Foot_ from
Satan's primitive State as a Cherubim or a celestial Being, which
Cherubims, as _Moses_ is said to have seen them about the Throne of God
in Mount _Sinai_, and as the same _Moses_, from the Original represented
them afterwards covering 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 whatever
_Satan_ had of heavenly Beauty before the Fall, he lost it all when he
commenc'd _Devil_, so to fetch his Original so far up would be only to
say, that he retain'd nothing but the _Cloven-Foot_, and that all the
rest of him was alter'd and deform'd, become frightful and horrible as
the DEVIL; but his Cloven-Foot, as we now understand it, is rather
mystical and emblematick, and describes him only as the Fountain of
Mischief and Treason, and the Prince of Hypocrites, and as such we are
now to speak of him.
'Tis from this Original all the hypocritic World copy, he wears the Foot
on their Account, and from this Model they act: This made our blessed
Lord tell them, _the Works of your Father ye will do_, meaning the
_Devil_, as he had express'd it just before.
Nor does he deny the Use of the _Foot_ to the meaner Class of his
Disciples in the World, but decently equips them all upon every
Occasion with a needful Proportion of Hypocrisy and Deceit; that they
may hand on the Power of promiscuous Fraud thro' all his temporal
Dominions, and wear _the Foot_ always about them as a Badge of their
profess'd Share in whatever is done by that Means.
Thus every Dissembler, every false Friend, every secret Cheat, every
Bearskin-Jobber has a _Cloven-Foot_, and so far hands on the Devil's
Interest by the same powerful Agency of Art, as the _Devil_ himself uses
to act when he appears in Person, or would act if he was just now upon
the Spot; for this _Foot_ is a Machine which is to be wound up and wound
down, as the Cause it appears for requires; and there are Agents and
Engineers to act in it by Directions of _Satan_ (the grand Engineer) who
lies still in his Retirement, only issuing out his Orders as he sees
convenient.
Again, every Class, every Trade, every Shopkeeper, every Pedlar, nay,
that meanest of Tradesmen, that Church Pedlar the Pope, has a
Cloven-Foot, with which he _Paw wa's_ upon the World, wishes them all
well, and at the same time cheats them; wishes them all fed, and at the
same time starves them; wishes them all in Heaven, and at the same time
marches before them directly to the Devil, _alamode de Cloven-Foot_.
Nay, the very Bench, the everliving Foundation of Justice in the World;
how often has it been made the Tool of Violence, the Refuge of
Oppression, the Seat of Bribery and Corruption, by this Monster in
Masquerade, and that every where (our own Country always excepted)? They
had much better wipe out the Picture of justice blinded, and having the
Sword and Scales in her Hand, which in foreign Countries is generally
painted over the Seat of those who sit to do Justice, and place instead
thereof a naked unarm'd Cloven-Hoof, a proper Emblem of that Spirit that
Influences the World, and of the Justice we often see administred among
them; human Imagination cannot form an Idea more suitable, nor the
_Devil_ propose an Engine more or better qualified for an Operation of
Justice, by the Influence of Bribery and Corruption; it is this
magnipotent Instrument in the Hands of the Devil, which under the
closest Disguise agitates every Passion, bribes every Affection,
blackens every Virtue, gives a double Face to Words and Actions, and to
all Persons who have any Concern in them, and in a Word, makes us all
Devils to one another.
Indeed the Devil has taken but a dark Emblem to be distinguish'd by, for
this of a Goat was said to be a Creature hated by Mankind from the
beginning, and that there is a natural Antipathy in Mankind against
them: Hence the Scape Goat was to bear the Sins of the People, and to go
into the Wilderness with all that Burthen upon him.
But we have a Saying among us, in Defence of which we must enquire into
the proper Sphere of Action which may be assigned to this Cloven-Foot,
as hitherto described: The Proverb is this; _Every_ Devil _has not a
Cloven-Foot_. This Proverb, instead of giving us some more favourable
Thoughts of the _Devil_, confirms what I have said already, that the
_Devil_ rais'd this Scandal upon himself; I mean, the Report that he
cannot conceal or disguise his Devil's Foot, or Hoof, but that it must
appear, under whatever Habit he shews himself; and the Reason I gave
holds good still, _namely_, that he may be more effectually conceal'd
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 Infamy, _take it as you will_; and that he was bound also to
shew it upon all Occasions, it would be natural to conclude, that
whatever frightful Appearances might be seen in the World, if the
Cloven-Foot did not also appear, we had no Occasion to look for the
_Devil_, or so much as to think of him, much less to apprehend he was
near us; and as this might be a Mistake, and that the _Devil_ might be
there while we thought our selves so secure, it might on many Occasions
be a Mistake of very ill Consequence, and in particular, as it would
give the _Devil_ room to act in the Dark, and not be discover'd, where
it might be most needful to know him.
From this short Hint, thus repeated, I draw a new Thesis, namely, That
_Devil_ is most dangerous that has no Cloven-Foot; or, if you will have
it in Words more to the common Understanding, the _Devil_ seems to be
most dangerous when he goes without his Cloven-Foot.
And here a learned Speculation offers it self to our Debate, and which
indeed I ought to call a Council of Casuists, and Men learned in the
_Devil_'s Politicks, to determine:
Whether is most hurtful to the World, the _Devil_ walking about without
his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without the _Devil_?
It is indeed a nice and difficult Question, and merits to be well
enquir'd into; for which Reason, and diverse others, I have referr'd it
to be treated with some Decency, and as a Dispute of Dignity sufficient
to take up a Chapter by itself.
CHAP. VII.
_Whether is most hurtful to the World, the_ Devil _walking about without
his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without the_ Devil?
In discussing this most critical Distinction of Satan's private Motions,
I must, as the Pulpit Gentlemen direct us, explain the Text, and let you
know what I mean by several dark Expressions in it, that I may not be
understood to talk (as the _Devil_ walks) in the dark.
1. As to the Devil's walking about.
2. His walking without his Cloven-Foot.
3. The Cloven-Foot walking about without the _Devil_.
Now as I study Brevity, and yet would be understood too, you may please
to understand me as I understand my self, thus.
1. That I must be allow'd 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 Affairs, when, how, and
where, to his Majesty, in his great Wisdom, it shall seem meet;
that sometimes he appears and becomes visible, and that, like a
Mastiff without his Clog, he does not always carry his Cloven-Foot
with him. This will necessarily bring me to some Debate upon the
most important Question of Apparitions, Hauntings, Walkings, _&c._
whether of _Satan_ in human Shape, or of human Creatures in the
_Devil_'s Shape, or in any other manner whatsoever.
2. I must also be allow'd to tell you that Satan has a great deal
of Wrong done him by the general embracing vulgar Errors, and that
there is a Cloven-Foot oftentimes without a _Devil_; or, in short,
that Satan is not guilty of all the simple Things, no, or of all
the wicked Things we charge him with.
These two Heads well settled will fully explain the Title of this
Chapter, answer the Query mentioned in it, and at the same time
correspond very well with, and give us a farther Prospect into the main
and original Design of this Work, _namely, The History of the Devil_. We
are so fond of, and pleased with the general Notion of seeing the
_Devil_, that I am loth to disoblige my Readers so much as calling in
question his Visibility would do. Nor is it my Business, any more than
it is his, to undeceive them, where the Belief is so agreeable to them;
especially since upon the whole 'tis not one Farthing matter, either on
one Side or on the other, whether it be so or no, or whether the Truth
of Fact be ever discovered or not.
Certain it is, whether we see him or no, here he is, and I make no doubt
but he is looking on while I am writing this Part of his Story, whether
behind me, or at my Elbow, or over my Shoulder, is not material to me,
nor have I once turned my Head about to see whether he is there or no;
for if he be not in the Inside, I have so mean an Opinion of all his
extravasated Powers, that it seems of very little Consequence to me what
Shape he takes up, or in what Posture he appears; nor indeed can I find
in all my Enquiry that ever the _Devil_ appear'd (_Qua Devil_) in any
of the most dangerous or important of his Designs in the World; the most
of his Projects, especially of the significant Part of them, having been
carried on another way.
However, as I am satisfied no Body will be pleas'd if I should dispute
the Reality of his Appearance, and the World runs away with it as a
receiv'd Point, and that admits no Dispute, I shall most readily grant
the General, and give you some Account of the Particulars.
History is fruitful of Particulars, whether Invention has supply'd them
or not, I will not say, where the _Devil_ is brought upon the Stage in
plain and undeniable Apparition: The Story of _Samuel_ being rais'd by
the Witch of _Endor_, I shall leave quite out of my List, because there
are so many Scruples and Objections against that Story; and as I shall
not dispute with the Scripture, so on the other hand, I have so much
Deference for the Dignity of the _Devil_, as not to determine rashly how
far it may be in the Power of every old (_Witch_) Woman, to call him up
whenever she pleases, and that he must come, whatever the Pretence is,
or whatever Business of Consequence he may be engaged in, as often as
'tis needful for her to _Pa wa_ for half a Crown, or perhaps less than
half the Money.
Nor will I undertake to tell you, till I have talk'd farther with him
about it, how far the _Devil_ is concern'd to discover Frauds, detect
Murthers, reveal Secrets, and especially to tell where any Money is hid,
and shew Folks where to find it; 'tis an odd thing that Satan should
think it of Consequence to come and tell us where such a Miser hid a
Strong Box, or where such an old Woman buried her _Chamber Pot_ full of
Money, the Value of all which is perhaps but a Trifle, when at the same
time he lets so many Veins of Gold, so many unexhausted Mines, nay,
Mountains of Silver, as, we may depend upon it, are hid in the Bowels of
the Earth, and which it would be so much to the Good of whole Nations to
discover, lie still there, and never say one Word of them to any Body.
Besides, how does the _Devil_'s doing Things so foreign to himself, and
so out of his way, agree with the rest of his Character; namely, shewing
a kind of a friendly Disposition to Mankind, or doing beneficent Things?
This is so beneath _Satan_'s Quality, and looks so little, that I scarce
know what to say to it; but that which is still more pungent in the Case
is, these Things are so out of his Road, and so foreign to his Calling,
that it shocks our Faith in them, and seems to clash with all the just
Notions we have of him, and of his Business in the World. The like is to
be said of those little merry Turns we bring him in acting with us, and
upon us, upon trifling and simple Occasions, such as tumbling Chairs and
Stools about House, setting Pots and Vessels Bottom upward, tossing the
Glass and Crokery Ware about without breaking; and such like mean
foolish Things, beneath the Dignity of the _Devil_, who, in my Opinion,
is rather employ'd in setting the World with the Bottom upward, tumbling
Kings and Crowns about, and dashing the Nations one against another;
raising Tempests and Storms, whether at Sea, or on Shore; and, in a
word, doing capital Mischiefs suitable to his Nature, and agreeable to
his Name, _Devil_; and suited to that Circumstance of his Condition,
which I have fully represented in the primitive Part of his exil'd
State.
But to bring in the _Devil_ playing at Push-pin with the World, or like
_Domitian_ catching Flies, that is to say, doing nothing to the
purpose; this is not only deluding our selves, but putting a Slur upon
the _Devil_ himself; and, I say, I shall not dishonour Satan so much as
to suppose any thing in it: However, as I must have a care too how I
take away the proper Materials of Winter Evening Frippery, and leave the
good Wives nothing of the Devil to fright the Children with, I shall
carry the weighty Point no farther. No doubt the _Devil_ and Dr.
_Faustus_ were very intimate; I should rob you of a very significant [6]
Proverb, if I should so much as doubt it; no doubt the _Devil_ shew'd
himself in the Glass to that fair Lady who look'd in it to see where to
place her Patches; but then it should follow too that the _Devil_ is an
Enemy to the Ladies wearing Patches, and that has some Difficulties in
it which we cannot so easily reconcile; but we must tell the Story, and
leave out the Consequences.
But to come to more remarkable Things, and in which the _Devil_ has
thought fit to act in a Figure more suitable to his Dignity, and on
Occasions consistent with himself; take the Story of the Appearance of
_Julius Cæsar_, or the _Devil_ assuming that murthered _Emperor_, to the
great _Marcus Brutus_, who notwithstanding all the good Things said to
justify it, was no less than a King-killer and an Assassinator, which we
in our Language call by a very good Name, and peculiar to the _English_
Tongue, a _Ruffian_.
The Spectre had certainly the Appearance of _Cæsar_, with his Wounds
bleeding fresh, as if he had just receiv'd the fatal Blow; he had
reproach'd him with his Ingratitude, with a _Tu Brute! tu quoque, mi
fili_: "What Thou _Brutus_! Thou, my adopted Son!" Now History seems
to agree universally, not only in the Story itself, but in the
Circumstances of it; we have only to observe that the _Devil_ had
certainly Power to assume, not a human Shape only, but the Shape of
_Julius Cæsar_ in particular.
Had _Brutus_ been a timorous _Conscience-harry'd_, weak-headed Wretch,
had he been under the Horror of the Guilt, and terrify'd with the
Dangers that were before him at that time, we might suggest that he was
over-run with the Vapours, that the Terrors which were upon his Mind
disorder'd him, that his Head was delirious and prepossess'd, and that
his Fancy only plac'd _Cæsar_ so continually in his Eye, that it
realiz'd him to his Imagination, and he believ'd he saw him; with many
other suggested Difficulties to invalidate the Story, and render the
Reality of it doubtful.
But the contrary, to an Extreme, was the Case of _Brutus_; his known
Character plac'd him above the Power of all Hypocondriacks, or fanciful
Delusions; _Brutus_ was of a true _Roman_ Spirit, a bold Hero, of an
intrepid Courage; one that scorn'd to fear even the _Devil_, as the
Story allows: Besides, he glory'd in the Action; there cou'd be no
Terror of Mind upon him; he valued himself upon it, as done in the
Service of Liberty, and the Cause of his Country; and was so far from
being frighted at the _Devil_ in the worst Shape, that he spoke first to
him, and ask'd him, _What art thou?_ and when he was cited to see him
again at _Philippi_, answer'd, with a Gallantry that knew no Fear, _well
I will see thee there_. Whatever the _Devil_'s Business was with
_Brutus_, this is certain, according to all the Historians who give us
the Account of it, that _Brutus_ discover'd no Fear; he did not, _like
Saul at Endor_, fall to the Ground in a Swoon, 1 _Sam._ xxviii. 20.
_Then Saul fell all along upon the Earth, and there was no Strength in
him, and was sore afraid._ In a word, I see no room to charge _Brutus_
with being over-run with the _Hyppo_, or with Vapours, or with Fright
and Terror of Mind; but he saw the _Devil_, that's certain, and with
Eyes open, his Courage not at all daunted, his Mind resolute, and with
the utmost Composure spoke to him, reply'd to his Answer, and defy'd his
Summons to Death, which indeed he fear'd not, as appear'd afterward.
I come next to an Instance as eminent in History as the other; this was
in _Char._ VI. of _France_, sirnamed, _The Beloved_; who riding over the
Forest near _Mans_, a ghastly frightful Fellow (that is to say, the
_Devil_ so clothed in human Vizor) came up to his Horse, and taking hold
of his Bridle, stop'd him, with the Addition of these Words, _Stop King,
whither go you? You are betray'd!_ and immediately disappear'd. It is
true, the King had been distemper'd in his Head before, and so he might
have been deceived, and we might have charg'd it to the Account of a
whimsical Brain, or the Power of his Imagination; but this was in the
Face of his Attendants, several of his great Officers, Courtiers, and
Princes of the Blood being with him, who all saw the Man, heard the
Words, and immediately, to their Astonishment, lost Sight of the
Spectre, who vanish'd from them all.
Two Witnesses will convict a Murtherer, why not a Traitor? This must be
the _Old Gentleman_, emblematically so called, or who must it be? nay,
who else could it be? His Ugliness is not the Case, tho' _ugly as the
Devil_, is a Proverb in his Favour; but vanishing out of sight is an
Essential to a Spirit, and to an evil Spirit in our Times especially.
These are some of the _Devil_'s Extraordinaries, and it must be
confess'd they are not the most agreeable to Mankind, for sometimes he
takes upon him to disorder his Friends very much on these Occasions, as
in the above Case of _Cha._ VI. of _France_; the King, they say, was
really demented ever after; that is, as we vulgarly, but not always
improperly, express it, he was really _frighted out of his Wits_.
Whether the malicious _Devil_ intended it so, or not, is not certain,
tho' it was not so foreign to his particular Disposition if he did.
But where he is more intimate, we are told he appears in a manner less
disagreeable, and there he is more properly _a familiar Spirit_; that
is, in short, a _Devil_ of their Acquaintance: It is true, the Antients
understand the Word, _a familiar Spirit_, to be one of the kinds of
Possession; but if it serves our turn as well under the Denomination of
an intimate _Devil_, or a _Devil_ visitant, it must be acknowledg'd to
be as near in the literal Sense and Acceptation of the Word, as the
other; nay, it must be allow'd 'tis a very great Piece of Familiarity in
the _Devil_ to make Visits, and shew none of his Disagreeables, not
appear formidable, or in the Shape of what he is, respectfully
withholding his dismal Part, in Compassion to the Infirmities of his
Friends.
It is true, _Satan_ may be oblig'd to make different Appearances, as the
several Circumstances of Things call for it; in some Cases he makes his
publick Entry, and then he must shew himself in his Habit of Ceremony;
in other Cases he comes upon private Business, and then he appears in
Disguise; in some publick Cases he may thing fit to be _incog._ and then
he appears dress'd _a la Masque_; so they say he appear'd at the famous
St. _Bartholomew_ Wedding at _Paris_, where, he came in dress'd up like
a Trumpeter, danc'd in his Habit, sounded a _Levet_, and then went out
and rung the Alarm-Bell (which was the Signal to begin the Massacre)
half an Hour before the Time appointed, lest the King's Mind should
alter, and his Heart fail him.
If the Story be not made upon him, (for we should not slander the
_Devil_) it should seem, he was not thoroughly satisfied in King
_Charles_ IX.'s Steadiness in his Cause; for the King, it seems, had
relax'd a little once before, and Satan might be afraid he would fall
off again, and so prevent the Execution: Others say, the King did relent
immediately after the ringing the _Alarm-Bell_, but that then it was too
late, the Work was begun, and the Rage of Blood having been let loose
among the People, there was no recalling the Order. If the _Devil_ was
thus brought to the Necessity of a secret Management, it must be owned
he did it dexterously; but I have not Authority enough for the Story, to
charge him with the Particulars, so I leave it _au croc._
I have much better Vouchers for the Story following, which I had so
solemnly confirm'd by one that liv'd in the Family, that I never doubted
the Truth of it. There liv'd, in the Parish of St. _Bennet Fynk_, near
the _Royal Exchange_, an honest poor Widow Woman, who, _her Husband
being lately dead_, took Lodgers into her House; that is, she let out
some of her Rooms in order to lessen her own Charge of Rent; among the
rest, she let her Garrets to a working Watchwheel-maker, or one some way
concern'd in making the Movements of Watches, and who work'd to those
Shop-keepers who sell Watches; as is usual.
It happened that a Man and Woman went up, to speak with this
Movement-maker upon some Business which related to his Trade, and when
they were near the Top of the Stairs, the Garret-Door where he usually
worked being wide open, they saw the poor Man (the Watch-maker, or
Wheel-maker) had hang'd himself upon a Beam which was left open in the
Room a little lower than the Plaister, or Ceiling: Surpriz'd at the
Sight, the Woman stop'd, and cried out to the Man who was behind her on
the Stairs that he should run up, and cut the poor Creature down.
At that very Moment comes a Man hastily from another Part of the Room
which they upon the Stairs could not see, bringing a Joint-Stool in his
Hand, as if in great Haste, and sets it down just by the Wretch that was
hang'd, and getting up as hastily upon it pulls a Knife out of his
Pocket, and taking hold of the Rope with one of his Hands, beckon'd to
the Woman and the Man behind her with his Head, as if to stop and not
come up, shewing them the Knife in his other Hand, as if he was just
going to cut the poor Man down.
Upon this, the Woman stopp'd a while, but the Man who stood on the
Joint-Stool continued with his Hand and Knife as if fumbling at the
Knot, but did not yet cut the Man down; at which the Woman cried out
again, and the Man behind her call'd to her. Go up, _says he_, and help
the Man upon the Stool! supposing something hindred. But the Man upon
the Stool made Signs 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 cutting the Rope, and then stopp'd again; and still the
poor Man was hanging, and consequently dying: Upon this, the Woman on
the Stairs cried out to him. What ails you? Why don't you cut the poor
Man down? And the Man behind her, having no more Patience, thrusts her
by, and said to her. Let me come, I'll warrant you I'll do it; and with
that runs up and forward into the Room to the Man; but when he came
there, behold, the poor Man was there hanging; but no Man with a Knife,
or Joint-Stool, or any such thing to be seen, all that was Spectre and
Delusion, in order, no doubt, to let the poor Creature that had hang'd
himself perish and expire.
The Man was so frighted and surpriz'd, that with all the Courage he had
before, he drop'd on the Floor as one dead, and the Woman at last was
fain to cut the poor Man down with a Pair of Scissars, and had much to
do to effect it.
As I have no room to doubt the Truth of this Story, which I had from
Persons on whose Honesty I could depend. So I think it needs very little
Trouble to convince us who the Man upon the Stool must be, and that it
was the _Devil_ who plac'd himself there in order to finish the Murther
of the Man who he had, _Devil_-like, tempted before, and prevail'd with
to be his own Executioner. Besides, it corresponds so well with the
_Devil_'s Nature, and with his Business, _viz._ that of a _Murtherer_,
that I never question'd it; nor can I think we wrong the _Devil_ at all
to charge him with it.
_N. B._ I cannot be positive in the remaining Part of this Story,
_viz._ whether the Man was cut down soon enough to be recover'd,
or whether the _Devil_ carry'd his Point, and kept off the Man and
Woman till it was too late; but be it which it will, 'tis plain he
did his Devilish Endeavour, and stay'd till he was forc'd to
abscond again.
We have many solid Tales well attested, as well in History as in the
Reports of honest People, who could not be deceived, intimating the
_Devil_'s personal Appearance, some in one Place, some in another; as
also sometimes in one Habit or Dress, and sometimes in another; and it
is to be observed, that in none of those which are most like to be real,
and in which there is least of Fancy and Vapour, you have any Mention of
the _Cloven Foot_, which rather seems to be a mere Invention of Men (and
perhaps chiefly of those who had a Cloven Understanding) I mean a
shallow kind of Craft, the Effect of an empty and simple Head, thinking
by such a well-meant, tho' weak Fraud, to represent the _Devil_ to the
old Women and Children of the Age, with some Addition suitable to the
Weakness of their Intellects, and suited to making them afraid of him.
I have another Account of a Person who travell'd upwards of four Years
with the _Devil_ in his Company, and convers'd most intimately with him
all the while; nay, if I may believe the Story, he knew most part of the
Time that he was the _Devil_, and yet convers'd with him, and that very
profitably, for he perform'd many very useful Services for him, and
constantly preserv'd him from the Danger of Wolves and wild Beasts,
which the Country he travell'd thro' was intolerably full of. Where, by
the way, you are to understand, that the Wolves and Bears in those
Countries knew the _Devil_, whatever Disguise he went in; or that the
_Devil_ has some Way to fright Bears and such Creatures, more than we
know of. Nor could this _Devil_ ever be prevail'd upon to hurt him or
any of his Company. This Account has an innumerable Number of diverting
Incidents attending it; but they are equal to all the rest in Bulk, and
therefore too long for this Book.
I find too upon some more ordinary Occasions the _Devil_ has appear'd to
several People at their Call: This indeed shews abundance of good Humour
in him, considering him as a _Devil_, and that he was mighty
complaisant: Nay some, they tell us, have a Power to raise the _Devil_
whenever they think fit; this I cannot bring the _Devil_ to a Level
with, unless I should allow him to be _Servus Servorum_, as another
_Devil_ in Disguise calls himself; subjected to ever old Wizard's Call;
or that he is under a Necessity of appearing on such or such particular
Occasions, whoever it is that calls him; which would bring the _Devil_'s
Circumstances to a pitch of Slavery which I see no Reason to believe of
them.
Here also I must take Notice again, that tho' I say the _Devil_, when I
speak of all these Apparitions, whether of a greater or lesser Kind, yet
I am not oblig'd to suppose Satan himself in Person is concern'd to shew
himself, but that some of his _Agents_, Deputies and Servants, are sent
to that Purpose, and directed what Disguise of Flesh and Blood to put
on, as may be suitable to the Occasion.
This seems to be the only Way to reconcile all those simple and
ridiculous Appearances which not _Satan_, but his Emissaries, (which we
old Women call Imps) sometimes make, and the mean and sorry Employment
they are put to: Thus Fame tells us of a certain Witch of Quality, who
call'd the _Devil_ once to carry her over a Brook where the Water was
swell'd with a hasty Rain, and lash'd him soundly with her Whip for
letting her Ladyship fall into the Water before she was quite over. Thus
also, as Fame tells us, she set the _Devil_ to work, and made him build
_Crowland_ Abbey, where there was no Foundation to be found, only for
disturbing the Workmen a little who were first set about it. So it
seems another laborious _Devil_ was oblig'd to dig the great Ditch cross
the Country from the Fenn Country to the Edge of _Suffolk_ and _Essex_;
which who ever he has preserv'd the Reputation of, and where it crosses
_New-Market_ Heath, 'tis call'd _Devil_'s _Ditch_ to this Day.
Another Piece of Punishment no doubt it was, when the _Devil_ was
oblig'd to bring the Stones out of _Wales_ into _Wiltshire_, to build
_Stone-heng_: How this was ordered in those Days, when it seems they
kept _Satan_ to hard Labour, I know not; I believe it must be registred
among the antient Pieces of Art which are lost in the World, such as
melting of Stone, painting of Glass, _&c._ Certainly they had the
_Devil_ under Correction in those Days; that is to say, those lesser
Sorts of _Devils_; but I cannot think that the _muckle Thief Devil_, as
they call him in the _North_, the Grand Seignior _Devil_ of all, was
ever reduced to Discipline. What _Devil_ it was that _Dunstan_ took by
the Nose with his red hot Tongs, I have not yet examin'd Antiquity
enough to be certain of, any more than I can what Devil it was that St.
_Francis_ play'd so many warm Tricks with, and made him run away from
him so often: However, this I take upon me to say, in the _Devil_'s
Behalf, that it cou'd not be our _Satan_, the Arch _Devil_ of all
_Devils_, of whom I have been talking so long.
Now is it unworthy the Occasion, to take notice that we really wrong the
_Devil_, and speak of him very much to his Disadvantage, when we say of
such a Great Lord, or of such a Lady of Quality, _I think the_ Devil _is
in your Grace_: No, no, Satan has other Business, he very rarely
possesses F--ls: Besides, some are so far from having the _Devil_ in
them, that they are really transmigrated into the very Essence of the
_Devil_ themselves; and others again not transmigrated, or assimilated,
but Indeed and in Truth shew us that they are to have mere native
_Devils_ in every Part and Parcel of them, and that the rest is only
Masque and Disguise. Thus if _Rage_, _Envy_, _Pride_ and _Revenge_ can
constitute the Parts of a _Devil_, why should not a Lady of such
Quality, in whom all those Extraordinaries abound, have a Right to the
Title of being a _Devil_ really and substantially, and to all Intents
and Purposes, in the most perfect and absolute Sense, according to the
most exquisite Descriptions of Devils already given by me or any Body
else; and even just as _Joan_ of _Arc_, or _Joan_ Queen of _Naples_
were, who were both sent home to their native Country, as soon as it was
discovered that they were real _Devils_, and that _Satan_ acknowledg'd
them in that Quality.
Nor does my Lady D----ss's wearing sometimes a Case of Humanity about
her, call'd _Flesh and Blood_, at all alter the Case; for so 'tis
Evident, according to our present Hypothesis, _Satan_ has been always
allow'd to do, upon urgent Occasions; ay, and to make his Personal
Appearance as such, among even the Sons and Daughters of God too, as
well as among the Children of Men; and therefore _her Grace_ may have
appeared in the Shape of a fine Lady, as long as she has been suppos'd
to do, without any Impeachment of her just Claim to the Title of
_Devil_; which being her true and natural Original, she ought not, nor
indeed shall not, by me, be denied her Shapes of Honour, whenever she
pleases to declare for a Re-assumption.
And farther, to give every Truth its due Illustration, this need not be
thought so strange; and is far from being unjust; _her Grace_ (as she,
it may be, is now stiled) has not acted, at least that I never heard of,
so unworthy her great and illustrious Original, that we should think she
has lost any thing by walking about the World so many Years in
Apparition: But to give her the due Homage of her Quality, she has acted
as consonant to the Essence and Nature of _Devil_, which she has such a
Claim to, as was consistent with the needful Reserve of her present
Disguise.
Nor shall we lead the Reader into any Mistake concerning this part of
our Work, as if this was or is meant to be a particular Satyr upon the
D-----ss of -----------, and upon her only, as if we had no DEVILS among
us in the Phenomena of fair Ladies, but this one: If Satan would be so
honest to us as he might be (and 'twou'd be very ingenuous in him, that
must be acknowledg'd, to give us a little of his Illumination in this
Case) we should soon be able to unmasque a great many notable Figures
among us, to our real Surprize.
Indeed 'tis a Point worth our further Enquiry, and would be a Discovery
many ways to our Advantage, were we bless'd with it, to see how many
real _Devils_ we have walking up and down the World in Masque, and how
many Hoop-Petticoats compleat the entire Masque that disguises the Devil
in the Shape of that Thing call'd Woman.
As for the Men, Nature has satisfied her self in letting them be their
own Disguise, and in suffering them to act the _old Women_, as old Women
are vulgarly understood, in Matters of Council and Politicks; but if at
any time they have Occasion for the _Devil_ in Person, they are oblig'd
to call him to their Aid in such Shape as he pleases to make use of _pro
hac vice_; and of all those Shapes, the most agreeable to him seems to
be that of a Female of Quality, in which he has infinite Opportunity to
act to Perfection, what Part soever he is call'd in for.
How happy are those People who they say have the particular Quality, or
acquir'd Habit, call'd the _Second Sight_; one Sort of whom they tell us
are able to distinguish the _Devil_, in whatever Case or Outside of
Flesh and Blood he is pleas'd to put on, and consequently could know the
_Devil_ wherever they met him? Were I blest with this excellent and
useful Accomplishment, how pleasant would it be, and how would it
particularly gratify my Spleen, and all that which I, in common with my
fellow Creatures carry about me, call'd Ill-Nature, to stand in the
_Mall_, or at the Entrance to any of our _Assemblies of Beauties_, and
point them out as they pass by, with this particular Mark, That's a
_Devil_; that fine young Toast is a _Devil_; There's a _Devil_ drest in
a new Habit for the Ball; There's a _Devil_ in a Coach and Six, _cum
aliis_. In short, it would make a merry World among us if we cou'd but
enter upon some proper Method of such Discriminations: but, _Lawr'd_,
what a Hurricane would it raise, if, like -------, who they say scourg'd
the _Devil_ so often that he durst not come near him in any Shape
whatever, we cou'd find some new Method out to make the _Devil_ unmask,
like the Angel _Uriel_, who, Mr. _Milton_ says, had an enchanted Spear,
with which if he did but touch the _Devil_, in whatever Disguise he had
put on, it oblig'd him immediately to start up, and shew himself in his
true original Shape, mere _Devil_ as he was.
This would do nicely, and as I who am originally a Projector, have spent
some Time upon this Study, and doubt not in a little Time to finish my
Engine, which I am contriving, to screw the _Devil_ out of every Body,
or any Body; I question not when I have brought it to Perfection, but I
shall make most excellent Discoveries by it; and besides the many
extraordinary Advantages of it to human Society, I doubt not but it will
make good Sport in the World too; wherefore, when I publish my
Proposals, and divide it into Shares, as other less useful Projects have
been done, I question not, for all the severe Act lately pass'd against
Bubbles, but I shall get Subscribers enough, _&c._
In a Word, a secret Power of discovering what Devils we have among us,
and where and what Business they are doing, would be a vast Advantage to
us all; that we might know among the Crowd of _Devils_ that walk about
Streets, who are _Apparitions_, and who are not.
Now I, you must know, at certain Intervals when the Old Gentleman's
Illuminations are upon me, and when I have something of an
_Eclaricissement_ with him, have some Degrees of this discriminating
_Second Sight_, and therefore 'tis no strange thing for me to tell a
great many of my Acquaintance that they are really _Devils_, when they
themselves know nothing of the Matter: Sometimes indeed I find it pretty
hard to convince them of it, or at least they are very unwilling to own
it, but it is not the less so for that.
I had a long Discourse upon this Subject one day, with a young beautiful
Lady of my Acquaintance, who the World very much admired; and as the
World judges no farther than they can see, (and how should they, you
would say) they took her to be, as she really was, a most charming
Creature.
To me indeed she discover'd her self many Ways, besides the Advantage I
had of my extraordinary Penetration by the magic Powers which I am
vested with: To me, _I say_, she appear'd a Fury, a Satyr, a fiery
little Fiend as could possibly be dress'd up in Flesh; in short, she
appear'd to me what really she was, a very DEVIL: It is natural to human
Creatures to desire to discover any extraordinary Powers they are
possess'd of superior to others, and this Itch prevailing in me, among
the rest, I was impatient to let this Lady know that I understood her
Composition perfectly well, nay, as well as she did her self.
In order to this, happening to be in the Family once for some Days, and
having the Honour to be very intimate with her and her Husband too, I
took an Opportunity on an extraordinary Occasion, when she was in the
Height of good Humour, to talk with her; You must note, that as I said,
the Lady was in an extraordinary good Humour, and there had been a great
deal of Mirth in the Family for some Days; but one Evening, Sir _E----_
her Husband, upon some very sharp Turn she gave to another Gentleman,
which made all the Company pleasant, run to her, and with a Passion of
good Humour takes her in his Arms, and turning to me, says he, Jack,
This Wife of mine is full of Wit and good Humour, but when she has a
Mind to be smart, she is the keenest little _Devil_ in the World: This
was alluding to the quick Turn she had given the other Gentleman.
Is that the best Language you can give your Wife, says my Lady? O Madam,
says I, such _Devils_ as you, are all _Angels_; ay, ay, says my Lady, I
know that, he has only let a Truth fly out that he does not understand:
Look ye there now, _says Sir_ Edward, could any thing but such a dear
_Devil_ as this have said a thing so pointed? Well, well, 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 all the while in
his Arms, and frequently kissing her, and at last it went off, all in
Sunshine and Mirth.
But the next Day, for I had the Honour to lodge in the Lady's Father's
House, where it all happen'd; I say, the next Day my Lady begins with me
upon the Subject, and that very smartly, so that first I did not know
whether she was in jest or earnest: Ay, ay, _says she_, you Men make
nothing of your Wives after you have them, _alluding to the Discourse
with_ Sir Edward _the Night before_.
Why Madam, says I, _we Men_, as you are pleas'd to term it, if we meet
with good Wives worship them, and make Idols of them, what would you
have more of us?
No, no, says she, before you have them they are Angels, but when you
have been in Heaven, _adds she and smil'd_, then they are Devils.
Why Madam, _says I_, Devils are Angels, you know, and were the highest
Sort of Angels once.
Yes, _says she_, very smartly, all _Devils_ are Angels, but all Angels
are not _Devils_.
But Madam, _says I_, you should never take it ill to be call'd _Devil_,
you know.
I know, _says she_, hastily, what d'ye mean by that?
Why Madam, _says I_, and look'd very gravely and serious, I thought you
had known that I knew it, or else I would not have said so, for I would
not offend you; but you may depend I shall never discover it, unless you
order me to do so for your particular Service.
Upon this she look'd hard and wild, and bid me explain my self.
I told her, I was ready to explain my self, if she would give me her
Word, she would not resent it, and would take nothing ill.
She gave me her word solemnly she would not, tho' like a true _Devil_
she broke her Promise with me all at once.
Well however, being unconcern'd whether she kept her Word or no, I
began, by telling her that I had not long since obtain'd the second
sight, and had some years studied Magic, by which I could penetrate into
many things, which to ordinary Perception were invisible, and had some
Glasses, by the Help of which I could see into all visionary or
imaginary Appearances in a different Manner than other People did.
Very well, _says she_, suppose you can, what's that to me?
I told her it was nothing to her any further than that as she knew her
self to be originally not the same Creature she seem'd to be, but was of
a sublime angelic Original; so by the Help of my recited Art I knew it
too, and so far it might relate to her.
Very fine, says she, so you would make a _Devil_ of me indeed.
I took that Occasion to tell her, I would make nothing of her but what
she was; that I suppos'd she knew well enough God Almighty never thought
fit to make any human Creature so perfect and compleatly beautiful as
she was, but that such were also reserved for Figures to be assum'd by
Angels of one Kind or other.
She rallied me upon that, and told me that would not bring me off, for I
had not determined her for any thing Angelic, but a meer _Devil_; and
how could I flatter her with being handsome and a _Devil_ both at the
same time?
I told her, as Satan, whom we abusively call'd _Devil_, was an immortal
Seraph, and of an original angelic Nature, so abstracted from any thing
wicked, he was a most glorious Being; that when he thought fit to encase
himself with Flesh, and walk about in Disguise, it was in his Power
equally with the other Angels to make the Form he took upon himself be
as he thought fit, beautiful or deform'd.
Here she disputed the Possibility of that, and after charging me faintly
with flattering her Face, told me the Devil could not be represented by
any thing handsome, alledging our constant picturing the _Devil_ in all
the frightful Appearances imaginable.
I told her we wrong'd him very much in that, and quoted St. _Francis_,
to whom the _Devil_ frequently appeared in the Form of the most
incomparably beautiful naked Woman, to allure him, and what Means he
used to turn the Appearance into a _Devil_ again, and how he effected
it.
She put by the Discourse, and returned to that of Angels, and insisted
that Angels did not always assume beautiful Appearances; that sometimes
they appear'd in terrible Shapes, but that when they did not, it was at
best only amiable Faces, not exquisite; and that therefore it would not
hold, that to be handsome, should always render them suspected.
I told her the _Devil_ had more Occasion to form Beauties than other
Angels had, his Business being principally to deceive and ensnare
Mankind. And then I gave her some Examples upon the whole.
I found by her Discourse she was willing enough to pass for an _Angel_,
but 'twas the hardest thing in the World to convince her that she was a
DEVIL, and she would not come into that by any means; she argued that I
knew her Father, and that her Mother was a very good Woman, and was
delivered of her in the ordinary Way, and that there was such and such
Ladies who were present in the Room when she was born, and that had
often told her so.
I told her that was nothing in such a Case as hers; that when the Old
Gentleman had occasion to transform himself into a fine Lady, he could
easily dispose of a Child, and place himself in the Cradle instead of
it, when the Nurse or Mother were asleep; nay, or when they were broad
awake either, it was the same thing to him; and I quoted _Luther_ to her
upon that Occasion, who affirms that it had been so. However I said, to
convince her that I knew it, (for I would have it that she knew it
already) if she pleas'd I would go to my Chamber and fetch her my Magick
Looking-glass, where she should see her own Picture, not only as it was
an angelick Picture for the World to admire, but a _Devil_ also
frightful enough to any Body but herself and me that understood it.
No, no, _said she_, I'll look in none of your conjuring Glasses; I know
my self well enough, and I desire to look no otherwise than I am.
No, Madam, _says I_, I know that very well; nor do you need any better
Shape than that you appear in, 'tis most exquisitely fine; all the World
knows you are a compleat Beauty, and that is a clear Evidence what you
would be if your present appearing Form was reduced to its proper
Personality.
_Appearing Form!_ says she, why, what would you make an _Apparition_ of
me?
An _Apparition!_ Madam, said I, yes, to be sure; why you know, you are
nothing else but an _Apparition_; and what else would you be, when it is
so infinitely to your Advantage?
With that, she turn'd pale and angry, and then rose up hastily, and
look'd into the Glass, (_a large Peer-glass being in the Room_) where
she stood, surveying her self from Head to Foot, with Vanity not a
little.
I took that Time to slip away, and running up into my Apartment, I
fetch'd my _Magic Glass_ as I call'd it, in which I had a hollow
Case so framed behind a Looking-glass, that in the first; she would
see her own Face only; in the second, she would see the _Devil_'s
Face, ugly and frightful enough, but dress'd up with a Lady's
Head-Clothes in a Circle, the _Devil_'s Face in the Center, and as
it were at a little Distance behind.
I came down again so soon that she did not think the Time long,
especially having spent it in surveying her fair self; when I return'd,
I said, Come, Madam, do not trouble your self to look there, that is not
a Glass capable of shewing you any thing; come, take this Glass.
It will shew me as much of my self, _says she, a little scornfully_, as
I desire to see; so she continued looking in the Peer-glass; after some
time more (for seeing her a little out of Humour, I waited to see what
Observations she would make) I ask'd her if she had view'd her self to
her Satisfaction? She said she had, and she had seen nothing of _Devil_
about her. Come, Madam, said I, look here; and with that I open'd the
Looking-glass, and she look'd in it, but saw nothing but her own Face;
Well, _says she_, the Glasses agree well enough, I see no Difference;
what can you make of it? With that I took it a little away; Don't you?
_says I_, then I shou'd be mistaken very much; so I look'd in it my
self, and giving it a Turn imperceptible to her, I shew'd it her again,
where she saw the _Devil_ indeed, dress'd up like a fine Lady, but
ugly, and _Devil_ like as could be desired for a _Devil_ to be.
She started, and cry'd out most horribly, and told me, she thought I was
more of a _Devil_ than she, for that she knew nothing of all those
Tricks, and I did it to fright her, she believ'd I had rais'd the
_Devil_.
I told her it was nothing but her own natural Picture, and that she knew
well enough, and that I did not shew it her to inform her of it, but to
let her know that I knew it too; that so she might make no Pretences of
being offended when I talk'd familiarly to her of a Thing of this
Nature.
Very well; so, _says she_, I am a real frightful _Devil_, am I?
O, Madam, says I, don't say, _Am I?_ why you know what you are, don't
you? A _Devil_! ay, certainly; as sure as the rest of the World believes
you a Lady.
I had a great deal of farther Discourse with her upon that Subject, tho'
she would fain have beat me off of it, and two or three times she put
the Talk off, and brought something else on; but I always found Means to
revive it, and to attack her upon the Reality of her being a Devil, till
at last I made her downright angry, and then she shew'd it.
First she cried, told me I came to affront her, that I would not talk so
if Sir _Ed----_ was by; and that she ought not to be used so. I
endeavour'd to pacify her, and told her I had not treated her with any
Indecency, nor I would not; because while she thought fit to walk Abroad
_incog._ it was none of my Business to discover her; that if she thought
fit to tell Sir _Ed----_ any thing of the Discourse, she was very
welcome, or to conceal it, (_which I thought the wisest Course_) she
should do just as she pleas'd; but I made no question I should convince
Sir _E----_ her Husband, that what I said was just, and that I was
really so; whether it was for her Service or no for him to know it, was
for her to consider.
This calm'd her a little, and she look'd hard at me a Minute without
speaking a Word, when on a sudden she broke out thus: And you will
undertake, _says she_, to convince Sir _Ed----_ that he has married a
_Devil_, will ye? A fine Story indeed! and what follows? why then it
must follow that the Child I go with (for she was big with Child) will
be a _Devil_ too, will it? A fine Story for Sir _Ed----_ indeed! isn't
it?
I don't know that, Madam, said I, that's as you order it; by the
Father's Side, _said I_, I know it will not, but what it may by the
Mother's Side, that's a Doubt I can't resolve till the _Devil_ and I
talk farther about it.
You and the Devil talk together! _says she_, and looks rufully at me;
why do you talk with the _Devil_ then?
Ay, Madam, _says I_, as sure as ever you did your self; besides, said I,
can you question that? Pray who am I talking to now?
I think you are mad, _says she_; why you will make _Devils_ of all the
Family, it may be, and particularly I must be with Child of a _Devil_,
that's certain.
No, Madam, _said I_, 'tis not certain, as I said before, I question it.
Why you say I am the DEVIL, the Child, you know, has always most of the
Mother in it, then that must be a Devil too I think, what else can it
be, _says she_?
I can't tell that, Madam, _said I_; that's as you agree among your
selves, this Kind does not go by Generation; that's a Dispute foreign to
the present Purpose.
Then I entred into a Discourse with her of the Ends and Purposes for
which the Devil takes up such beautiful Forms as hers, and why it always
gave me a Suspicion when I saw a Lady handsomer than ordinary, and set
me upon the Search to be satisfied whether she was really a Woman or an
_Apparition_? a Lady or a Devil? allowing all along that her being a
Devil was quite out of the Question.
Upon that very Foot, she took me up again roundly, and so, _says she_,
you are very civil to me through all your Discourse, for I see it ends
all in that, and you take it as a thing confest, that I am a Devil! A
very pretty piece of good Usage indeed! _says she_; _I thank you for
it_.
Nay, Madam, _says I_, do not take it ill of me, for I only discover to
you that I knew it; I do not tell it you as a Secret, for you are
satisfied of that another way.
Satisfied 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 meer DEVIL; take it as you
please, I can't help that: And so I began to take it ill that she should
be disgusted at opening such a well-known Truth to her.
With that she discover'd it all at once, for she turn'd _Fury_, in the
very Letter of it; flew out in a Passion, rail'd at me, curst me most
heartily, and immediately disappeared; which you know is the particular
Mark of a Spirit or Apparition.
We had a great deal of Discourse besides this, relating to several other
young Ladies of her Acquaintance, some of which, I said, were mere
_Apparitions_ like her self; and told her which were so, and which not;
and the Reason why they were so, and for what Uses and Purposes, some
to delude the World one way, and some another; and she was pretty well
pleased to hear that, but she could not bear to hear her own true
Character, which however, as cunning as she was, made her act the Devil
at last, as you have heard; and then vanished out of my sight.
I have seen her in Miniature several Times since; but she proves her
self still to be the Devil of a Lady, for she bears Malice, and will
never forgive me, that I would not let her be an Angel; but like a very
Devil as she is, she endeavours to kill me at a Distance; and indeed the
Poison of her Eyes, (Basilisk-like) is very strong, and she has a
strange Influence upon me; but I that know her to be a Devil, strive
very hard with my self to drive the Memory of her out of my Thoughts.
I have had two or three Engagements since this, with other _Apparitions_
of the same Sex, and I find they are all alike, they are willing enough
to be thought Angels, but the Word Devil does not go down at all with
them: But 'tis all one, whenever we see an _Apparition_, it is so
natural to say we have seen the Devil, that there's no prevailing with
Mankind to talk any other Language. A Gentleman of my Acquaintance, the
other Day, that had courted a Lady a long time, had the Misfortune to
come a little suddenly upon her, when she did not expect him, and found
her in such a Rage at some of her Servants, that it quite disorder'd
her, especially a Footman; the Fellow had done something that was indeed
provoking, but not sufficient to put her into such a Passion, and so out
of her self; nor was she able to restrain her self when she saw her
Lover come in, but damn'd the Fellow, and rag'd like a Fury at him.
My Friend did his best to compose her, and begg'd the Fellow's Pardon of
her, but it would not do; nay, the poor Fellow made all the Submissions
that could be expected, but 'twas the same thing: And so the Gentleman,
not caring to engage himself farther than became him, withdrew, and came
no more at her for three Days, in all which time she was hardly cool.
The next Day my Friend came to me, and talking of it in Confidence to
me, I am afraid, _says he_, I am going to marry a She _Devil_, and so
told me the Story; I took no Notice to him, but finding out his
Mistress, and taking proper Measures, with some of my particular Skill,
I soon found out that it was really so, that she was a mere
_Apparition_; and had it not been for that accidental Disorder of her
Passions, which discover'd her Inside, she might indeed have cheated any
Man, for she was a lovely Devil as ever was seen; she talk'd like an
Angel, sung like a Syren, did every thing, and said every thing that was
taking and charming: But what then? it was all Apparition, for she was a
mere _Devil_. It is true, my Friend marry'd her, and tho' she was a
_Devil_ without doubt, yet either she behav'd so well, or he was so
good, I never could hear him find Fault with her.
These are particular Instances; but alas! I could run you a Length
beyond all those Examples, and give you such a List of Devils among the
gay Things of the Town, that would fright you to think of; and you would
presently conclude, with me, that all the perfect Beauties are Devils,
mere Apparitions; but Time and Paper fails, so we must only leave the
Men the Caution, let them venture at their Peril. I return to the
Subject.
We have a great many charming _Apparitions_ of like kind go daily about
the World in compleat Masquerade, and, tho' we must not say so, they are
in themselves mere _Devils_, wicked dangerous murthering Devils, that
kill various Ways, some, Basilisk-like, with their Eyes; some
Syren-like, with their Tongues; all _Murtherers_, even from the
_Beginning_: It is true, 'tis pity these pretty _Apparitions_ should be
Devils, and be so mischievous as they are; but since it is so, I can do
no less than to advertise you of it, that you may shun the Devil in
whatever Shape you meet with him.
Again, there are some half Devils, they say, like the _Sagittarii_, half
Man, half Horse, or rather like the _Satyr_, who, _they say_, is half
Devil, half Man; or, like my Lord Bishop, who, _they say_, was
half-headed; whether they mean half-witted or no, I do not find Authors
agreed about it: But if they had voted him such, it had been as kind a
thing as any they cou'd say of him, because it would have clear'd him
from the Scandal of being a Devil, or half a Devil, for we don't find
the Devil makes any Alliance with F----ls.
Then as to merry Devils, there's my Master _G------_, he may indeed have
the Devil in him, but it must be said, to the Credit of Possession in
general, that Satan would have scorn'd to have entred into a Soul so
narrow that there was not room to hold him, or to take up with so
discording a Creature, so abject, so scoundrel, as never made a Figure
among Mankind greater than that of a Thief, a _Moroder_, moulded up into
Quality, and a Raparee dress'd up _a-la-Masque_, with a _Robe_ and a
_Coronet_.
Some little Dog-kennel Devil may indeed take up his Quarters in or near
him, and so run into and out of him as his Drum beats a Call; but to
him that was born a _Devil_, Satan, that never acts to no purpose, cou'd
not think him worth being possess'd by any thing better than a Devil of
a dirty Quality; that is to say, a Spirit too mean to wear the Name of
_Devil_, without some Badge or Addition of Infamy and Meanness to
distinguish it by.
Thus what _Devil_ of Quality would be confin'd to a _P--------n_, who
inheriting all the Pride and Insolence of his Ancestors, without one of
their good Qualities; the Bully, the _Billingsgate_, and all the
hereditary ill Language of his Family, without an Ounce of their
Courage; that has been rescued five or six times from the Scandal of a
Coward, by the Bravery, and at the Hazard of Friends, and never fail'd
to be ungrateful; that if ever he committed a Murther, did it in cold
Blood, because no body could prove he ever had any hot; who possess'd
with a Poltroon _Devil_, was always wickeder in the Dark, than he durst
be by Day-light; and who, after innumerable passive Sufferings, has been
turned out of human Society, because he could not be kick'd or cuff'd
either into good Manners or good Humour.
To say this was a _Devil_, an Apparition, or even a half _Devil_, would
be unkind to _Satan_ himself, since tho' he (the _Devil_) has so many
Millions of inferior _Devils_ under his Command, not one cou'd be found
base enough to match him, nor one _Devil_ found but what would think
himself dishonour'd to be employ'd about him.
Some merry good-for-nothing _Devils_ we have indeed, which we might, if
we had room, speak of at large, and divert you too with the Relation,
such as my Lady _Hatt's Devil_ in _Essex_, who upon laying a Joiner's
Mallet in the Window of a certain Chamber, would come very orderly and
knock with it all Night upon the Window, or against the Wainscot, and
disturb the Neighbourhood, and then go away in the Morning, as well
satisfied as may be; whereas if the Mallet was not left, he would think
himself affronted, and be as unsufferable and terrifying as possible,
breaking the Windows, splitting the Wainscot, committing all the
Disorders, and doing all the Damage that he was able to the House, and
to the Goods in it. And again, such as the Druming _Devil_ in the Well
at _Oundle_ in _Northamptonshire_, and such like.
A great many antick _Devils_ have been seen also, who seem'd to have
little or nothing to do, but only to assure us that they can appear if
they please, and that there is a Reality in the thing call'd Apparition.
As to Shadows of _Devils_, and imaginary Appearances, such as appear,
and yet are invisible at the same time, I had thought to have bestow'd a
Chapter upon them by themselves, but it may be as much to the Purpose to
let them alone, as to meddle with them; 'tis said our old Friend
_Luther_ used to be exceedingly troubled with such invisible
Apparitions, and he tells us much of them, in what they call his
Table-talk; but with Master _Luther_'s leave, tho' the _Devil_ passes
for a very great Lyar, I could swallow many things of his own proper
making, as soon as some of those I find in a Book that goes by his Name,
particularly the Story of the Devil in a Basket, the Child flying out of
the Cradle, and the like.
In a word, the walking _Devils_ that we have generally among us, are of
the female Sex; whether it be that the _Devil_ finds less Difficulty to
manage them, or that he lives quieter with them, or that they are fitter
for his Business than the Men, I shall not now enter into a Dispute
about that; perhaps he goes better disguis'd in the fair Sex than
otherwise; Antiquity gives us many Histories of She-Devils, such as we
can very seldom match for Wickedness among the Men; such now as in the
Text, _Lot_'s Daughters, _Joseph_'s Mistress, _Sampson_'s _Dalilah_,
_Herod_'s _Herodias_, these were certainly _Devils_, or play'd the
_Devil_ sufficiently in their Turn; one Male Apparition indeed the
Scripture furnishes you with, and that is _Judas_; for his Master says
expresly of him, _One of you is a Devil_; not has the _Devil_, or is
possess'd of the DEVIL; but really is a DEVIL, or is a real DEVIL.
How happy is it, that this great Secret comes thus to be discover'd to
mankind? Certainly the World has gone on in Ignorance a long time, and
at a strange rate, that we should have so many _Devils_ continually
walking about among us in humane Shape, and we know it not.
Philosophers tell us that there is a World of Spirits, and many learned
Pieces of Guess-work they make at it, representing the World to be so
near us, that the Air, as they describe it, must be full of Dragons and
_Devils_, enough to fright our Imaginations with the very Thoughts of
them; and if they say true, 'tis our great Felicity that we cannot see
any farther into it than we do, which if we could, would appear as
frightful as Hell itself; but none of those Sages ever told us, till
now, that half the People who converse with us are _Apparitions_,
especially of the Women; and among them especially this valuable Part,
the Woman of Figure, the fair, the beautiful, or patch'd and painted.
This unusual Phænomenon has been seen but a little while, and but a
little way, and the general Part of Mankind cannot come into the same
Notions about it; nay, perhaps they will all think it strange; but be
it as strange as it will, the Nature of the Thing confirms it, this
lower Sphere is full of _Devils_; and some of both Sexes have given
strange Testimonies of the Reality of their pre-existent _Devilism_ for
many Ages past, tho' I think it never came to that Height as it has now.
It is true, in former times Satan dealt much in old Women, and those, as
I have observ'd already, very ugly, _Ugly as a Witch_, _Black as a
Witch_, _I look like a Witch_, all proverbial Speeches, and which
testify'd what Tools it was Satan generally work'd with; and these old
Spectres, they tell us, us'd to ride thro' the Air in the Night, and
upon Broomsticks too, all mighty homely Doings; some say they us'd to go
to visit their Grand Seignior the _Devil_, in those Nocturnal
Perambulations: But be that as it will, 'tis certain the _Devil_ has
chang'd hands, and that now he walks about the World cloth'd in Beauty,
cover'd with the Charms of the Lovely, and he fails not to disguise
himself effectually by it, for who would think a beautiful Lady could be
a Masque to the Devil? and that a fine Face, a divine Shape, a heavenly
Aspect, should bring the _Devil_ in her Company, nay, should be herself
an _Apparition_, a mere DEVIL.
The Enquiry is indeed worth our while, and therefore I hope all the
enamour'd Beaus and Boys, all the Beauty-hunters and Fortune-hunters,
will take heed, for I suppose if they get the _Devil_, they will not
complain for want of a Fortune; and there's Danger enough, I assure you,
for the World is full of Apparitions, _non rosa sine spinis_; not a
Beauty without a _Devil_, the old Women Spectres, and the young Women
Apparitions; the ugly ones Witches, and the handsome ones _Devils_;
Lord ha' Mercy, and a [Illustration: Cross] may be Set on the Man's Door
that goes a courting.
CHAP. VIII.
_Of the Cloven-Foot walking about the World without the_ Devil, (viz.) _of
Witches making Bargains for the_ Devil, _and particularly of selling
the Soul to the_ Devil.
I have dwelt long upon the _Devil_ in Masque as he goes about the World
incog. and especially without his Cloven-Foot, and have touched upon
some of his Disguises 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 prescrib'd to?
But as I said, that every _Devil_ has not a Cloven-Foot, so I must add
now for the present Purpose, that every Cloven-Foot is not the Devil.
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 apprehend him; yet it may happen otherwise, that's
certain; every Coin has its Counterfeit, every Art its Pretender, every
Whore her Admirer, every Error its Patron, and every Day has its DEVIL.
I have had some thought of making a full and compleat Discovery here of
that great Doubt which has so long puzzl'd the World, namely, whether
there is any such Thing, as secret making Bargains with the Devil, and
the first positive Assurance I can give you in the Case, is, that if
there is not, 'tis not his Fault, 'tis not for want of his Endeavour,
'tis plain, if you will pardon me for taking so mean a Step, as that of
quoting Scripture; I say, 'tis 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 one bend of his Knee_:
Impudent Seraph! To think thy Lord should pay thee Homage! How many
would agree with him here for a less Price! They say, _Oliver Cromwell_
struck a Bargain with him, and that he gave _Oliver_ the Protectorship,
but would not let him call himself King, which stuck so close to that
_Furioso_, that the Mortification Spread into his Soul, and 'tis said,
he dy'd of a Gangreen in the Spleen. But take Notice and do _Oliver_
Justice; I do not vouch the Story, neither does the Bishop say one Word
of it.
Fame us'd to say, that the old famous Duke of _Luxemburg_ made a Magic
compact of this Kind; nay, I have heard many an (old Woman) Officer of
the Troops, who never car'd to see his Face, declare that he carry'd the
Devil at his Back. I remember a certain Author of a News Paper in
_London_ was once taken up, and they say, it cost him 50_l._ for
printing in his News, that _Luxemburg_ was _Humpback'd_. Now if I have
resolv'd the Difficulty, namely, that he was not hump'd, only carry'd
the _Devil_ at his Back; I think the poor Man should have his 50_l._
again, or I should have it for the Discovery.
I confess, I do not well understand this compacting with such a Fellow
as can neither write nor read; nor do I know who is the Scrivener
between them, or how the Indenture can be executed; but that which is
worse than all the rest is, that in _the first Place_, the _Devil_ never
keeps Articles; he will contract perhaps, and they say he is mighty
forward to make Conditions; but who shall bind him to the Performance,
and where is the Penalty if he fails? if we agree with him, he will be
apt enough to claim his Bargain and demand Payment; nay, perhaps before
it is due; but who shall make him stand to his.
Besides, he is a Knave in his Dealing, for he really promises what he
cannot perform; witness his impudent Proposal to our Lord mentioned
above. _All these Kingdoms will I give_ thee! _Lying Spirit!_ Why they
were none of thine to give, no not one of them; for the Earth is the
Lords and the kingdoms thereof, nor were they in his Power any more than
in his Right: So (I have heard that) some poor dismal Creatures have
sold themselves to the Devil for a Sum of Money, for so much Cash, and
yet even in that Case, when the Day of Payment came, I never heard that
he brought the Money or paid the Purchase, so that he is a Scoundrel in
his Treaties, for you shall trust for your Bargain, but not be able to
get your Money; and yet for your Part, he comes for you to an Hour: _Of
which by it self_.
In a Word, let me caution you all, when you trade with the Devil, either
get the Price or quit the Bargain; the _Devil_ is a cunning Shaver, he
will wriggle himself out of the Performance on his Side if possible, and
yet expect you should be punctual on your Side. They tell you of a poor
Fellow in _Herefordshire_, that offer'd to sell his Soul to him for a
Cow, and though the _Devil_ promised, and as they say, sign'd the
Writings, yet the poor Countryman could never get the Cow of him, but
still as he brought a Cow to him, some body or other came and challeng'd
it, proving that it was lost or stolen from them; so that the Man got
nothing but the Name of a Cow-stealer, and was at last carried to
_Hereford_ Goal, and condemn'd to be hang'd for stealing two Cows, one
after the other: The wicked Fellow was then in the greatest Distress
imaginable, he summon'd his _Devil_ to help him out, but he failed him,
as the _Devil_ always will; he really had not stolen the Cows, but they
were found in his Possession, and he could give no Account how he came
by them; at last he was driven to confess the Truth, told the horrid
Bargain he had made, and how the _Devil_ often promis'd him a Cow, but
never gave him one, except that several Times in the Morning early he
found a Cow put into his Yard, but it always prov'd to belong to some of
his Neighbours: Whether the Man was hang'd or no, the Story does not
relate; but this Part is to my Purpose, that they that make Bargains
with the _Devil_, ought to make him give Security for the Performance of
Covenants, and who the Devil would get to be bound for him, I can't
tell, they must look to that who make the Bargain: Besides, if he had
not had a Mind to cheat or baffle the poor Man, what need he have taken
a Cow so near home? if he had such and such Powers as we talk of, and as
Fancy and Fable furnish for him, could not he have carried a Cow in the
Air upon a Broom-stick, as well as an old Woman? Could he not have stole
a Cow for him in _Lincolnshire_, and set it down in _Herefordshire_, and
so have performed his Bargain, saved his Credit, and kept the poor Man
out of Trouble? so that if the Story is True, as I really believe it is,
either it is not the Devil that makes those Bargains, or the Devil 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 Hogs_,
and the like.
We have another Example of a Man's selling himself to the _Devil_, that
is very remarkable, and that is in the Bible too, and even in that, I
do not find, what the _Devil_ did for him, in Payment of the Purchase
Price. The Person selling was _Ahab_, of whom the Text says expresly,
_there was none like_ him, _who did sell himself to work Wickedness in
the Sight of the_ LORD, 1 _Kings_ xxi. 20, and the 25. I think it might
have been rendred, if not translated _in Spight of the Lord_, or _in
Defiance of God_; for certainly that's the Meaning of it; and now
allowing me to preach a little upon this Text, my Sermon shall be very
short. _Ahab_ sold himself, who did he sell himself to? I answer that
Question by a Question; who would buy him? who, _as we say_, would give
any thing for him? and the Answer to that is plain also, you may judge
of the Purchaser by the Work he was to do; he that buys a Slave in the
Market, 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 but the _Devil_?
I think there's no room to doubt but _Ahab_ sold himself to the Devil;
the Text is plain that he sold himself, and the Work he was sold to do
points out the Master that bought him; what Price he agreed with the
_Devil_ for, that indeed the Text is silent in, so we may let it alone,
nor is it much to our Purpose, unless it be to enquire whether the
_Devil_ stood to his Bargain or not, and whether he paid the Money
according to Agreement, or cheated him as he did the Farmer at
_Hereford_.
This buying and selling between the _Devil_ and us, is, I must confess,
an odd kind of Stock-jobbing, and indeed the _Devil_ may be said to sell
the _Bear-skin_, whatever he buys; but the strangest Part is when he
comes to demand the transfer; for as I hinted before, whether he
Performs or no, he expects his Bargain to a Tittle; there is indeed
some Difficulty in resolving how and in what Manner Payment is made; the
Stories we meet with in our Chimney-Corner Histories, and which are so
many Ways made Use of to make the _Devil_ frightful to us and our Heirs
for ever, are generally so foolish and ridiculous, as, if true or not
true, they have nothing Material in them, are of no Signification, or
else so impossible in their Nature, that they make no Impression upon
any body above twelve Years old and under seventy; or else are so
tragical that Antiquity has fabled them down to our Taste, that we might
be able to hear them and repeat them with less Horror than is due to
them.
This Variety has taken off our Relish of the Thing in general, and made
the Trade of Soul-selling, like our late more eminent Bubbles, be taken
to be a Cheat and to have little in it.
However, to speak a little more gravely to it, I cannot say but that
since, by the two eminent Instances of it above in _Ahab_, and in Christ
himself, the Fact is evidently ascertain'd; and that the Devil has
attempted to make such a Bargain on one, and actually did make it with
the other. The Possibility of it is not to be disputed; but then I must
explain the Manner of it a little, and bring it down, nearer to our
Understanding, that it may be more intelligible than it is; for as for
this selling the Soul, and making a Bargain to give the _Devil_
Possession by Livery and Seisin on the Day appointed, that I cannot come
into by any Means; no nor into the other Part, namely, of the Devil
coming to claim his Bargain, and to demand the Soul according to
Agreement, and upon Default of a fair Delivery, taking it away by
Violence _Case and all_, of which we have many historical Relations
pretty current among us; some of which, _for ought I know_, we might
have hop'd had been true, if we had not been sure they were false, and
others we had Reason to fear were false, because it was impossible they
should be true.
The Bargains of this Kind, according to the best Accounts we have of
them, used to consist of two main Articles, according to the ordinary
Stipulations in all Covenants; namely,
1. Something to be perform'd on the Devil's Part, buying.
2. Something to be performed on the Man's Part, selling.
1. The _Devil_'s Part: This was generally some poor Trifle, for the
Devil generally bought good Penny-worths, and oftentimes like a compleat
Sharper, agreed to give what he was not able to procure; that is to say,
would bargain for a Price he could not pay, as in the Case of the
_Hereford_ Man and the Cow; for Example, 1. _Long Life_: This tho' the
deluded Chapman has often had folly enough to contract for, the Devil
never had Power to make good; and we have a famous Story, how true I
know not, of a Wretch that sold himself to the DEVIL on Condition he,
_Satan_, should assure him (1.) That he should never want Victuals; (2.)
That he should never be a cold; (3.) That he should always come to him
when he call'd him; and (4.) That he should let him live one and twenty
Years, and then Satan was at Liberty to have him; that is, I suppose, to
take him wherever he could find him.
It seems, the Fellow's desire to be assur'd of 21 Years Life, was
chiefly, that during that Time, he might be as wicked as he would, and
should yet be sure not to be hang'd, nay, to be free from all
Punishment; upon this Foot 'tis said he commenc'd Rogue, and committed a
great many Robberies and other villanous Things; now it seems the
_Devil_ was pretty true to his Bargain in several of those things;
particularly, that two or three times when the Fellow was taken up for
petty Crimes, and call'd for his old Friend, he came and frighted the
Constables so, that they let the Offender get away from them: But at
Length having done some capital Crime, a Set of Constables, or such like
Officers, seiz'd upon him, who were not to be frighted with the _Devil_,
in what Shape soever he appear'd; so that they carry'd him off, and he
was committed to _Newgate_ or some other Prison as effectual.
Nor could Satan with all his Skill unlock his Fetters, much less the
Prison Doors; But he was try'd, convicted, and executed. The Fellow in
his Extremity, _they say_, expostulated with the _Devil_ for his
Bargain, the Term of 21 Years it seems not being expir'd. But the
_Devil_, it is said, shuffl'd with him, told him a good while, he would
get him out, bid him have Patience and stay a little, and thus led him
on, till he came as it were within Sight of the Gallows, that is to say,
within a Day or two of his Execution; when the _Devil_ cavill'd upon his
Bargain, told him, he agreed to let him live 21 Years, and he had not
hindred him, but that he did not Covenant to cause him to live that
Time; that there was a great deal of Difference between doing and
suffering; that he was to suffer him to live, and that he did; but he
could not make him live when he had brought himself to the Gallows.
Whether this Story were true or not, for you must not expect we
Historians should answer for the Discourse between the _Devil_ and his
Chaps, because we were not privy to the Bargain: I say, whether it was
true or not, the Inference is to our Purpose several Ways.
1. It confirms what I have said of the Knavery of the _Devil_ in
his Dealings, and that when he has Stock-jobb'd with us on the best
Conditions he can get, he very seldom performs his Bargain.
2. It confirms what I have likewise said, that the _Devil_'s Power
is limited; with this Addition, that he not only cannot destroy the
Life of Man, but that he cannot preserve it; _in short_, he can
neither prevent or bring on our Destruction.
I may be allow'd, I hope, for the Sake of the present Discourse, to
suppose that the _Devil_ would have been so just to this wicked, tho'
foolish Creature, as to have sav'd him from the Gallows if he could; but
it seems, he at last acknowledg'd that it was not in his Power; nay, he
could not keep him from being taken and carry'd to Prison, after he was
gotten into the Hands of a bold Fellow or two, that were not to be
fear'd with his Bluster, as some foolish Creatures had been before.
And how simple, how weak, how unlike any Thing of an Angelick Nature,
was it to attempt to save the poor Wretch, only by little Noises and
sham Appearances, putting out the Candles, rushing and josteling in the
Dark, _and the like_! If the _Devil_ was that mighty Seraph, which we
have heard of, if he is a God of this World, a Prince of the Air, a
Spirit able to destroy Cities and make Havock in the World; if he can
raise Tempests and Storms, throw Fire about the World, and do wonderful
Things, as an unchain'd _Devil_ no Doubt could do; what need all this
Frippery? and what need he try so many ridiculous Ways, by the
Emptiness, nay, the silly nonsensical Manner, of which, he shews, that
he is able to do no better, and that his Power is extinguish'd? _In a
Word_, he would certainly act otherwise, if he could. _Sed caret
pedibus_, he wants Power.
How weak a thing is it then, for any Man to expect Performance from the
_Devil_? If he has not Power to do Mischief, which is his Element, his
very Nature, and on many Accounts, is the very sum of his Desires; How
should he have Power to do Good? how Power to deliver from Danger or
from Death? which Deliverance would be in itself a Good, and we know it
is not in his Nature 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 Performance of an Agreement of any Kind
whatever, when he knows himself, that he is not able, if he was honest
enough, to be as good as his Word.
Come we next to his expecting our Performance to him; tho' he is not so
just to us, yet, it seems, he never fails to come and demand Payment of
us at the very Day appointed: He was but a weak Trader in Things of this
Nature, who having sold his Soul to the _Devil_, so our old Women's
Tales call the Thing, and when the _Devil_ came to demand his Bargain,
put it off as a Thing of no Force, for that it was done so long ago, he
thought he (_the Devil_) had forgot it. It was a better Answer, which
they tell us, a _Lutheran_ Divine gave the _Devil_ in the Name of a poor
Wretch, who had sold himself to the _Devil_, and who was in a terrible
Fright about his coming for his Bargain, as he might well be indeed, if
the _Devil_ has such a Power, as really to come and take it by Force.
_The Story (if you can bear a serious one) is this._
The Man was in great Horror of Mind, and the Family fear'd he would
destroy himself; at length they sent for a _Lutheran_ Minister to talk
with him, and who after some Labour with him, got out the Truth (_viz._)
that he had sold himself to the _Devil_, and that the Time was almost
expir'd, when he expected the _Devil_ would come and fetch him away, and
he was sure he would not fail coming to the Time to a Minute; the
Minister first endeavour'd to convince him of the horrid Crime, and to
bring him to a true Penitence for that Part; and having as he thought
made him a sincere Penitent, he then began to encourage him, and
particularly, desir'd of him, that when the Time was come, that the
_Devil_ should fetch him away, he, the Minister, should be in the House
with him; accordingly, to make the Story short, the Time came, the
_Devil_ came, and the Minister was present, when the _Devil_ came; what
Shape he was in, the Story does not say; the Man said he saw him, and
cry'd out; the Minister could not see him, but the Man affirming he was
in the Room, the Minister said aloud, _in the Name of the_ living God,
_Satan, what comest thou here for?_ The _Devil_ answer'd, _I come for my
own_; the Minister answer'd, _He is not thy own, for Jesus Christ has
redeem'd him, and in his Name I charge thee to avoid and touch him not_;
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 molest him
afterward.
Another Story, tho' it be in it self a long one, I shall abridge (for
your reading with the less Uneasiness) as follows.
A young Gentleman of _----berg_, in the Elector of _Brandenburgh_'s (now
the King of _Prussia_'s) Dominions, being deeply in Love with a
beautiful Lady, but something above his Fortune, and whom he could by no
Means bring to love him again, apply'd himself to an _old thing_ call'd
_a Witch_, for her Assistance, and promised her great Things, if she
could bring the Lady to love him, or any how compass her, so as he might
have his Will of her; nay, at last he told her he would give up his Soul
to her, if she would answer his Desire.
The old Hag, it seems, having had some of his Money, had very honestly
tried what she could do, but all to no Purpose, the Lady would not
comply; but when he offer'd such a great Price, she told him, she would
consider farther against such a Time, and so appointed him the next
Evening.
At the Time appointed he comes, and the Witch made a long Speech to him
upon the Nicety of the Affair; I suppose to prepare him not to be
surpriz'd at what was to come; for she suppos'd he was not so very
desperately bent as he appear'd to be; she told him it was a Thing of
very great Difficulty; but as he had made such a great Offer, of
_selling his Soul for it_, she had an Acquaintance in the House, who was
better skill'd (than she was) in such particular Things, and would treat
with him farther, and she doubted not but that both together they might
answer his End. The Fellow it seems was still of the same Mind, and told
her, he car'd not what he pawn'd or sold, if he could but obtain the
Lady; well, says the old Hag, sit still a while, and with that she
withdraws.
By and by she comes in again with a Question in her Mouth; pray, says
she, do you seek this Lady for a Wife, or for a Mistress, would you
marry her, or would you only lie with her? The young Man told her _no,
no_, he did not expect she would lie with him, therefore he would be
satisfied to marry her, but asks her the Reason of the Question; why
truly, says the old Hag, my Reason is very Weighty; for if you would
have her for your Wife, I doubt, we can do you no Service; but if you
have a Mind to lie with her, the Person, I speak of, will undertake it.
The Man was surpriz'd at that, only he objected that this was a
transient or short Felicity, and that he should perhaps have her no
more; the old Hag bid him not fear, but that if she once yielded to be
his Whore, he might have her as often as he pleased; upon this he
consents, for he was stark mad for the Lady; He having consented, she
told him then, he should follow her, but told him, whoever he saw, he
must speak to no body but her, till she gave him leave, and that he
should not be surpriz'd, whatever happen'd, for no hurt should befall
him; all which he agreed to, and the old Woman going out he follow'd
her.
Being upon this led into another Room, where there was but very little
Light, yet enough to let him see that there was no body in it but
himself and the Woman, he was desired to sit down in a Chair next to a
Table, and the old Woman clapping the Door too after her, he asked her
why she shut the Door, and where was the Person she told him of? At
which she answer'd _there he is_, pointing to a Chair at a little
Distance: The young Gentleman turning his Head, saw a grave Kind of a
Man sitting in an Elbow-Chair, tho' he said, he could have sworn there
was no body in the Chair when the old Woman shut the Door; however,
having promis'd not to speak to any body but the old Woman, he said not
a Word.
By and by the Woman making abundance of strange Gestures and Motions,
and mumbling over several Things which he could not understand, on a
suddain a large Wicker-Chair, which stood by the Chimney, removes to the
other End of the Table which he sat by, but there was no body in the
Chair; in about two Minutes after that the Chair remov'd, there appear'd
a Person sitting in that too, who, the Room being, as is said, almost
dark, could not be so distinguish'd by the Eye, as to see his
Countenance.
After some while, the first Man, and the Chair he sat in, mov'd, as if
they had been one Body, to the Table also; and the old Woman and the two
Men seem'd to talk together, but the young Man could not understand any
Thing they said; after some Time the old Witch turn'd to the young
Gentleman, told him his Request was granted, but not for Marriage, but
the Lady should love and receive him.
The Witch then gave him a Stick dipt in Tar at both Ends, and bid him
hold it to a Candle, which he did, and instead of burning like a Stick
it burnt out like a Torch; then she bid him break it off in the Middle,
and light the other End; he did that too, and all the Room seem'd to be
in a light Flame; then she said, deliver one Piece here, pointing to one
only of the Persons, so he gave the first Fire-stick to the first Man or
_Apparition_; now says she, deliver the other here, so he gave the other
Piece to the other Apparition, at which they both rose up and spoke to
him Words, which he said he understood not, and could not repeat, and
immediately vanish'd with the Fire-sticks and all, leaving the Room full
of Smoke: I do not remember that the Story says any Thing of Brimstone,
or the Smell of it, but it says the Door continu'd fast lock'd, and no
Body was left in the Room but the young Gentleman and the Witch.
Now the Ceremony being over, he ask'd the Witch if the Business was
done? She said _yes_. Well, but says he, have I sold my Soul to the
Devil? Yes, says she, you have, and you gave him Possession, when you
deliver'd the two Fire-sticks to him. _To him!_ says he, why, was that
the _Devil_? Yes, says the old Hag. At which the young Man was in a
terrible Fright for a while, but it went off again.
And what's next, says he, when shall I see the Lady for whose sake I
have done all this? You shall know that presently, said she, and opening
the Door, in the next Room she presents him with a most beautiful Lady,
but had charg'd him not to speak a Word to her: She was exactly dress'd
like, and he presently knew her to be the Lady he desir'd; upon which he
flew to her and clasped her in his Arms, but that Moment he had her
fast, as he thought, in his Arms, she vanish'd out of his sight.
Finding himself thus disappointed, he upbraids the old Woman with
betraying him, and flew out with ill Language at her, in a great Rage;
the _Devil_ often deluded him thus, after this, with Shews and
Appearances, but still no Performance; after a while he gets an
Opportunity to speak with the Lady her self in Reality, but she was as
positive in her Denial as ever, and even took away all Hopes of his ever
obtaining her, which put him into Despair; for now he thought he had
given himself up to the _Devil_ for nothing, and this brought him to
himself; so that he made a penitent Confession of his Crime to some
Friends, who took great Care of him, and encourag'd him, and at last
furnish'd him with such an Answer as put the _Devil_ into a Fright, when
he came for the Bargain.
For Satan, it seems, _as the Story says_, had the Impudence to demand
his Agreement, notwithstanding he had fail'd in the Performance on his
Part; what the Answer was I do not pretend to have seen, but it seems
it was something like what is mention'd above, (_viz._) that he was in
better Hands, and that he durst not touch him.
I have heard of another Person that had actually sign'd a Contract with
the _Devil_; and upon a Fast kept by some Protestant or Christian
Divines, while they were praying for the poor Man, the Devil was oblig'd
to come and throw the Contract in at the Window.
But I vouch none of these Stories, there may be much in them and much
Use made of them, even whether exactly such in Fact, as they are
related, or no; the best Use I can make of them, is this, if any wicked
desperate Wretches have made Bargain and Sale with _Satan_, their only
Way is to repent, if they know how, and that before he comes to claim
them; then batter him with his own Guns; play Religion against Devilism,
and perhaps they may drive the _Devil_ out of their Reach; at least he
will not come at them, which is as well.
On the other Hand, how many Stories have we handed about of the Devil's
really coming with a terrible Appearance at the Time appointed, and
powerfully or by violence carrying away those, that have given
themselves thus up to him; nay, and sometimes a Piece of the House along
with them, as in the famous Instance of _Sudbury_, _Anno_ 1662. It seems
he comes with Rage and Fury upon such Occasions, pretending he only
comes to take his own, or as if he had leave given him to come and take
his Goods, _as we say_, where he could find them, and would strike a
Terror into all that should oppose him.
The greatest Part of the Terror we are usually in upon this Occasion, is
from a Supposition, that when this _Hell-Fire Contract_ is once made,
God allows the _Devil_ to come and take the wicked Creature, how and in
what manner he thinks fit, as being given up to him by his own Act and
Deed; but in my Opinion there's no Divinity at all in that; for as in
our Law we punish a _Felo de se_, or Self-murtherer, because, _as the
Law suggests_, he had no Right to dismiss his own Life; that he being a
Subject of the Common-wealth, the Government claims the _Ward_ or
Custody of him, and so 'twas not Murther only, but Robbery, and is a
Felony against the State, robbing the King of his Liege-Man, as _'tis
justly call'd_; so neither has any Man a Right to dispose of his Soul,
which belongs to his Maker in Property and in Right of Creation: The Man
then having no Right to sell, Satan has no Right to buy, or at best he
has made a Purchase without a Title, and consequently has no just Claim
to the Possession.
It is therefore a Mistake to say, that when any of us have been so mad
to make such a pretended Contract with the Devil, that God gives him
leave to take it as his Due; _'tis no such thing_; the _Devil_ has
bought, what you had no Right to sell, and therefore, as an unlawful
Oath is to be repented of, and then broken; so your Business is to
repent of the Crime, and then tell the _Devil_, you have better
consider'd of it, and that you won't stand to your Bargain, for you had
no Power to sell; and if he pretends to Violence after that, I am
mistaken; I believe the _Devil_ knows better.
It is true, our old Mothers and Nurses have told us other Things, but
they only told us what their Mothers and Nurses told them, and so the
Tale has been handed down from one Generation of old Women to another;
but we have no Vouchers for the Fact other than Oral Tradition, the
Credit of which, I confess, goes but a very little Way with me; nor do I
believe it one Jot the more for all the frightful Addenda which they
generally join to the Tale, for it never wants a great Variety of that
Kind.
Thus they tell us the Devil carried away Dr. _Faustus_ and took a Piece
of the Wall of his Garden along with them: Thus at _Salisbury_ the
_Devil_ as it is said, and publickly printed, carried away two Fellows
that had given themselves up to him, and carried away the Roof of the
House with them, _and the like_; all which I believe my Share of;
besides, if these Stories were really true, they are all against the
Devil's true Interest, _Satan_ must be a Fool, which is indeed what I
never took him to be in the Main; this would be the Way not to encrease
the Number of Desperadoes, who should thus put themselves into his Hand,
but to make himself a Terror to them; and this is one of the most
powerful Objections I have against the Thing, for the Devil, I say, is
no Fool, that must be acknowledg'd; he knows his own Game, and generally
plays it sure.
I might, before I quit this Point, seriously reflect here upon our _Beau
mond_ (_viz._) the gay Part of Mankind, especially those of the Times we
live in, who walk about in a Composure and Tranquillity inexpressible,
and yet as we all know, must certainly have all sold themselves to the
Devil, for the Power of acting the foolishest Things with the greater
Applause; it is true, to be a Fool is the most pleasant Life in the
World, if the Fool has but the particular Felicity, which few Fools
want, (_viz._) to think themselves wise: The learned say, it is the
Dignity and Perfection of Fools, that they never fail trusting
themselves; they believe themselves sufficient and able for every Thing;
and hence their want or waste of Brains is no Grievance to them, but
they hug themselves in the Satiety of their own Wit; but to bring 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 own; this requires a general
Infatuation, and must either be a Judgment from Heaven, or a Mist of
Hell; nothing but the Devil can make all the Men of Brains applaud a
Fool, and can any Man 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.
'Tis the same thing with Rakes and Bullies, as 'tis with Fools and
Beaus; and this brings me to the Subject of _buying_ and _selling_ it
self, and to examine what is understood by it in the World, what People
mean by such and such 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 Conditions of Safety and Impunity, which
the Devil promises them; tho' as I said above, he is a _Bite_ in that
too, for he can't perform the Conditions; however, I say, he promises
boldly, and they believe him, and for this Privilege in Wickedness, they
consent, that he shall come and fetch them for his own, at such or such
a Time.
This is the State of the Case in the general Acceptation of it; I do not
say 'tis really so, nay 'tis even an Inconsistency in it self; for one
would think, they need not capitulate with the Devil to be so, and so,
superlatively wicked, and give him such a Price for it, seeing, unless
we have a wrong Notion of him, he is naturally enclin'd, as well as
avow'dly willing to have all Men be as superlatively wicked as possibly
they can, and must necessarily be always ready to issue out his Licenses
gratis, as far as his Authority will go in the Case; and therefore I do
not see why the Wretches that deal with him, should article with him for
a Price; but suppose, for Argument sake, that it is so, then the next
Thing is, some capital Crime follows the Contract, and then the Wretch
is forsaken, for the Devil cannot protect him, as he promised; so he is
_Trust up_, and like _Coleman_ at the Gallows, he exclaims that _there
is no Truth in_ Devils.
It may be true, however, that under the powerful Guard and Protection of
the Devil, Men do sometimes go a great Way in Crime, and that perhaps
farther in these our Days of boasted Morals than was known among our
Fathers; the only Difference that I meet with between the Sons of
_Belial_ in former Days, and those of our Ages, seems to be in the
Devil's Management, not in theirs; the Sum 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
Hands, all his Art and Engines, and Engineers also, were kept fully
employ'd, to wheedle, allure, betray and circumvent People, and draw
them into Crimes, and they found him, as we may say, a full Employment;
I doubt not, he was call'd the Tempter on that very Account; but the
Case seems quite alter'd now, the Tables are turned; then the Devil
tempted Men to sin, _But now, in short_, they tempt the Devil; Men push
into Crimes before he pushes them; they out shoot him in his own Bow,
out run him on his own Ground, and, as we say of some hot Spurs who ride
Post, they whip the Post-Boy; in a Word, the Devil seems to have no
Business now but to sit still and look on.
This, I must confess, seems to intimate some secret Compact between the
Devil and them; but then it looks, not as is they had contracted with
the Devil for leave to sin, but that the Devil had contracted with them,
that they should sin so and so, up to such a Degree, and that without
giving him the Trouble of daily Solicitation, private Management, and
artful screwing up their Passions, their Affections and their most
retir'd Faculties, as he was before oblig'd to do.
This also appears more agreeable to the Nature of the Thing; and as it
is a most exquisite part of Satan's Cunning, so 'tis an undoubted
Testimony of his Success; if it was not so, he could never bring his
Kingdom to such a height of absolute Power as he has done; this also
solves several Difficulties in the Affair of the World's present Way of
sinning, which otherwise it would be very hard to understand; as
particularly how some eminent Men of Quality among us, whose upper Rooms
are not extraordinary well furnished in other Cases, yet are so very
witty in their Wickedness, that they gather Admirers by hundreds and
thousands; who, however heavy, lumpish, slow and backward, even by
Nature, and in force of Constitution in better things, yet in their Race
Devil-wards they are of a sudden grown nimble, light of Foot, and outrun
all their Neighbours; Fellows that are as empty of Sense as Beggars are
of Honesty, and as far from Brains as a Whore is of Modesty; on a sudden
you shall find them dip into _Polemicks_, study _Michael Servetus_,
_Socinus_, and the most learned of their Disciples; they shall reason
against all Religion, as strongly as a Philosopher; blaspheme with such
a Keenness of Wit, and satyrise God and Eternity, with such a Brightness
of Fancy, as if the soul of a _Rochester_ or a _Hobbs_ was
transmigrated into them; in a little length of Time more they banter
Heaven, burlesque the Trinity, and jest with every sacred thing, and all
so sharp, so ready, and so terribly witty, as if they were born
Buffoons, and were singl'd out by Nature to be Champions for the Devil.
Whence can all this come? how is the Change wrought? who but the Devil
can inject Wit in Spight of natural Dullness, create Brains, fill empty
Heads, and supply the Vacuities in the Understanding? and will Satan do
all this for nothing? _No, no_, he is too wise for that; I can never
doubt a secret Compact, if there is such a thing in Nature; when I see a
Head where there was no Head, Sense in _Posse_ where there is no Sense
in _Esse_, Wit without Brains, and Sight without Eyes, 'tis all
_Devil-Work_: Could _G----_ write Satyrs, that could neither read
_Latin_ or spell _English_, like old Sir _William Read_, who wrote a
Book of Opticks, which when it was printed, he did not know which was
the right Side uppermost, and which the wrong? Could this eminent
uninform'd Beau turn Atheist, and make wise Speeches against that Being,
which made him a Fool, if the Devil had not sold him some Wit in
exchange for that Trifle of his, call'd Soul? Had he not barter'd his
Inside with that Son of the Morning, to have his Tongue tip'd with
Blasphemy, he that knew nothing of a God, but only to swear by him,
could never have set up for a Wit, to burlesque his Providence and
ridicule his Government of the World.
But the Devil, as he is God of the World, has one particular Advantage,
and 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 _France_ said of himself, when
they told him what a Calamity was like to befal his Kingdom by the
Famine: _Well_, says the King, then I shall not want Soldiers; _and it
was so_, want of Bread supplied his Army with Recruits; so want of Grace
supplied the _Devil_ with Reprobates for his Work.
Another Reason why, I think, the _Devil_ has made more Bargains of that
Kind we speak of, in this Age, is, because he seems to have laid by his
Cloven-Foot; all his old Emissaries, the Tools of his Trade, the
Engineers which he employ'd in his Mines, such as Witches, Warlocks,
Magicians, Conjurers, Astrologers, and all the hellish Train or Rabble
of human _Devils_, who did his Drudgery in former Days, seem to be out
of Work: I shall give you a fuller Enumeration of them in the next
Chapter.
These, I say, seem to be laid aside; not that his Work is abated, or
that his Business with Mankind, for their Delusion and Destruction is
not the same, or perhaps more than ever; but the _Devil_ seems to have
chang'd Hands; the Temper and Genius of Mankind is alter'd, and they are
not to be taken by Fright and Horror, as they were then: The Figures of
those Creatures was always dismal and horrible, and that is it which I
mean by the _Cloven-Foot_; but now Wit, Beauty and gay Things, are the
Sum of his Craft, he manages by the Soft and the Smooth, the Fair and
the Artful, the Kind and the Cunning, not by the Frightful and Terrible,
the Ugly and the Odious.
When the _Devil_ for weighty Dispatches,
Wanted Messengers cunning and bold,
He pass'd by the beautiful Faces,
And pick'd out the _Ugly_ and _Old_.
Of these he made _Warlocks_ and _Witches_,
To run of his Errands by Night,
Till the over wrought Hag-ridden Wretches,
Were as fit as the _Devil_, to fright.
But whoever has been his Adviser,
As his Kingdom encreases in Growth;
He now takes his Measures much wiser,
And Trafficks with Beauty and Youth.
Disguis'd in the Wanton and Witty,
He haunts both the Church and the Court,
And sometimes he visits the City,
Where all the best Christians resort.
Thus dress'd up in full Masquerade,
He the bolder can range up and down,
For he better can drive on his Trade,
In any one's Name than his own.
CHAP. IX.
_Of the Tools the_ Devil _works with,_ (viz.) _Witches, Wizards or
Warlocks, Conjurers, Magicians, Divines, Astrologers, Interpreters
of Dreams, Tellers of Fortunes; and above all the rest, his
particular modern Privy-Counsellors call'd Wits and Fools._
Tho', as I have advanc'd in the foregoing Chapter, the _Devil_ has very
much chang'd Hands in his modern Management of the World, and that
instead of the Rabble and long Train of Implements reckoned up above, he
now walks about in Beaus, Beauties, Wits and Fools; yet I must not omit
to tell you that he has not dismiss'd his former Regiments, but like
Officers in Time of Peace, he keeps them all in half Pay, or like
Extraordinary Men at the Custom-House, they are kept at a Call, to be
ready to fill up Vacancies, or to employ when he is more than ordinarily
full of Business; and therefore it may not be amiss to give some brief
Account of them, from Satan's own Memoirs, their Performance being no
inconsiderable Part of his History.
Nor will it be an unprofitable Digression to go back a little to the
primitive Institution of all these _Orders_, for they are very antient,
and I assure you, it requires great Knowledge of Antiquity, to give a
Particular of their Original; I shall be very brief in it.
In order then to this Enquiry, you must know that it was not for want of
Servants, that Satan took this Sort of People into his Pay; he had, as I
have observ'd in its Place, Millions of diligent _Devils_ at his Call,
whatever Business, and however difficult, he had for them to do; but as
I have said above, that our modern People are forwarder than even the
_Devil_ himself can desire them to be; and that they come before they
are call'd, run before they are sent, and crowd themselves into his
Service; so it seems it was in those early Days, when the World was one
universal Monarchy under his Dominion, as I have at large describ'd in
its Place.
In those Days the Wickedness of the World keeping a just Pace with their
Ignorance, this inferior Sort of low priz'd Instruments did the
_Devil_'s work mighty well; they drudg'd on in his Black-Art so
laboriously, and with such good Success, that he found it was better to
employ them as Tools to delude and draw in Mankind, than to send his
invisible Implements about, and oblige them to take such Shapes and
Dresses as were necessary upon every trifling Occasion; which, perhaps,
was more Cost than Worship, more Pains than Pay.
Having then a Set of these Voluntiers in his Service, the true _Devil_
had nothing to do but to keep an exact Correspondence with them, and
communicate some needful Powers to them, to make them be and do
something extraordinary, and give them a Reputation in their Business;
and these, in a Word, did a great Part of, nay almost all the _Devil_'s
Business in the World.
To this Purpose gave he them Power, if we may believe old _Glanville_,
_Baxter_, _Hicks_, and other learn'd Consultors of Oracles, to walk
invisible, to fly in the Air, ride upon Broom-sticks, and other Wooden
Gear, to interpret Dreams, answer Questions, betray Secrets, to talk
(Gibberish) the universal Language, to raise Storms, sell Winds, bring
up Spirits, disturb the Dead, and torment the Living, with a thousand
other needful Tricks to amuse the World, keep themselves in Veneration,
and carry on the _Devil_'s Empire in the World.
The first Nations among whom these infernal Practices were found, were
the _Chaldeans_; and that I may do Justice in earnest, as well as in
jest, it must be allow'd that the _Chaldeans_, or those of them so
call'd, were not Conjurers or Magicians, only Philosophers and Studiers
of Nature, wise, sober and studious Men at first, and we have an
extraordinary Account of them; and if we may believe some of our best
Writers of Fame, _Abraham_ was himself famous among them for such
Magick, as Sir _Walter Raleigh_ expresses it, _Qui Contemplatione
Creaturarum Cognovit Creatorem_.
Now granting this, it is all to my Purpose, namely, that the Devil drew
these wise Men in, to search after more Knowledge than Nature could
instruct them in; and the Knowledge of the true God being at that Time
sunk very low, he debauch'd them all with Dreams, Apparitions,
Conjurers, _&c._ till he ruin'd the just Notions they had, and made
_Devils_ of them all, like himself.
The learned _Senensis_, speaking of this _Chaldean_ Kind of Learning,
gives us an Account of five Sorts of them; you will pardon me for being
so grave as to go this Length back.
1. _Chascedin_ or _Chaldeans_, properly so call'd, being
Astronomers.
2. _Asaphim_ or _Magicians_, such was _Zoroastres_ and _Balaam_ the
Son of _Beor_.
3. _Chatumim_ or Interpreters of Dreams and hard Speeches,
Inchanters, _&c._
4. _Mecasphim_ or Witches, call'd at first Prophets, afterwards
_Malefici_ or _Venefici_, Poisoners.
5. _Gazarim_ or _Auruspices_, and Diviners, such as divin'd by the
Entrails of Beasts, the Liver in particular; mention'd in _Ezek._
or as others, call'd Augurs.
Now, as to all these, I suppose, I may do them no wrong, if I say,
however justifiable they were in the Beginning, the _Devil_ got them all
into his Service at last, and that brings me to my Text again, from
which the rest was a Digression.
1. The _Chascedin_ or _Chaldean_ Astronomers turned Astrologers,
Fortune-Tellers, Calculators of Nativities, and vile Deluders of
the People, as if the Wisdom of the holy God was in them, as
_Nebuchadnezzar_ said of _Daniel_ on that very Account.
2. The _Asaphim_ or Magi, or Magicians; _Sixtus Senensis_ says,
they were such as wrought by Covenants with Devils, but turn'd to
it from their Wisdom, which was to study the practical Part of
Natural Philosophy, working admirable Effects by the mutual
Application of Natural Causes.
3. The _Chartumim_ from being Reasoners or Disputers upon difficult
Points in Philosophy, became Enchanters and Conjurers. So,
4. The _Mecasphim_ or Prophets, they turn'd to be Sorcerers,
Raisers of Spirits, such as wounded by an evil Eye, and by bitter
Curses, and were afterwards fam'd for having familiar Converse with
the _Devil_, and were called Witches.
5. The _Gazarim_, from the bare observing of the good and bad
Omens, by the Entrails of Beasts, flying of Birds, _&c._ were
turn'd to Sacrists or Priests of the Heathen Idols and Sacrificers.
Thus, I say, first or last the _Devil_ engross'd all the Wise-Men of the
East, for so they are call'd; made them all his own, and by them he
work'd Wonders, that is, he fill'd the World with lying Wonders, as if
wrought by these Men, when indeed it was all his own, from Beginning to
the End, and set on Foot meerly to propagate Delusion, impose upon
blinded and ignorant Men; the God of this World blinded their Minds, and
they were led away by the Subtilty of the _Devil_, to say no worse of
it, till they became _Devils_ themselves, as to Mankind; for they
carried on the Devil's Work upon all Occasions, and the Race of them
still continue in other Nations, and some of them among our selves, as
we shall see presently.
The _Arabians_ follow'd the _Chaldeans_ in this Study, while it was kept
within its due Bounds, and after them the _Egyptians_; and among the
Latter we find that _Jannes_ and _Jambres_ were famous for their leading
_Pharaoh_ by their pretended magic Performances, to reject the real
Miracles of _Moses_; and History tells us of strange Pranks the
Wise-Men, the Magicians and the Southsayers plaid to delude the People
in the most early Ages of the World.
But, as I say, now, the _Devil_ has improv'd himself, so he did then;
for the _Grecian_ and _Roman_ Heathen Rites coming on, they outdid all
the Magicians and Southsayers, by establishing the _Devil_'s lying
Oracles, which, as a Master-Piece of Hell, did the _Devil_ more Honour,
and brought more Homage to him, than ever he had before, or could arrive
to since.
Again, as by the setting up the Oracles, all the Magicians and
Southsayers grew out of Credit; so at the ceasing of those Oracles, the
_Devil_ was fain to go back to the old Game again, and take up with the
Agency of Witches, Divinations, Inchantments and Conjurings, as I hinted
before, answerable to the four Sorts mention'd in the Story of
_Nebuchadnezzar_, (viz.) _Magicians_, _Astrologers_, the _Chaldeans_ and
the _Southsayers_: How these began to be out of Request, I have
mention'd already; but as the _Devil_ has not quite given them over,
only laid them aside a little for the present, we may venture to ask
what they were, and what Use he made of them when he did employ them.
The Truth is, I think, as it was a very mean Employment for any thing
that wears a human Countenance to take up, so I must acknowledge, I
think, 'twas a mean low priz'd Business for _Satan_ to take up with;
below the very _Devil_; below his Dignity as an Angelic, tho' condemn'd
Creature; below him even as a _Devil_; to go to talk to a parcel of
ugly, deform'd, spiteful, malicious old Women; to give them Power to do
Mischief, who never had a Will, after they enter'd into the State of
_old Woman-Hood_, to do any thing else: Why the _Devil_ always chose the
ugliest old Women he could find; whether _Wizardism_ made them ugly,
that were not so before, and whether the Ugliness, as it was a Beauty in
Witchcraft, did not encrease according to the meritorious Performance in
the Black-Trade? These are all Questions of Moment to be decided, (if
human Learning can arrive to so much Perfection) in Ages to come.
Some say the evil Eye and the wicked Look were Parts of the Enchantment,
and that the Witches, when they were in the height of their Business,
had a powerful Influence with both; that by looking upon any Person they
could bewitch them, and make the _Devil_, _as the Scots express it_,
ride through them booted and spurr'd; and that hence came that very
significant Saying, _to look like a Witch_.
The strange Work which the _Devil_ has made in the World, by this Sort
of his Agents call'd Witches, is such, and so extravagantly wild, that
except our Hope that most of those Tales happen not to be true, I know
not how any one could be easy to live near a Widow after she was five
and fifty.
All the other Sorts of Emissaries which Satan employs, come short of
these Ghosts; and Apparitions sometimes come and shew themselves, on
particular Accounts, and some of those Particulars respect doing
Justice, repairing Wrongs, preventing Mischief; sometimes in Matters
very considerable, and on Things so necessary to publick Benefit, that
we are tempted to believe they proceed from some vigilant Spirit who
wishes us well; but on the other Hand, these Witches are never concern'd
in any thing but Mischief; nay, if what they do portends good to one, it
issues in hurt to many; the whole Tenour of their Life, their Design in
general, is to do Mischief, and they are only employ'd in Mischief, and
nothing else: How far they are furnish'd with Ability suitable to the
horrid Will they are vested with, remains to be describ'd.
These Witches, 'tis said, are furnish'd with Power suitable to the
Occasion that is before them, and particularly that which deserves to be
consider'd, as Prediction, and foretelling Events, which I insist the
Author of Witchcraft is not accomplish'd with himself, nor can he
communicate it to any other: How then _Witches_ come to be able to
foretel Things to come, which, 'tis said, the _Devil_ himself cannot
know, and which, as I have shewn, 'tis evident he does not know himself,
is yet to be determin'd; that Witches do foretel, is certain, from the
Witch of _Endor_, who foretold Things to _Saul_, which he knew not
before, namely, that he should be slain in Battle the next Day, which
accordingly came to pass.
There are, however, and notwithstanding this particular Case, many
Instances wherein the _Devil_ has not been able to foretel approaching
Events, and that in Things of the utmost Consequence, and he has given
certain foolish or false Answers in such Cases; the DEVIL's Priests,
which were summon'd in by the Prophet _Elija_, to decide the Dispute
between God and _Baal_, had the _Devil_ been able to have inform'd them
of it, would certainly have receiv'd Notice from him, of what was
intended against them by _Elija_; that is to say, that they would be all
cut in pieces; for Satan was not such a Fool as not to know that _Baal_
was a Non-Entity, a Nothing, at best a dead Man, perish'd and rotting in
his Grave; for _Baal_ was _Bell_ or _Belus_, an ancient King of the
_Assyrian_ Monarchy, and he could no more answer by Fire to consume the
Sacrifice, than he could raise himself from the dead.
But the Priests of _Baal_ were left of their Master to their just Fate,
namely, to be a Sacrifice to the Fury of a deluded People; hence I infer
his Inability, for it would have been very unkind and ungrateful in him
not to have answer'd them, if he had been able. There is another
Argument raised here most justly against the _Devil_, with Relation to
his being under Restraint, and that of greater Eminence than we imagine,
and it is drawn from this very Passage, thus; 'tis not to be doubted but
that _Satan_, who has much of the Element put into his Hands, as Prince
of the Air, had a Power, or was able potentially speaking, to have
answer'd _Baal_'s Priests by Fire; Fire being in Vertue of his airy
Principality a Part of his Dominion; but he was certainly _withheld_ by
the Superior Hand, which gave him that Dominion, I mean _withheld_ for
the Occasion only: So in another Case, it was plain that _Balaam_, who
was one of those Sorts of _Chaldeans_ mention'd above, who dealt in
_Divinations_ and _Inchantments_, was withheld from cursing Israel.
Some are of Opinion that _Balaam_ was not a Witch or a Dealer with the
_Devil_ because 'tis said of him, or rather he says it of himself, that
he saw the Visions of God, _Numb._ xxiv. 16. _He hath said_, who _heard
the Words of_ GOD, _and knew the Knowledge of the most High, which saw
the Visions of the Almighty, falling into a_ TRANCE, _but having his
Eyes open_: Hence they alledge he was one of those Magi, which St.
_Augustin_ speaks of, _de Divinatione_, who by the Study of Nature, and
by the Contemplation of created Beings came to the Knowledge of the
Creature; and that _Balaam_'s Fault was, that being tempted by the
Rewards and Honours that the King promised him, he intended to have
curs'd _Israel_; but when his Eyes were open'd, and that he saw they
were God's own People, he durst not do it; they will have it therefore,
that except, _as above_, _Balaam_ was a good Man, or at least that he
had the Knowledge of the true God, and the Fear of that God upon him,
and that he honestly declares this, _Numb._ xxii. 18. _If_ Balak _would
give me his House full of Silver and Gold, I cannot go beyond the Word
of the Lord_ MY GOD: Where tho' he is call'd a false Prophet by some, he
evidently owns God, and assumes a Property in him, as other Prophets
did; MY GOD, and I cannot go beyond his Orders; but that which gives me
a better Opinion of _Balaam_ than all this is, his plain Prophesy of
Christ, Chap. xxiv. 17. where he calls him the Star of _Jacob_, and
declares, _I shall see him, but not now, I shall behold him, but not
nigh; there shall come a Star out of_ Jacob, _and a Scepter shall rise
out of_ Israel, _and shall smite the Corners of_ Moab, _and destroy all
the Children of_ Seth, all which express not a Knowledge only, but a
Faith in Christ; but I have done preaching, this is all by the by, I
return to my Business, which is the History.
There is another Piece of dark Practice here, which lies between Satan
and his particular Agents, and which they must give us an Answer to,
when they can, which I think will not be in haste; and that is about the
obsequious _Devil_ submitting to be call'd up into Visibility, whenever
an old Woman has her Hand cross'd with a white Six-pence, _as they Call
it_: One would think that instead of these vile Things call'd Witches,
being sold to the _Devil_, the _Devil_ was really sold for a Slave to
them; for how far soever Satan's Residence is off of this State of Life,
they have Power, it seems, to fetch him from home, and oblige him to
come at their Call.
I can give little Account of this, only that indeed so it is; nor is the
Thing so strange in its self, 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 Lord's Prayer backward, and the like; now is
this agreeable to the Dignity of the Prince of the Air or Atmosphere,
that he should be commanded forth with no more Pomp or Ceremony than
that of muttering a few Words, such as the old Witches and he agree
about? or is there something else in it, which none of us or themselves
understand?
Perhaps, indeed, he is always with those People call'd Witches and
Conjurers, or at least some of his _Camp Volant_ are always present, and
so upon the least call of the Wizard, it is but putting off the misty
Cloak and showing themselves.
Then we have a Piece of mock Pageantry in bringing those Things call'd
witches or Conjurers to Justice, that is, first to know if a Woman be a
Witch, throw her into a Pond, and if she be a Witch, she will swim, and
it is not in her own Power to prevent it; if she does all she can to
sink her self, it will not do, she will swim like a Cork. Then that a
Rope will not hang a Witch, but you must get a With, a green Osyer; that
if you nail a Horse-Shoe on the Sill of the Door, she cannot come into
the House, or go out, if she be in; these and a thousand more, too
simple to be believ'd, are yet so vouch'd, so taken for granted, and so
universally receiv'd for Truth, that there is no resisting them without
being thought atheistical.
What Methods to take to know, who are _Witches_, I really know not; but
on the other Side, I think there are variety of Methods to be used to
know who are not; _W--- G---_, Esq; is a Man of Fame, his Parts are
great, because his Estate is so; he has threescore and eight Lines of
_Virgil_ by rote, and they take up many of the Intervals of his merry
Discourses; he has just as many witty Stories to please Society; when
they are well told, _once over_, he begins again, and so he lives in a
round of Wit and Learning; he is a Man of great Simplicity and
Sincerity; you must be careful not to mistake my Meaning, as to the Word
Simplicity; some take it to mean Honesty, and so do I, only that it has
a Negative attending it, in his particular Case; in a Word, _W----
G----_ is an honest Man, and no _Conjurer_; a good Character, I think,
and without Impeachment to his Understanding, he may be a Man of Worth
for all that; take the other Sex, there is the Lady _H----_ is another
Discovery; bless us! what Charms in that Face! How bright those Eyes!
How flowing white her Breasts! How sweet her Voice? add to all, how
heavenly, divinely good her Temper! How inimitable her Behaviour! How
spotless her Virtue! How perfect her Innocence! and to sum up her
Character, we may add, the Lady _H----_ is no _Witch_; sure none of our
Beau Critics will be so unkind now as to censure me in those honest
Descriptions, as if I meant that my good Friend _W---- G----_ Esq; or my
ador'd Angel, the bright, the charming Lady _H----_ were Fools; but what
will not those Savages, call'd Critics, do, whose barbarous Nature
enclines them to trample on the brightest Characters, and to cavil on
the clearest Expressions?
It might be expected of me, however, in justice to my Friends, and to
the bright Characters of abundance of Gentlemen of this Age, who, by the
Depth of their Politics, 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 expected that I should clear up their
Fame, and assure the World concerning them, even by Name, that they are
no _Conjurers_, that they do not deal with the _Devil_, at least, not by
the Way Witchcraft and Divination, such as Sir _T---k_, _E--- B---_,
Esq; my Lord _Homily_, Coll. _Swagger_, _Jeoffry Well with_, Esq; Capt.
_Harry Go Deeper_, Mr. _Wellcome Woollen_, Citizen and Merchant Taylor
of _London_, _Henry Cadaver_, Esq; the D---- of _Caerfilly_, the
Marquess of _Sillyhoo_, Sir _Edward Thro' and Thro'_ Bart. and a World
of fine Gentlemen more, whose great Heads and Weighty Understandings
have given the World such Occasion to challenge them with being at least
descended from the _Magi_, and perhaps engaged with old Satan in his
Politics and Experiments; but I, that have such good Intelligence among
_Satan_'s Ministers of State, as is necessary to the present
Undertaking, am thereby well able to clear up their Characters: and I
doubt not, but they will value themselves upon it, and acknowledge
their Obligation to me, for letting the World know the _Devil_ does not
pretend to have had any Business with them, or to have enroll'd them in
the List of his Operators; _in a Word_, that none of them are
_Conjurers_: Upon which Testimony of mine, I expect they be no longer
charg'd with, or so much as suspected of having an unlawful Quantity of
Wit, or having any Sorts of it about them, that are contraband or
prohibited, but that for the future they pass unmolested, and be taken
for nothing but what they are, (_viz._) very honest worthy Gentlemen.
CHAP. X.
_Of the various Methods the Devil takes to converse with Mankind._
Having spoken something of Persons, and particularly of such as the
_Devil_ thinks fit to employ in his Affairs in the World, it comes next
of course to say something of the Manner how he communicates his Mind to
them, and by them to the rest of his Acquaintance in the World.
I take the _Devil_ to be under great Difficulties in his Affairs on his
Part, especially occasion'd by the Bounds which are set him, or which
Policys oblige him to set to himself, in his Access to the conversing
with Mankind; 'tis evident he is not permitted to fall upon them with
Force and Arms, that is to say, to muster up his infernal Troops, and
attack them with Fire and Sword; if he was not loose to act in this
Manner as he was able, by his own seraphic Power to have destroy'd the
whole Race, and even the Earth they dwelt upon, so he would certainly,
and long ago have effectually done it; his particular Interests and
Inclinations are well enough known.
But in the next Place, as he is thus restrain'd from Violence, so
Prudentials restrain him in all his other Actings with Mankind; and
being confin'd to Stratagem, and soft still Methods, such as Persuasion,
Allurement, feeding the Appetite, prompting, and then gratifying corrupt
Desires, and the like; he finds it for his Purpose not to appear in
Person, except very rarely, and then in Disguise; but to act all the
rest in the Dark, under the Vizor of Art and Craft, making Use of
Persons and Methods conceal'd, or at least not fully understood or
discover'd.
As to the Persons whom he employs, I have taken some Pains you see to
discover some of them; but the Methods he uses with them, either to
inform and instruct, and give Orders to them, or to converse with other
People by them, these are very particular, and deserve some Place in our
Memoirs, particularly as they may serve to remove some of our Mistakes,
and to take off some of the frightful Ideas we are apt to entertain in
Prejudice of this great Manager; as if he was no more to be match'd in
his Politics, than he would be to be match'd in his Power, if it was let
loose; which is so much a Mistake, that on the contrary, we read of
several People that have abused and cheated the _Devil_, a Thing, which
I cannot say, is very honest nor just, notwithstanding the old Latin
Proverb, _Fallere fallentem non est fraus_, (which Men construe, or
rather render, by way of Banter Upon Satan) 'tis no Sin to cheat the
_Devil_, which for all that, upon the whole I deny, and alledge, that
let the _Devil_ act how he will by us, we ought to deal fairly by him.
But to come to the Business, without Circumlocutions; I am to enquire
how Satan issues out his Orders, gives his Instructions and fully
delivers his Mind to his Emissaries, of whom I have mention'd some in
the Title to Chap. IX. In order to this, you must form an Idea of the
_Devil_ sitting in great State, in open Campaign, with all his Legions
about him, in the height of the Atmosphere; or if you will, at a certain
Distance from the Atmosphere, and above it, that the Plan of his
Encampment might not be hurried round its own Axis, with the Earth's
diurnal Motion, which might be some Disturbance to him.
By this fix'd Situation, the Earth performing its Rotation, he has every
Part and Parcel of it brought to a direct Opposition to him, and
consequently to his View once in twenty four Hours: The last time I was
there, if I remember right, he had this Quarter of the World, which we
call Christendom, just under his Eye; and as the Motion is not so swift,
but that his piercing Opticks can take a strict View of it _en passant_;
for the Circumference of it being but twenty one thousand Miles, and its
circular Motion being full twenty four Hours performing, he has
something more than an Hour to view every thousand Miles, which, to his
supernatural Penetration, is not worth naming.
As he takes thus a daily View of all the Circle, and an hourly View of
the Parts, he is fully Master of all Transactions, at least such as are
done above Board by all Mankind; and then he dispatches his Emissaries
or _Aid du Camps_ to every Part with his Orders and Instructions: Now
these Emissaries, you are to understand, are not the _Witches_ and
_Diviners_, who I spoke of above, for I call them also Emissaries; but
they are all _Devils_ or (as you know they are call'd) _Devil_'s Angels;
and these may, perhaps, come and converse personally with the
Sub-emissaries I mention'd, to be ready for their Support and Assistance
on all Occasions of Business: These are those _Devils_ which the Witches
are said to raise; for we can hardly suppose the Master _Devil_ comes
himself, at the Summons of every ugly old Woman.
These run about into every Nook and Corner, wherever Satan's Business
calls them, and are never wanting to him; but are the most diligent
_Devils_ imaginable; like the _Turkish Chaiux_, they no sooner receive
their Errand, but they execute it with the utmost Alacrity; and as to
their Speed, it may be truly written as a Motto, upon the Head of every
individual _Devil_,
_Non indiget calcaribus._
These are those, who they tell us our Witches, Sorcerers, Wizards, and
such Sorts of Folks converse freely with, and are therefore call'd their
_Familiars_; and as they tell us, come to them in human Shapes, talk to
them with articulate plain Voices, as if Men, and that yet the said
Witches, _&c._ know them to be _Devils_.
History has not yet enlighten'd us in this Part of useful Knowledge, or
at least not sufficiently for a Description of the Persons or Habits of
these Sorts of Appearances; as what Shapes they take up, what Language
they speak, and what particular Works they perform, so we must refer it
to farther Enquiry; but if we may credit History, we are told many
famous Stories of these Appearances; for Example, the famous Mother
_Lakland_, who was burnt for a Witch at _Ipswich_, _Anno_ 1646,
confessed at the Time of her Execution, or a little before it, that she
had frequent Conversation with the _Devil_ himself; that she being very
poor, and withal of a devilish passionate, cruel and revengeful
Disposition before, used to wish she had it in her Power to do such and
such mischievous Things to some that she hated; and that the _Devil_
himself, who, it seems, knew her Temper, came to her one Night as she
lay in her Bed, and was between sleeping and waking, and speaking in a
deep hollow Voice, told her; if she would serve him in some Things he
would employ her to do, she should have her Will of all her Enemies, and
should want for nothing: That she was much afraid at first, but that he
solliciting her very often, bad her not be afraid of him, and still
urg'd her to yield, and as she says, struck his Claw into her Hand, and
tho' it did not hurt her, made it bleed, and with the Blood wrote the
Covenants, that is to say, the Bargain between them: being ask'd what
was in them, and whether he requir'd her to curse or deny God or Christ?
She said no.
N. B. I do not find she told them whether the _Devil_ wrote it with
a Pen, or whether on Paper or Parchment, nor whether she sign'd it
or no, but it seems he carry'd it away with him. I suppose, if
Satan's Register were examin'd, it might be found among the
Archives of Hell, the Rolls of his _acta Publica_; and when his
Historiographer Royal publishes them, we may look for it among
them.
Then he furnish'd her with three _Devils_, to wait upon her (I suppose)
for she confess'd they were to be employ'd in her Service; they attended
in the Shapes of two little Dogs and a Mole: The first she bewitch'd
was her own Husband, by which he lay a while in great Misery and died;
then she sent to one Captain _Beal_ and burnt a new Ship of his just
built, which had never been at Sea; these and many other horrid Things
she did and confess'd, and having been twenty Years a Witch, at last the
_Devil_ left her, and she was burnt as she deserv'd.
That some extraordinary Occasions may bring these Agents of the _Devil_,
nay, sometimes the _Devil_ himself, to assume human Shapes, and appear
to other People we cannot doubt; he did thus in the Case of our Saviour
_as a Tempter_, and some think he did so to _Manasses_ as a Familiar,
who the Scripture charges with Sorcery, and having a Familiar or Devil;
Fame tells us that St. _Dunstan_ frequently converst with him, and
finally, took him by the Nose; and so of others.
But in these modern Ages of the World, he finds it much more to his
Purpose to work under Ground as I have observ'd, and to keep upon the
Reserve; so that we have no authentick Accounts of his personal
Appearance, but what are very antient or very remote from our Faith, as
well as our Enquiry.
It seems to be a Question that would bear some debating, whether all
Apparitions are not _Devils_ or from the _Devil_; but there being so
many of those Apparitions which we call Spirits, which really assume
Shapes and make Appearances in the World, upon such Accounts as we know
_Satan_ himself scorns to be employ'd in, that I must dismiss the
Question in favour of the _Devil_; assuring them, that as he never
willingly did any good in his Life, so he would be far from giving
himself the Trouble of setting one Foot into the World, on such an
Errand; and for that Reason we maybe assur'd those certain Apparitions,
which we are told came to detect a Murther in _Gloucestershire_, and
others who appear'd to prevent the ruining an Orphan for want of finding
a Deed, that was not lost, was certainly some other Power equally
concern'd, and not the _Devil_.
On the other Hand, neither will it follow that _Satan_ never appears in
human Shape; for tho' every Apparition may not be the _Devil_, yet it
does not follow that the _Devil_ never makes an Apparition: All I shall
say to it is, as I have mention'd before, that generally speaking, the
_Devil_ finds it more for his Purpose, to have his Interest in the World
propagated another Way; namely, in private, and his personal Appearances
are reserv'd for Things only of extraordinary Consequence, and, as I may
say, of evident Necessity, where his Honour is concern'd, and where his
Interest could be carried on no other Way; not forgetting to take Notice
that this is very seldom.
It remains to enquire, what then those Things are which we make so much
stir about, and which are call'd _Apparitions_, or Spirits assuming
human Shapes, and shewing themselves to People on particular Occasions?
whether they are evil Spirits or good? and tho', indeed, this is out of
my Way at this Time, and does not relate at all to the _Devil_'s
History, yet I thought it not amiss to mention it; (1.) Because, as I
have said, I do not wholly exclude Satan from all Concern in such
Things; and (2.) Because I shall dismiss the Question with so very short
an Answer, namely, that we may determine which are and which are not the
_Devil_'s, by the Errand they come upon; every one to his own Business;
if it comes of a good Errand, you may certainly acquit the _Devil_ of
it, conclude him innocent, and that he has no hand in it; if it comes of
a wicked and devilish Errand, you may e'en take him up upon Suspicion,
'tis ten to one but you find him at the Bottom of it.
Next to Apparitions, we find Mankind disturb'd by abundance of little
odd reserv'd Ways which the _Devil_ is shrewdly suspected of having a
Hand in, such as _Dreams_, _Noises_, _Voices_, &c. smells of Brimstone,
Candles burning blue, and the like.
As to Dreams, I have nothing to say in Satan's Prejudice at all there; I
make no Question but he deals very much in that Kind of Intelligence,
and why should he not? we know _Heaven_ it self formerly converst very
often with the greatest of Men, by the same Method, and the _Devil_ is
known to mimick the Methods, as well as the Actions of his Maker;
whether Heaven has not quite left off that Way of working, we are not
certain; but we pretty well know the _Devil_ has not left it, and I
believe some Instances may be given where his Worship has been really
seen and talk'd to in sleep, as much as if the Person had been awake
with his Eyes open.
These are to be distinguish'd too, pretty much by the Goodness or
Badness of the Subject; how often have Men committed Murther, Robbery
and Adultery in a Dream, and at the same time except an extraordinary
Agitation of the Soul, and express'd by extraordinary Noises in the
Sleep, by violent Sweating and other such Ways, the Head has never been
remov'd from the Pillow, or the Body so much as turn'd in the Bed?
Whether in such Cases, the Soul with all the Passions and Affections
being agitated, and giving their full assent to the Facts, of whatever
Kind soever, the Man is not as guilty as if the Sins so dream'd of his
committing, had been actually committed? tho' it be no Doubt to me, but
that it is so, yet as it is foreign to the present Affair, and not at
all relating to the _Devil_'s History, I leave it to the Reverend
Doctors of the Church, as properly belonging to them to decide.
I knew a Person who the _Devil_ so haunted with naked Women, fine
beautiful Ladies in Bed with him, and Ladies of his Acquaintance too,
offering their Favours to him, and all in his Sleep; so that he seldom
slept without some such Entertainment; the Particulars are too gross for
my Story, but he gave me several long Accounts of his Night's _Amours_,
and being a Man of a virtuous Life and good Morals, it was the greatest
Surprize to him imaginable; for you cannot doubt but that the cunning
_Devil_ made every thing be acted to the Life with him, and in a manner
the most wicked; he own'd with Grief to me, that the very first Attack
the _Devil_ made upon him, was with a very beautiful Lady of his
Acquaintance, who he had been really something freer than ordinary with
in their common Conversation; This Lady he brought to him in a Posture
for Wickedness, and wrought up his Inclination so high in his Sleep,
that he, as he thought, actually went about to debauch her, she not at
all resisting; but that he wak'd in the very Moment, to his particular
Satisfaction.
He was greatly concern'd at this Part, namely, that he really gave the
Consent of his Will to the Fact, and wanted to know if he was not as
guilty of Adultery, as if he had lain with her; indeed he decided the
Question against himself, so forcibly, that I, who was of the same
Opinion before, had nothing to say against it; however, I confirm'd him
in it, by asking him these Questions.
1. Whether he did not think the _Devil_ had the chief Hand in such
a Dream? he answer'd, it could certainly be no body else, it must
be the _Devil_.
2. I then ask'd him what Reason the _Devil_ could have for it, if
his Consent to the Fact in Sleep had not been criminal? _That's
true indeed_, says he, _I am answer'd_: But then he ask'd another
Question, which, I confess, is not so easy to answer, namely, How
he should prevent being serv'd so again.
Nor 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 injur'd his Health, bringing naked Women to him, sometimes one,
sometimes another, sometimes in one Posture of Lewdness, sometimes in
another, sometimes into his very Arms, sometimes with such Additions as
I am not merry enough, and sometimes such as I am not wicked enough to
put into your Heads; the Man, indeed, could not help it, and so the
_Devil_ was more Faulty than he; but as I hinted to him, he might bring
his Mind to such a stated Habit of Virtue, as to prevent its assenting
to any wicked Motion, even in Sleep, and that would be the Way to put an
End to the Attempt; and this Advice he relish'd very well, and
practised, I believe, with Success.
By this same Method, the same _Devil_ injects powerful Incentives to
other Crimes, provokes Avarice, by laying a great Quantity of Gold in
your View, and no body present, giving you an Opportunity to steal it,
or some of it, at the same time, perhaps, knowing your Circumstances to
be such as that you are at that Time in a great want of the Money.
I knew another, who being a Tradesman, and in great Distress for Money
in his Business, dream'd that he was walking all alone in a great Wood,
and that he met a little Child with a Bag of Gold in its Hand, and a
fine Necklace of Diamonds on its Neck, upon the Sight, his Wants
presently dictated to him to rob the Child; the little innocent
Creature, (just so he dream'd) not being able to resist; or to tell who
it was, accordingly he consented to take the Money from the Child, and
then to take the Diamond Necklace from it too, and did so.
But the _Devil_, (a full Testimony, as I told him, that it was the
_Devil_, not contented with that, hinted to him, that perhaps the Child
might some time or other know him, and single him out, by crying or
pointing, or some such Thing, especially if he was suspected and shew'd
to it, and therefore it would be better for him to kill the Child,
prompting him to kill it for his own Safety, and that he need do no more
but twist the Neck of it a little, or crush it with his Knee; He told me
he stood debating with himself, whether he should do so or not; but that
in that Instant his Heart struck him with the Word Murther, and he
entertain'd a Horror of it, refus'd to do it, and immediately waked.
He told me, that when he wak'd, he found himself in so violent a Sweat
as he never had known the like; that his Pulse beat with that Heat and
Rage, that it was like a Palpitation of the Heart to him, and that the
Agitation of his Spirits was such, that he was not fully composed in
some Hours; tho' the Satisfaction and Joy that attended him, when he
found it was but a Dream, assisted much to return his Spirits to their
due Temperament.
It is neither my Business or Inclination to turn Divine here, nor is the
Age I write to sufficiently Grave to relish a Sermon, if I was disposed
to preach, though they must allow the Subject would very well bear it;
but I shall only ask them, if they think this is not the _Devil_, what
they think it is? If they believe it is the _Devil_, they will act
accordingly I hope, or let it alone, as Satan and they can agree about
it.
I should not oblige the _Devil_ over much, whatever I might do to those
that read it; if I should enter here upon a Debate of Interests,
(_viz._) to enquire whether the _Devil_ has not a vast Advantage upon
Mankind this Way, and whether it is not much his Interest to preserve
it; and if I prove the Affirmative, I leave it to you to enquire whose
Interest it is to disappoint and supplant him.
In short, I take Dreams to be the second Best of the Advantages the
_Devil_ has over Mankind; the first, I suppose, you all know (_viz._)
the Treachery of the Garrison within; by Dreams he may be said to get
into the Inside of us without Opposition; here he opens and locks
without a Key, and like an Enemy laying siege to a fortified City,
Reason and Nature, the Governor of the City, keep him out by Day, and
keep the Garrison true to their Duty; but in the Dark he gets in and
parlees with the Garrison (the Affections and Passions) Debauches their
Loyalty, stirring up them to Disloyalty and Rebellion, so they betray
their Trust, Revolt, Mutiny, and go over to the Besieger.
Thus he manages his Interest, I say, and insinuates himself into the
Inside of us, without our Consent, nay, without our Knowledge; for
whatever Speculation may do, 'tis evident Demonstration does not assist
us to discover which Way he gets Access to the Soul, while the Organ
tied up, and dozed with Sleep has lock'd it up from Action; that it is
so is clear, but how he does it is a Secret which I do not find the
Antients or Moderns have yet made a Discovery of.
That Devil of a Creature, Mother _Lakland_, whose Story I mention'd
above, acknowledg'd that the first Time the _Devil_ attempted to draw
her in to be a Witch was in a Dream, and even when she consented, she
said, she was between sleeping and waking; that is, she did not know
whether she was awake or asleep, and the cunning Devil it seems was
satisfied with her Assent given so, when she was asleep, or neither
asleep or awake, so taking the Advantage of her Incapacity to act
rationally.
The Stories of her bewitching several People, and the manner in which
they died, are so formidable and extravagant, that I care not to put any
one's Faith to the stretch about them, tho' publish'd by Authority, and
testified by Abundance of Witnesses; but this is recorded in particular,
and to my Purpose, whether from her own Mouth or not, I do not say,
namely, the Description of a Witch, and the Difference between Witches,
and those other of Satan's Acquaintance who act in his Name.
1. They have consulted and covenanted with a Spirit 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 fit.
4. They send them abroad to or into the Persons who they design to
bewitch, who they always torment, and often murther them, as Mother
_Lakland_ did several.
As to the Difference between the several Devils that appear, it relates
to the Office of the Persons who employ them; as Conjurers, who seem to
command the particular _Devil_ that waits upon them with more Authority,
and raise them and lay them at Pleasure, drawing Circles, casting
Figures, and the like; but the Witch, in a more familiar manner,
whispers with the Devil, keeps the _Devil_ in a Bag or a Sack, sometimes
in her Pocket, and the like, and like Mr. _Faux_ shews Tricks with him.
But all these Kinds deal much in Dreams, talk with the Devil in their
Sleep, and make other People talk with him in their Sleep too; and 'tis
on this Occasion I mention it here; in short, the Devil may well take
this Opportunity with Mankind, for not half the World that came into his
Measures would comply, if they were awake; but of that hereafter.
And yet his thus insinuating himself by Dream, does not seem sufficient,
in my Opinion, to answer the _Devil_'s End, and to carry on his
Business; and therefore we must be forc'd to allow him a Kind of actual
Possession, in particular Cases, and that in the Souls of some People,
by different Methods from others; _Luther_ is of the Opinion that the
_Devil_ gets a Familiarity with some Souls just at, or rather before
their being embodied; as to the Manner and Method how he gets in, that
is another Question, and may be spoken of by it self; besides, why may
not he, that at Satan's Request to enter into the Herd of Swine, said
_go_, give the same Commission to possess a sort of Creatures so many
Degrees below the Dignity of the _Gaderenian_ Swine, and open the Door
too? but as for that, when our Lord said _go_, the _Devil_ never
enquir'd which Way he should get in.
When then I see Nations, or indeed Herds of Nations set on Fire of Hell,
and as I may say, enflam'd by the _Devil_; when I see Towns, Parties,
Factions and Rabbles of People visibly possess'd; 'tis enough to me that
the great Master of the Devils has said to him, GO; there's no need to
enquire which Way he finds open, or at what postern Gate he gets in; as
to his appearing, 'tis plain he often gets in without appearing, and
therefore the Question about his appearing still remains a Doubt, and is
not very easy to be resolv'd.
In the Scripture we have some Light into it, and that is all the Help I
find from Antiquity, and it goes a great Way to solve the Phænomena of
Satan's appearing; what I mean by the Scripture giving some Light to it,
is this; 'tis said in several Places, and of several Persons, God came
to them in a Dream, _Gen._ xx. 3. _God came to_ Abimelech _in a Dream by
Night_, Gen. xxxi. 24. _And God came to_ Laban _the_ Syrian _in a
Dream_, Matt. ii. 13. _The Angel of the Lord appear'd to_ Joseph _in a
Dream_; short Comments are sufficient to plain Texts, applying this to
my Friend when he wanted to be satisfied about the How, relating to his
Dream (_viz._) how he should come to Dream such wicked Things? I told
him, in short, the Case was plain, _the Devil came to him in a Dream by
Night_: How and in what manner he form'd the wicked Representations, and
spread debauch'd Appearances before his Fancy, by real Whispers and
Voice, according to _Milton_, or by what other Methods, the Learned are
not arriv'd to any Certainty about it.
This leads me necessarily to enquire whether the _Devil_ or some of his
Agents are not always in our Company, whether they make any visible
Appearances or no? For my Part I make no Question of it, how else could
he come at the Knowledge of what we do; for as I can allow him no
Prescience at all, as for many Reasons I have observ'd already, he must
be able to see and know us, and what we are about when we know nothing
of him, or else he could know nothing of us and our Affairs, which yet
we find otherwise; and this gives him infinite Advantage to Influence
our Actions, to judge of our Inclinations, and to bring our Passions to
clash with our Reason, as they often do, and get the better of it too.
All this he obtains by his being able to walk about invisible, and see
when he is not seen, of which I have spoken already; hence that most
wise and solid Suggestion, that when the Candles burn blue the _Devil_
is in the Room, which great Secret in Nature, that you may more fully be
convinc'd of its imaginary Reality, I must tell you the following Story
which I saw in a Letter directed to a particular Friend, take it Word
for Word as in the Letter; because I do not make my self accountable for
the Facts, but take them _ad referendum_.
SIR,
We had one Day, very early in the Morning, and for the most Part of the
Day a great deal of Rain with a high Wind, and the Clouds very thick and
dark all Day.
In the Evening the cloudy thick Weather continued, tho' not the Rain,
when being at a Friend's House in ---- Lane _London_, and several Ladies
and some Gentlemen in the Room, besides two or three Servants (for we
had been eating) the following Interlude happen'd for our Entertainment:
When the Cloth was taken away, two large Candles were brought upon the
Table and plac'd there with some Bottles and Glasses for the Gentlemen,
who, it seems, were intending to drink and be very merry; two large
Wax-Candles were also set on another Table, the Ladies being going to
Cards, also there were two large Candles in Sconces over or near the
Chimney, and one more in a Looking-Glass Sconce, on a Peer by the
Window.
With all this _Apparatus_, the Company separating sat down, the
Gentlemen at their Table, and the Ladies at theirs, to play _as above_;
when after some time the Gentleman of the House said hastily to a
Servant, _what a P---- ails the Candles_? and turning to the Servant
raps out an Oath or two, and bids him snuff the Candles, for they burnt
as if the Devil was in the Room.
The Fellow going to snuff one of the Candles, snuffs it out, at which
his Master being in a Passion the Fellow lights it again immediately at
the other Candle, and then being in a little hurry, going to snuff the
other Candle snuffed that out too.
The first Candle that was relighted (as is usual in such Cases) burn'd
dim and dull for a good while, and the other being out, the Room was
much darker than before, and a Wench that stood by the Ladies Table,
bawls out to her Mistress, _Law Madam!_ the Candles _burn blue_; an old
Lady that sat by says, _ay Betty!_ so they do; upon this one of the
Ladies starts up, _Mercy upon us_, says she, _what is the Matter!_ In
this unlucky Moment another Servant, without Orders, went to the great
Peer Sconce, and because, _as he thought_, he would be sure to snuff the
Candle well, he offers to take it down, but very unhappily, I say, the
Hook came out and down falls the Sconce Candle and all, and the
Looking-Glass broke all to pieces, with a horrible Noise; however, the
Candle falling out of the Sconce did not go out, but lay on the Floor
burning dully, and as it is usual on such Cases, all on one Side,
_Betty_ cries out again, _Law Madam_, that Candle burns blue too; the
very Moment she said this, the Footman that had thrown down the Sconce,
says to his fellow Servant, that came to his Assistance, I _think_ the
Devil _is in the Candles to Night_, and away he run out of the Room, for
fear of his Master.
The old Lady, who, upon the Maid _Betty_'s Notion of the Candles burning
blue, had her Head just full of that old _Chimney-Corner Story_, the
Candles _burn blue when the Spirits are in the Room_, heard the Footman
Say the Word _Devil_, but heard nothing else of what he said; upon this
she rises up in a terrible Fright, and cries out that the Footman said
the _Devil was in the Room_; as she was, indeed, frighted out of her
Wits, she frighted the Ladies most terribly, and they all starting up
together, down goes the Card Table, and put the Wax-Candles out.
Mrs. _Betty_, that had frighted them all, runs to the Sconce next the
Chimney, but that having a long Snuff, she cried out it burnt blue too,
and she durst not touch it; in short, tho' there were three Candles left
still burning in the Room, yet the Ladies we're all so frighted, that
they and the Maids too run out of the Parlour screaming like mad Folks.
The Master in a Rage kick'd his first Man out of the Room, and the
second Man was run out to avoid, as I said before, the like, so that no
Servant was to be had, but all was in Confusion.
The two other Gentlemen, who were sitting at the first Table, kept their
Seats composed and easy enough, only concern'd to see all the House in
such a fright; it was true, they said, the Candles burnt dim and very
oddly, but they could not perceive they _burnt blue_, except one of
those over the Chimney, and that on the Table, which was relighted
after the Fellow had snufft it out.
However, the Maid, the old Lady and the Footman that pull'd down the
Sconce, all insist that the Candles _burnt blue_, and all pretend that
the Devil was certainly in the Room, and was the Occasion of it; and
they now came to me with the Story, to desire my Opinion of it.
This put me upon Enquiry into the Notion of Candles _burning blue_ when
Spirits are in a Room, which upon all the Search into Things, that I am
able to make, amounts to no more than this; that upon any extraordinary
Emission of sulphureous or of nitrous Particles, either in a close Room,
or in any not very open Place, if the Quantity be great, a Candle or
Lamp, or any such little Blaze of Fire will seem to be, or to _burn
blue_; and if then they can prove that any such Effluvia attends or is
emitted from a Spirit, then when SATAN is at Hand it may be so.
But then 'tis begging the Question grossly, because no Man can assure us
that the Devil has any sulphureous Particles about him.
It is true, the Candles burn thus in Mines and Vaults, and damp Places;
and 'tis as true that they will do so upon Occasion of very damp, stormy
and moist Air, when an extraordinary Quantity of Vapours are supposed to
be dispers'd abroad, as was the Case when this happen'd; and if there
was any Thing of that in it on that _Monday_ Night, the Candles might,
perhaps, burn blue upon that Occasion; but that the _Devil_ was abroad
upon any extraordinary Business that Night, that I cannot grant, unless
I have some better Testimony than the _old Lady_ that heard the
Footman's out-cry but by halves, or than Mrs. _Betty_, who first fancied
the Candles _burnt blue_; so I must suspend my Judgment till I hear
farther.
This Story however may solve a great many of those Things which pass for
Apparitions in the World, and which are laid to the Devil's Charge, tho'
he really may know nothing of the Matter; and this would bring me to
defend _Satan_ in many Things, wherein he may truly be said to suffer
wrongfully; and if I thought it would oblige him, I might say something
to his Advantage this Way; however, I'll venture a Word or two for an
injur'd _Devil_, take it as you will.
First, it is certain, that as this Invisibility of the _Devil_ is very
much to our Prejudice, so the Doctrine of his Visibility is a great
Prejudice to him, as we make Use of it.
By his Invisibility he is certainly vested with infinite Advantages
against us; while he can be present with us, and we know nothing of the
Matter, he informs himself of all our Measures, and arms himself in the
best and most suitable manner to injure and assault us, as he can
counteract all our secret concerted Designs, disappoint all our Schemes,
and except when Heaven apparently concerns it self to over-rule him, can
defeat all our Enterprizes, break all our Measures, and do us Mischief
in almost every Part of our Life, and all this, because we are not privy
to all his Motions, as he is to ours.
But now for his Visibility and his real Appearance in the World, and
particularly among his Disciples and Emissaries, such as Witches and
Wizards, Demonaists, and the like: Here, I think Satan has a great deal
of Loss, suffers manifest Injury, and has great Injustice done him; and,
that therefore I ought to clear this Matter up a little, if it be
possible, to do Justice to Satan, and set Matters right in the World
about him, according to that useful old Maxim of setting the Saddle upon
the right Horse, or _giving the_ Devil _his due_.
First, _as I have said_, we are not to believe every idle Head, who
pretends even to converse Face to Face with the _Devil_, and who tells
us, they have thus seen him, and been acquainted with him every Day:
Many of these Pretenders are manifest Cheats; and, however, they would
have the Honour of a private Interest in him, and boast how they have
him at their Beck, can call him this Way, and send him that, as they
please, raise him and lay him when and how, and as often as they find
for their Purpose; I say, whatever Boasts they make of this Kind, they
really have nothing of Truth in them.
Now the Injuries and Injustice done to the _Devil_, in these Cases, are
manifest; namely, that they entitle the _Devil_ to all the Mischief they
are pleased to do in the World; and if they commit a Murther or a
Robbery, fire a House, 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_ helps them; so Satan bears the Reproach, and they have all the
Guilt; this is, (1.) a grand Cheat upon the World, and (2.) a notorious
Slander upon the _Devil_; and it would be a public Benefit to Mankind,
to have such would-be-Devils as these turn'd inside out, that we might
know when the _Devil_ was really at work among us, and when not; what
Mischiefs were of his doing, and which were not; and that these Fellows
might not slip their Necks out of the Halter, by continually laying the
Blame of their Wickedness upon the _Devil_.
Not that the _Devil_ is not very willing to have his Hand in any
Mischief, or in all the Mischief that is done in the World; but there
are some low priz'd Rogueries that are too little for him, beneath the
Dignity of his Operation, and which 'tis really a Scandal to the _Devil_
to charge upon him. I remember the _Devil_ had such a Cheat put upon
him in _East-Smithfield_ once, where a Person pretended to converse with
the _Devil_ Face to Face, and that in open Day too, and to cause him to
tell Fortunes, foretel Good and Evil, _&c._ discover stollen Goods, tell
where they were who stole them, and how to find them again, nay, and
even to find out the Thieves; but _Satan_ was really sandered in the
Case, the Fellow had no more to do with the _Devil_ than other People,
and perhaps not so much neither: This was one of those they call'd
CUNNING-MEN, or at least he endeavour'd to pass for such a one, but
'twas all a Cheat.
Besides, what had the _Devil_ to do to detect Thieves, and restore
stollen Goods? Thieving and Robbing, Trick and Cheat, are part of the
Craft of his Agency, and of the Employments which it is his Business to
encourage; they greatly mistake him, who think he will assist any Body
in suppressing and detecting such laudable Arts and such diligent
Servants.
I won't say, but the _Devil_, to draw these People we call
_Cunning-Men_, into a Snare, and to push on his farther Designs, may
encourage them privately, and in a manner that they themselves know
nothing of, to make use of his Name, and abuse the World about him, till
at last they may really believe they do deal with the _Devil_, when
indeed 'tis only he deals with them, and they know nothing of the
Matter.
In other Cases he may encourage them in these little Frauds and Cheats,
and give them leave, as above, to make use of his Name to bring them
afterwards, and by Degrees to have a real Acquaintance with him; so
bringing the Jest of their Trade into Earnest, till at length prompting
them to commit some great Villany, he secures them to be his own, by
their very Fear of his leaving them to be exposed to the World; thus he
puts a _Jonathan Wild_ upon them, and makes them be the very Wretches
they only pretended to be before: So old _Parsons_ of _Clithroe_, as
Fame tells, was twenty five Years a _Cunning-man_, and twenty two Years
a Witch; that is to say, for five and twenty Years, he was only
pretending to deal with the _Devil_, when Satan and he had no manner of
Acquaintance, and he only put his _Leger-de-main_ upon the People in the
_Devil_'s Name, without his leave; but at length the _Devil_'s Patience
being tir'd quite out, he told the old Counterfeit, that in short, he
had been his stalking Horse long enough, and that now, if he thought fit
to enter himself, and take a Commission, well and good; and he should
have a Lease to carry on his Trade for so many Years more, to his
Heart's content; but if not, he would expose his Knavery to the World,
for that he should take away his Peoples Trade no longer; but that he
(Satan) would set up another in his Room, that should make a meer Fool
of him, and carry away all his Customers.
Upon this, the old Man consider'd of it, took the _Devil_'s Counsel, and
listed in his Pay; so he, that had plaid his Pranks twenty five Years as
a Conjurer, when he was no Conjurer, was then forc'd really to deal with
the DEVIL, for fear the People should know he did not: Till now he had
_ambo dexter_, cheated the Devil on one Hand, and the People on the
other; but the _Devil_ gain'd his Point at last, and so he was a real
Wizard ever after.
But this is not the only way the Devil is injur'd neither, for we have
often found People pretend upon him in other Cases, and of nearer
Concern to him a great deal, and in Articles more Weighty, as in
particular, in the great Business of Possession; it is true this Point
is not thoro'ly understood among Men, neither has the Devil thought fit
to give us those Illuminations about it, as I believe he might do;
particularly that great and important Article, is not, for ought I can
see, rightly explain'd, namely; whether there are not two several Kinds
of Possession, (_viz._) some wherein the Devil possesses us, and some in
which we really possess the Devil; the Nicety of which I doubt this Age,
with all its Penetration, is not qualified to explain, and a
Dissertation upon it being too long for this Work, especially so near
its Conclusion, I am oblig'd to omit, as I am also all the practical
Discourses upon the Usefulness and Advantages of real Possession,
whether consider'd one Way or other to Mankind, all which I must leave
to hereafter.
But to come back to the Point in Hand, and to consider the Injustice
done to the Devil, in the various Turns and Tricks which Men put upon
him very often in this one Article (_viz._) pretending to Possession,
and to have the Devil in them, when really it is not so; certainly the
Devil must take it very ill, to have all their demented, lunatick Tricks
charg'd upon him; some of which, nay, most of which are so gross, so
simple, so empty, and so little to the Purpose, that the _Devil_ must be
asham'd to see such Things pass in his Name, or that the World should
think he was concern'd in them.
It is true, that Possession being one of the principal Pieces of the
Devil's Artifice in his managing Mankind, and in which, with the most
exquisite skill he plays the Devil among us, he has the more Reason to
be affronted when he finds himself invaded in this Part, and angry that
any Body should pretend to possess, or be possess'd without his leave,
and this may be the Reason for ought we know, why so many Blunders have
been made, when People have pretended to it without him, and he has
thought fit not to own them in it; of which we have many Examples in
History, as in _Simon Magus_, _the Devil of_ London, _the fair Maid of_
Kent, and several others, whose History it is not worth while to enlarge
upon.
In short, Possessions, as I have said, are nice Things, as it is not so
easy to mimick the _Devil_ in that Part, as it may be in some other;
designing Men have attempted it often, but their manner has been easily
distinguish'd, even without the Devil's Assistance.
Thus the People of _Salem_ in _New-England_ pretended to be bewitch'd,
and that a black Man tormented them by the Instigation of such and such,
whom they resolv'd to bring to the Gallows: This black Man they would
have be the _Devil_, employ'd by the Person who they accus'd for a
Witch: Thus making the _Devil_ a Page or a Footman to the Wizard, to go
and torment whoever the said Wizard commanded, till the _Devil_ himself
was so weary of the foolish Part, that he left them to go on their own
Way, and at last they over-acted the murthering Part so far, that when
they confess'd themselves to be Witches, and possess'd, and that they
had Correspondence with the Devil, _Satan_ not appearing to vouch for
them, no Jury would condemn them upon their own Evidence, and they could
not get themselves hang'd, whatever Pains they took to bring it to pass.
Thus you see the _Devil_ may be wrong'd, and falsely accus'd in many
Particulars, and often has been so; there are likewise some other sorts
of counterfeit _Devils_ in the World, such as _Gypsies_,
_Fortune-Tellers_, Foretellers of good and bad Luck, Sellers of Winds,
Raisers of Storms, and many more, some practis'd among us, some in
foreign Parts, too many almost to reckon up; nay I almost doubt whether
the Devil himself knows all the Sorts of them; for 'tis evident he has
little or nothing to do with them, I mean not in the Way of their Craft.
These I take to be Interlopers, or with the _Guinea_ Merchants leave,
separate Traders, and who act under the Skreen and Protection of Satan's
Power, but without his License or Authority; no doubt these carry away a
great deal of his Trade, that is to say, the Trade which otherwise the
_Devil_ might have carried on by Agents or his own; I cannot but say,
that while these People would fain be thought _Devils_, tho' they really
are not, it is but just they should be really made as much _Devils_ as
they pretended to be, or that _Satan_ should do himself Justice upon
them, as he threaten'd to do upon old _Parsons_ of _Clithroe_
abovemention'd, and let the World know them.
CHAP. XI.
_Of Divination, Sorcery, the Black-Art, Pawawing, and such like Pretenders
to Devilism, and how far the_ Devil _is or is not concern'd in them._
Tho' I am writing the History of the _Devil_, I have not undertaken to
do the like of all the Kinds of People, Male or Female, who set up for
_Devils_ in the World: This would be a Task for the _Devil_ indeed, and
fit only for him to undertake, for their Number is and has been
prodigious great, and may, with his other Legions be rank'd among the
Innumerable.
What a World do we inhabit! where there is not only with us a great
_Roaring-Lyon-Devil_ daily seeking whom of us he may devour, and
innumerable Millions of lesser Devils hovering in the whole Atmosphere
over us, nay, and for ought we know, other Millions always invisibly
moving about us, and perhaps in us, or at least in many of us; but that
have, besides all these, a vast many counterfeit _Hocus Pocus Devils_;
human _Devils_, who are visible among us, of our own Species and
Fraternity, conversing with us upon all Occasions; who like Mountebanks
set up their Stages in every Town, chat with us at every Tea-Table,
converse with us in every Coffee-House, and impudently tell us to our
Faces that they are Devils, boast of it, and use a thousand Tricks and
Arts to make us believe it too, and that too often with Success.
It must be confess'd there is a strong Propensity in Man's Nature,
especially the more ignorant part of Mankind, to resolve every strange
Thing, or whether really strange or no, if it be but strange to us, into
Devilism, and to say every Thing is the Devil, that they can give no
Account of.
Thus the famous Doctors of the Faculty at _Paris_, when _John Faustus_
brought the first printed Books that had then been seen in the World, or
at least seen there, into the City, and sold them for Manuscripts: They
were surpriz'd at the Performance, and question'd _Faustus_ about it;
but he affirming they were Manuscripts, and that he kept a great many
Clarks employ'd to write them, they were satisfied for a while.
But looking farther into the Work, they observ'd the exact Agreement of
every Book, one with another, that every Line stood in the same Place,
every Page a like Number of Lines, every Line a like Number of Words; if
a Word was mis-spelt in one, it was mis-spelt also in all, nay, that if
there was a Blot in one, it was alike in all; they began again to muse,
how this should be? in a Word, the learned Divines not being able to
comprehend the Thing (and that was always sufficient) concluded it must
be the _Devil_, that it was done by Magick and Witchcraft, and that in
short, poor _Faustus_ (who was indeed nothing but a meer Printer) dealt
with the _Devil_.
N. B. _John Faustus_ was Servant, or Journeyman, or Compositor, or
what you please to call it, to _Koster_ of _Harlem_, the first
inventor of Printing; and having printed the Psalter, sold them at
_Paris_ as Manuscripts; because as such they yielded a better
Price.
But the learned Doctors not being able to understand how the Work was
perform'd, concluded as above, it was all _the Devil_, and that the Man
was a _Witch_; accordingly they took him up for a _Magician_ and a
_Conjurer_, and one that work'd by the _Black Art_, that is to say, by
the help of the _Devil_; and in a Word, they threaten'd to hang him for
a Witch, and in order to it, commenc'd a Process against him in their
criminal Courts, which made such a Noise in the World as rais'd the Fame
of poor _John Faustus_ to a frightful Height, till at last he was
oblig'd, for fear of the Gallows, to discover the whole Secret to them.
N. B. This is the true original of the famous Dr. _Faustus_ or
_Foster_, of whom we have believ'd such strange Things, as that it
is become a Proverb, _as great as the_ Devil _and Dr._ Foster:
Whereas poor _Faustus_ was no Doctor, and knew no more of the
_Devil_ than another Body.
Thus the Magistrates of _Bern_ and _Switzerland_, finding a Gang of
_French_ Actors of Puppet-shew open'd their Stage in the Town, upon
hearing the surprizing Accounts which the People gave of their wonderful
Puppets, how they made them speak, answer Questions, and discourse,
appear and disappear in a Moment, pop up here, as if they rise out of
the Earth, and down there, as if they vanish'd, and Abundance more Feats
of Art, censur'd them as Demons; and if they had not pack'd up their
Trinkets, and disappeared almost as dextrously as their Puppets, they
had certainly condemn'd the poor Puppets to the Flames for _Devils_, and
censur'd, if not otherwise punished their Masters. See _the Count de
Rochfort's Memoirs_, p. 179.
Wonderful Operations astonish the Mind, especially where the Head is not
over-burthen'd with Brains; and Custom has made it so natural to give
the _Devil_ either the Honour or Scandal of every Thing, that we cannot
otherwise Account for, that it is not possible to put the People out of
the Road of it.
The _Magicians_ were, in the _Chaldean_ Monarchy, call'd the Wisemen;
and tho' they are joined with the Sorcerers and Astrologers in the same
Place, _Dan._ ii. 4. yet they were generally so understood among those
People; but in our Language we understand them to be People that have an
Art to reveal Secrets, interpret Dreams, foretel Events, _&c._ and that
use Enchantments and Sorceries, by all which we understand the same
Thing; which now in a more vulgar Way we express by one general coarse
Expression, _Dealing with the_ DEVIL.
The Scripture speaks of a Spirit of _Divination_, _Acts_ xvi. 16. and a
Wench that was possess'd by this Spirit _brought her Master much Gain by
Southsaying_, that is to say, according to the Learned, by _Oracling_ or
answering Questions; whence you will see in the Margin, that this
southsaying _Devil_ is there call'd _Python_, that is, _Apollo_, who is
often call'd _Python_, and who at the Oracle of _Delphos_ gave out such
Answers and _double Entendres_, as this Wench possibly did; and hence
all those Spirits which were call'd Spirits of Divination, were in
another Sense call'd _Pythons_.
Now when the Apostle St. _Paul_ came to see this Creature, this Spirit
takes upon it to declare that _those Men_, meaning St. _Paul_ and
_Timotheus_, _were the Servants of the most high God, which shew'd unto
them the Way of Salvation_; this was a good turn of the _Devil_, to
preserve his Authority in the possess'd Girl; she brought them Gain by
Southsaying, that is to say, resolving difficult Questions, answering
Doubts, interpreting Dreams, _&c._ Among these Doubts, he makes her give
Testimony to _Paul_ and _Timotheus_, to wheedle in with the new
Christians, and perhaps (tho' very ignorantly) even with _Paul_ and
_Timotheus_ themselves, so to give a Kind of Credit and Respect to her
for speaking.
But the _Devil_, who never speaks Truth, but with some sinister End, was
discover'd here and detected; his flattering Recognition not accepted,
and he himself unkennel'd as he deserv'd; there the _Devil_ was
over-shot in his own Bow again.
Here now was a real Possession, and the evil Spirits who possess'd her,
did stoop to sundry little Acts of Servitude, that we could give little
or no Reason for, only that the Girl's Master might get Money by her;
but perhaps this was a particular Case, and, prepar'd to honour the
Authority and Power the Apostles had over evil Spirits.
But we find these Things carried a great Way farther in many Cases, that
is to say, where the Parties are thus really possess'd; namely, the
_Devil_ makes Agents of the possess'd Parties to do many Things for the
propagating his Interest and Kingdom, and particularly for the carrying
on his Dominion in the World: But I am for the present not so much upon
the real Possession as the pretended, and particularly we have had many
that have believed themselves possess'd, when the _Devil_ never believed
it of them, and perhaps knew them better; some of these are really poor
_Devils_ to be pitied, and are what I call _Diables Imaginaire_; these
have notwithstanding done the _Devil_ good Service, and brought their
Masters good Gain by Southsaying.
We find Possessions acknowledg'd in Scripture to be really and
personally the _Devil_, or according to the Text, Legions of _Devils_ in
the Plural. The _Devil_ or _Devils_ rather, which possessed the Man
among the Tombs, is positively affirm'd to be the _Devil_ in the
Scripture; all the Evangelists agree in calling him so, and his very
Works shew it; namely, the Mischief he did, as well to the poor Creature
among the Tombs, who was made so fierce, that he was the Terror of all
the Country, as to the Herd of Swine and to the Country in the Loss of
them.
I might preach you a Lecture here of the _Devil_'s Terror upon the
Approach of our Saviour, the Dread of his Government, and how he
acknowledg'd that there was a Time for his Torment, which was not yet
come: _Art thou come to torment us before our Time?_ It is evident the
Devil apprehended that Christ would chain them up before the Day of
Judgment; and therefore some think the Devil here, being, as it were,
caught out of his due Bounds, possessing the poor Man in such a furious
manner, was afraid, and petition'd Christ not to chain him up for it,
and as the Text says, _They besought him to suffer them to go away_, &c.
that is to say, when they say, art thou come to torment us before the
Time? the Meaning is, they begg'd he would not cast them into Torment
before the Time, which was already fix'd; but that if he would cast them
out of the Man, he would let them go away, _&c._
The Evangelist St. _Luke_ says, the _Devil besought him that he would
not command them to go out into the Deep_: Our learned Annotators think
that part is not rightly render'd; adding, that they do not believe the
_Devil_ fears drowning; but with Submission, I believe the meaning is,
that they would not be confin'd to the vast Ocean, where no Inhabitants
being to be seen, they would be effectually imprison'd and tied down
from doing Mischief, which would be a Hell to them; as to their going
into the Swine, that might afford us some Allegory; but I am not
disposed to jest with the Scripture, no nor with the _Devil_ neither,
farther than needs must.
It is evident the _Devil_ makes Use of very mean Instruments sometimes,
such as the Damsel possess'd with a Spirit of Divination, and several
others.
I remember a Story, how true I know not, of a weak Creature next Door to
an Ideot, who was establish'd in the Country for an Oracle, and would
tell People strange Things that should be, long before they came to
pass; when People were sick, would tell them whether they should live or
die; if People were married, tell how many Children they should have;
and a hundred such Things as fill'd the People with Admiration, and they
were the easier brought to believe that the Girl was possess'd; but then
they were divided about her too, and that was the finest spun Thread
the Devil could work, for he carried a great Point in it; some said she
had a good Spirit, and some a bad, some said she was a Prophetess, and
some that she was the _Devil_.
Now had I been there to decide the Question, I should certainly have
given it for the latter; if it were only upon this Account, namely, that
the Devil has often found Fools very necessary Agents for the
propagating his Interest and Kingdom, but we never knew the good Spirits
do so; on the other Hand, it does not seem likely that Heaven should
deprive a poor Creature of its Senses, and as it were take her Soul from
her, and then make her an Instrument of Instruction to others, and an
Oracle to declare his Decrees by; this does not seem to be rational.
But as far as this kind of Divination is in Use in our Days, yet I do
not find room to charge the Devil with making any great Use of Fools,
unless it be such as he has particularly qualified for his Work, for as
to _Ideots_ and _Naturals_, they are perfectly useless to him; but a
sort of Fools call'd the Magi, indeed, we have some Reason to think he
often works with.
We are not arriv'd to a certainty yet, in the settling this great Point,
namely, what Magick is? whether a diabolical Art or a Branch of the
Mathematicks? Our most learned _Lexicon Technicum_ is of the latter
Opinion, and gives the _Magic Square_ and the _Magic Lantern_, two Terms
of Art.
The _Magic Square_ is when Numbers in _Arithmetical Proportion_ are
dispos'd into such Parallels or equal Ranks, as that the Sums of each
Row as well _Diagonally_ as _Laterally_ shall be all equal; for Example,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Place these Nine in a Square of three, they
will _directly_ and _diagonally_ make 18. Thus,
+------------+
| 5 | 10 | 3 |
-------------|
| 4 | 6 | 8 |
-------------|
| 9 | 2 | 7 |
+------------+
This he calls the _Magic Square_, but gives no Reason for the Term, nor
any Account of what infernal Operations are wrought by this Concurrence
of the Numbers; neither do I see that there can be any such Use made of
it.
The _Magic Lantern_ is an optic Machine, by the Means of which are
represented, on a Wall in the Dark, many Phantasms and terrible
Appearances, _but no_ Devil _in all this_, only that they are taken for
the Effects of Magic, by those that are not acquainted with the Secret.
All this is done by the help of several little painted Pieces of Glass,
only so and so situated, plac'd in certain Oppositions to one another,
and painted with different Figures, the most formidable being plac'd
foremost, and such as are most capable of terrifying the Spectators; and
by this all the Figures may be represented upon the opposite Wall, in
the largest Size.
I cannot but take Notice, that this very Piece of optic Delusion seems
too much akin to the mock Possessions and infernal Accomplishments,
which most of the Possessionists of this Age pretend to, so that they
are most of them meer Phantasms and Appearances, and no more; Nor is the
Spirit of Divination, the Magic, the Necromancing, and other Arts which
were call'd Diabolical, found to be of any Use in modern Practice, at
least, in these Parts of the World; but the Devil seems to do most of
his Work himself, and by shorter Methods; for he has so compleat an
Influence among those that he now Lists in his Service, that he brings
all the common Affairs of Mankind into a narrower Compass in his
Management, with a Dexterity particular to himself, and by which he
carries on his Interest silently and surely, much more to the Detriment
of Virtue and good Government, and consequently much more to his
Satisfaction, than ever he did before.
There is a Kind of _Magic_ or _Sorcery_, or what else you may please to
call it, which, tho' unknown to us, is yet, it seems, still very much
encourag'd by the _Devil_; but this is a great Way off, and in Countries
where the politer Instruments, which he finds here, are not to be had;
namely, among the _Indians_ of _North-America_; This is call'd
_Pawawing_, and they have their Divines, which they call _Pawaws_ or
Witches, who use strange Gestures, Distortions, horrid Smokes, Burnings,
and Scents, and several such Things which the Sorcerers and Witches in
ancient Times are said to use in casting Nativities, in Philtres, and in
determining, or as they pretended, directing the Fate of Persons; by
burning such and such Herbs and Roots, such as _Helebore_, _Wormwood_,
_Storax_, _Devilwort_, _Mandrake_, _Nightshade_, and Abundance more
such, which are call'd noxious Plants, or the Product of noxious Plants;
also melting such and such Minerals, Gums, and poisonous Things, and by
several hellish Mutterings and Markings over them, the like do these
_Pawaws_; and the _Devil_ is pleased, it seems, (or is permitted) to
fall in with these Things, and as some People think, appears often to
them for their Assistance upon those Occasions.
But be that as it will, he is eas'd 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 own
Plenipotentiary, for he finds Man so easy to come at, and so easy when
he is come at, that he stands in no 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 few pass'd Years
is advanc'd in all Kinds of Knowledge and Arts, and every useful Branch
of what they knew before improv'd, and innumerable useful Parts of
Knowledge, which were conceal'd before are discover'd; why should we
think the _Devil_ alone should stand at a stay, has taken no Steps to
his farther Accomplishment, and made no useful Discoveries in his Way?
That he alone should stand at a Stay, and be just the same unimprov'd
Devil that he was before? No, no, as the World is improv'd every Day,
and every Age is grown wiser and wiser than their Fathers; so, no doubt,
he has bestirr'd himself too, in order to an encrease of Knowledge and
Discovery, and that he finds every Day a nearer Way to go to work with
Mankind than he had before.
Besides, as Men in general seem to have alter'd their manner, and that
they move in a higher and more exalted Sphere, especially as to Vice and
Virtue; so the _Devil_ may have been obliged to change his Measures, and
alter his Way of working; particularly, those Things which would take in
former Times, and which a stupid Age would come easily into, won't go
down with us now: As the taste of Vice and Virtue alters, the _Devil_ is
forc'd to bait his Hook with new Compositions; the very Thing call'd
Temptation is alter'd in its Nature, and that which serv'd to delude our
Ancestors, whose gross Conceptions of Things caused them to be
manageable with less Art, will not do now; the Case is quite alter'd; in
some Things, perhaps, as I hinted above, we come into Crime with ease,
and may be led by a Finger; but when we come to a more refin'd Way of
sinning, which our Ancestors never understood, other and more refin'd
Politics must be made Use of, and the _Devil_ has been put upon many
useful Projects and Inventions, to make many new Discoveries and
Experiments to carry on his Affairs; and to speak impartially, he is
strangely improv'd either in Knowledge or Experiment, within these few
Years; he has found out a great many new Inventions to shorten his own
Labour, and carry on his Business in the World currently, which he never
was master of before, or at least we never knew he was.
No wonder then that he has chang'd Hands too, and that he has left of
pawawing in these Parts of the World; that we don't find our Houses
disturb'd as they used to be, and the Stools and Chairs walking about
out of one Room into another, as formerly; that Children don't vomit
crooked Pins and rusty stub Nails, as of old, the Air is not full of
Noises, nor the Church-Yard full of Hobgoblins; Ghosts don't walk about
in Winding-Sheets, and the good old scolding Wives visit and plague
their Husbands after they are dead, as they did when they were alive.
The Age is grown too wise to be agitated by these dull scare-crow Things
which their Fore-Fathers were tickled with; _Satan_ has been obliged to
lay by his Puppet-shews and his Tumblers, those things are grown stale;
his morrice-dancing Devils, his mountebanking and quacking won't do now;
those Things, as they may be supposed to be very troublesome to him,
(and but that he has Servants enough would be chargeable too) are now of
no great Use in the new Management of his Affairs.
_In a Word_, Men are too much Devils themselves, in the Sense that I
have call'd them so, to be frighted with such little low priz'd
Appearances as these; they are better acquainted with the old
Arch-Angel than so, and they seem to tell him they must be treated after
another manner, and that then, as they are good-natur'd and tractable,
he may deal with them upon better Terms.
Hence the _Devil_ goes to work with Mankind a much shorter Way; for
instead of the Art of Wheedling and Whining, together with the laborious
Part of Tricking and Sharping, Hurrying and Driving, Frighting and
Terrifying, all which the _Devil_ was put to the Trouble of before; in
short, he acts the GRAND MANNER as the Architects call it (I don't know
whether our Free-Masons may understand the Word) and therefore I may
hereafter explain it, as it is to be Diabolically as well as
mathematically understood.
At present my meaning is, he acts with them immediately and personally
by a magnificent Transformation, making them meer _Devils_ to
themselves, upon all needful Occasions, and _Devils_ to one another too,
whenever he (Satan), has Need of their Service.
This Way of embarking Mankind in the _Devil_'s particular Engagement, is
really very modern; and tho' the Devil himself may have been long
acquainted with the Method, and as I have heard, began to practise it
towards the Close of the _Roman_ Empire, when Men began to act upon very
polite Principles, and were capable of the most refin'd Wickedness, and
afterwards with some Popes, who likewise were a kind of Church Devils,
such as Satan himself could hardly expect to find in the World; yet I do
not find that he was ever able to bring it into Practice, at least, not
so universally as he does now: But now the Case is alter'd, and Men
being generally more expert in Wickedness than they were formerly; they
suffer the smaller Alteration of the Species, in being transmigrated;
in a Word, they turn into _Devils_, with no trouble at all hardly,
either to the _Devil_ or to themselves.
This Particular would want much the less Explanation, could I obtain a
License from Sir _Hellebore Wormwood_, Bart. or from my Lord
_Thwartover_, Baron of _Scoundrel Hall_ in the Kingdom of _Ireland_, to
write the true History of their own Conduct; and how early, and above
all, how easily they commenc'd _Devils_, without the least Impeachment
of their Characters, as wise Men, and without any Diminution of that
Part of their Denomination which establish'd them for Fools.
How many mad Fellows appear among us every Day in the critical Juncture
of their Transmigration, just when they have so much of the Man left as
to be known by their Names, and enough of the _Devil_ taken up to settle
their Characters? This Easiness of the _Devil_'s access to these People,
and the great Convenience it is to him in his general Business, is a
Proof to me that he has no more Occasion of Diviners, Magicians,
Sorcerers, and whatever else we please to call those People who were
formerly so great with him; for what Occasion has he to employ _Devils_
and Wizards to confound Mankind, when he is arriv'd to such a Perfection
of Art as to bring Men, at least in these Parts of the World, to do it
all themselves; upon this Account we do not find any of the old
Sorcerers and Diviners, Magicians or Witches appear among us; not that
the _Devil_ might not be as well able to employ such People as formerly,
and qualify them for the Employment too, but that really there is no
need of them hereabout, the _Devil_ having a shorter Way, and Mankind
being much more easily possess'd; not the old _Herd of Swine_ were
sooner agitated, tho' there was full 2000 of them together; Nature has
open'd the Door, and the _Devil_ has egress and regress at Pleasure, so
that Witches and Diviners are quite out of the Question.
Nor let any Man be alarm'd at this Alteration, in the Case as it stands
between Mankind and the _Devil_, and think the _Devil_ having gain'd so
much Ground, may in time, by Encroachment, come to a general Possession
of the whole Race, and so we should all come to be _Devils_ incarnate; I
say, let us not be alarm'd, for Satan does not get these Advantages by
Encroachment, and by his infernal Power or Art, no not at all; but 'tis
the Man himself does it by his Indolence and Negligence on one Hand, and
his Complaisance to the _Devil_ on the other; and both Ways he, as it
were, opens the Door to him, beckons him with his very Hand to come in,
and the Devil has nothing to do but enter and take Possession: Now if it
be so, and Man is so frank to him; you know the _Devil_ is no Fool not
to take the Advantage when 'tis offer'd him, and therefore 'tis no
wonder if the Consequences which I have been just now naming follow.
But let no Man be discourag'd by this, from reaffirming his natural and
religious Powers, and venturing to shut the _Devil_ out; for the Case is
plain he may be shut out; the Soul is a strong Castle, and has a good
Garrison plac'd within to defend it; if the Garrison behave well, and do
their Duty, it is impregnable, and the cowardly _Devil_ must raise his
Siege and be gone; nay, he must fly, or, as we call it, make his Escape,
lest he be laid by the Heels, that is, lest his Weakness be exposed, and
all his Lurking, lying in Wait, ambuscade-Tricks; this Part would bear a
great Enlargement, but I have not room to be witty upon him, so you must
take it in the Gross, the DEVIL lies at _Blye Bush_, as our Country
People call it, to watch your coming out of your Hold; and if you happen
to go abroad unarm'd he seizes upon and masters you with ease.
Unarm'd, you'll say, what Arms should I take? what Fence against a
Flail? What Weapons can a Man take to fight the _Devil_? I could tell
you what to fight him with, and what you might fright him with, for the
_Devil_ is to be frighted with several Things besides _Holy Water_; but
'tis too serious for you, and you'll tell me I am a preaching and a
canting, and the like; so I must let the _Devil_ manage you rather than
displease you with talking Scripture and Religion.
Well, but may not the _Devil_ be fought with some of his own Weapons? Is
there no dealing with him in a Way of human Nature? This would require a
long answer, and some Philosophy might be acted, or at least imitated,
and some Magic, perhaps; for they tells us there are Spells to draw away
even the Devil himself; as in some Places they nail Horse-Shoes upon the
Threshold of the Door, to keep him out; in other Places old pieces of
Flint, with so many Holes and so many Corners, and the like: But I must
answer in the Negative, I don't know what _Satan_ might be scar'd at in
those Days, but he is either grown cunninger since or bolder, for he
values none of those Things now; I question much whether he would value
St. _Dunstan_ and his red hot Tongs, if he was to meet him now, or St.
_Francis_ or any of the Saints, no not the Host itself in full
Procession; and therefore, tho' you don't care I should preach, yet in
short, if you are afraid he should charge upon you and attack you, if
you won't make Use of those Scripture Weapons I should have mention'd,
and which you may hear of, if you enquire at _Eph._ vi. 16. you must
look for better where you think you can find them.
But to go on with my Work, the Devil, I say, is not to be fear'd with
Maukins, nor does he employ his old Instruments, but does much of his
Work himself without Instruments.
And yet I must enter a Caveat here too, against being misunderstood in
my saying the Devil stands in no need of Agents; for when I speak so, I
am to be taken in a limited Sense; I don't say he needs them no where,
but only that he does not need them in those polite Parts of the World
which I have been speaking of, and perhaps not much here; but in many
remote Countries 'tis otherwise still; the _Indians_ of _America_ are
particularly said to have Witches among them, as well in those Countries
where the _Spaniards_ and the _English_ and other Nations have planted
themselves, as amongst those where the _European_ Nations seldom come:
_for Example_, the People of _Canada_, that is, of the Countries under
the _French_ Government of _Quebeck_, the Equimeaux, and other Northern
Climates, have Magicians, Wizards and Witches, who they call _Pilloatas_
or _Pillotoas_; these pretend they speak intimately and familiarly with
the Devil, and receive from him the Knowledge of Things to come; all
which, by the Way, I take to be little more than this; that these
Fellows being a little more cunning than the rest, think, that by
pretending to something more than human, they shall make the stronger
Impressions on the ignorant People; as _Mahomet_ amus'd the World with
his Pigeon, using it to pick Peas out of his Ear, and persuaded the
People it brought him superior Revelations and Inspirations from
Paradise.
Thus these _Pillotoas_ gaining an Opinion among the People, behave like
so many Mountebanks of Hell, pretending to understand dark Things, cure
Diseases, practise Surgery, Physick and Necromancy altogether; I will
not say, but _Satan_ may pick out such Tools to work with, and I believe
does in those Parts, but I think he has found a nearer Way to the Wood
with us, and that is sufficient to my present Purpose.
Some would persuade me the _Devil_ had a great Hand in the late
religious Breaches in _France_, among the Clergy, (_viz._) about the
Pope's Constitution _Unigenitus_, and that he made a fair Attempt to set
the Pope and the _Gallican_ Church together by the Ears, for they were
all just upon the Point or breaking out into a Church War, that for
ought we knew might have gone farther than the _Devil_ himself car'd it
should; now I am of the quite contrary Opinion, I believe the _Devil_
really did not make the Breach, but rather heal'd it, for fear it should
have gone so far among them as to have set them all in a Flame, and have
open'd the Door to the Return of the _Hugonots_ again, which it was in a
fair Way to have done.
But be it one Way or t'other, the historical Part seems to be a little
against me; for 'tis certain, the _Devil_ both wanted and made Use of
Legions of Agents, as well human as infernal, visible and invisible in
that great and important Affair, and we cannot doubt but he has
innumerable Instruments still at work about it.
Like as in _Poland_, I make no Question but the _Devil_ has thousands of
his Banditti at work at this Time, and in another Country not far from
it, perhaps, preparing Matters for the next General Diet, taking care to
prevent giving any Relaxation to the Protestants, and to justify the
moderate Executions at _Thorn_, to excite a Nation to quarrel with every
Body who are able to fight with no body; to erect the Apostate Race of
_S----y_ upon a Throne which they have no Title to, and turn an elective
Throne into an hereditary, in favour of Popery.
I might anticipate all your Objections, by granting the busy _Devil_ at
this Time employing all his Agents and Instruments (for I never told you
they were idle and useless) in striving to enflame the Christian World,
and bring a new War to overspread _Europe_; I might, perhaps, point out
to you some of the Measures he takes, the Provocatives which his State
Physicians administer to the Courts and Counsellors of Princes, to
foment and ferment the Spirits, and Members of Nations, Kingdoms,
Empires and States in the World, in order to bring these glorious Ends
of Blood and War to pass; for you cannot think but he that knows so much
of the _Devil_'s Affairs, as to write his History, must know something
of all these Matters more than those that do not know so much as he.
But all this is remote to the present Case, for this is no Impeachment
of Satan's new Methods with Mankind, in this Part of the World, and in
his private and separate Capacity; all this only signifies that in his
more general and national Affairs, the _Devil_ acts still by his old
Methods; and when he is to seduce or embroil Nations, he, like other
Conquerors, subdues them by Armies, employs mighty Squadrons of
_Devils_, and sends out strong Detachments, with Generals and
Generalissimos to lead them, some to one Part of the World, some to
another; some to influence one Nation, some to manage and direct
another, according as Business presents, and his Occasions require, that
his Affairs may be carried on currently, and to his Satisfaction.
If it were not thus, but that the _Devil_ by his new and exquisite
Management, of which I have said so much, had brought Mankind in general
to be the Agents of their own Mischiefs, and that the World were so at
his Beck, that he need but command them to go and fight, declare War,
raise Armies, destroy Cities, Kingdoms, Countries and People; the World
would be a Field of Blood indeed, and all Things would run into
Confusion presently.
But this is not the Case at all, Heaven has not let go the Government of
the Creation to his subdu'd Enemy, the Devil; that would overturn the
whole System of God, and give Satan more Power, than ever he was or will
be vested with; when, therefore, I speak of a few forward Wretches in
our Day, who are so warm in their Wickedness, that they anticipate the
Devil, save him the Trouble to tempt, turn Devils to themselves, and
gallop Hellward faster than he drives; I speak of them as single
Persons, and acting in their own personal and private Capacity, but when
I speak of Nations and Kingdoms, there the Devil is oblig'd to go on in
the old Road, and act by Stratagem, by his proper Machinery, and to make
use of all his Arts, and all his Agents, just as he has done in all
Ages, from the beginning of his politic Government to this Day.
And if it was not thus too, what would become of all his numberless
Legions, of which all Ages have heard so much, and all Parts of the
World have had so much fatal Experience? They would seem to be quite out
of Employment, and be render'd useless in the World of Spirits, where it
is to be supposed they reside; not the Devil himself could find any
Business for them, which by the Way, to busy and mischievous Spirits, as
they are, would be a Hell to them, even before their Time; they would
be, as it were, doom'd to a State of Inactivity, which we may suppose
was one Part of their Expulsion from Blessedness and the Creation of
Man; or as they were for the surprising Interval between the Destruction
of Mankind by the Deluge and _Noah_'s coming out of the Ark, when
indeed they might be said to have nothing at all to do.
But this is not Satan's Case, and therefore let me tell you too, that
you may not think I treat the Case with more Levity than I really do,
and than I am sure I intend to do; tho' it is too true that our modern
and modish Sinners have arrived to more exquisite Ways of being wicked,
than their Fathers, and really seem, as I have said, to need no Devil to
tempt them; nay, that they do Satan's Work for him as to others also,
and make themselves Devils to their Neighbours, tempting others to crime
even faster than the Devil desires them, running before they are sent,
and going of the _Devil_'s Errands _gratis_; by which Means Satan's Work
is, as to them, done to his Hand, and they may be said to save him a
great deal of Trouble; yet after all, the Devil has still a great deal
of Business upon his Hands, and as well himself as all his Legions, find
themselves a full Employment in disturbing the World, and opposing the
Glory and Kingdom of their great Superior, whose Kingdom it is their
whole Business, however vain in its End, to overthrow and destroy, if
they were able, or at least to endeavour it.
This being the Case, it follows of course that the general Mischiefs of
Mankind, as well national and public, as family Mischiefs, and even
personal, (except as before excepted) lie all still at the _Devil_'s
Door, as much as ever, let his Advocates bring him off of it if they
can; and this brings us back again to the manner of the Devil's
Management, and the Way of his working by human Agents, or if you will,
the Way of human Devils, working in Affairs of low Life, such as we call
Divination, Sorcery, Black-Art, Necromancy, and the like; all which I
take to consist of two material Parts, and both very necessary for us to
be rightly inform'd of.
1. The Part which Satan by himself or his inferior _Devils_
empowers such People to do, as he is in Confederacy with here on
Earth; to whom he may be said, like the Master of an Opera or
Comedy, to give their Parts to act, and to qualify them to act it;
whether he obliges them to a Rehearsal in his Presence, to try
their Talents, and see that they are capable of performing, that
indeed I have not enquir'd into.
2. That Part which these empower'd People do voluntier or beyond
their Commission, to shew their Diligence in the Service of their
new Master, and either (1.) to bring Grist to their own Mill, and
make their Market of their Employment in the best manner they can;
or (2.) to gain Applause, be admir'd, wonder'd at, and applauded,
as if they were ten Times more _Devils_ than really they are.
In a Word, the Matter consists of what the _Devil_ does by the Help of
these People, and what they do in his Name without him; the Devil is
sometimes cheated in his own Business; there are Pretenders to
Witchcraft and Black-Art, who Satan never made any Bargain with, but who
he connives at, because at least they do his Cause no harm, tho' their
Business is rather to get Money, than to render him any Service, of
which I gave you a remarkable Instance before.
But to go back to his real Agents, of which I reckon two.
1. Those who act by Direction and Confederacy, as I have said
already many do.
2. Those whom he acts in and by, and they (perhaps) know it not, of
which Sort History gives us plenty of Examples, from _Machiavel_'s
first Disciple ---- to the famous Cardinal _Alberoni_, and even to
some more modern than his Eminence, of whom I can say no more till
farther Occasion offers.
1. Those who act by immediate Direction of the Devil, and in Confederacy
with him; these are such as I mention'd in the beginning of this
Chapter, whose Arts are truly black, because really infernal; it will be
very hard to decide the Dispute between those who really act thus in
Confederacy with the _Devil_, and those who only pretend to it; so I
shall leave that Dispute where I find it; but that there are, or at
least have been, a Set of People in the World, who really are of his
Acquaintance, and very intimate with him; and tho', as I have said, he
has much alter'd his Schemes and chang'd Hands of late; yet that there
are such People, perhaps of all Sorts; and that the Devil keeps up his
Correspondence with them; I must not venture to deny that Part, lest I
bring upon me the whole Posse of the conjuring and bewitching Crew, Male
and Female, and they should mob me for pretending to deny them the
Honour of dealing with the _Devil_, which they are so exceeding willing
to have the Fame of.
Not that I am hereby oblig'd to believe all the strange Things the
Witches and Wizards, who have been allow'd to be such, nay, who have
been hang'd for it, have said of themselves; nay, that they have
confess'd of themselves, even at the Gallows; and if I come to have an
Occasion to speak freely of the Matter, I may perhaps convince you that
the Devil's possessing Power is much lessen'd of late, and that he
either is limited, and his Fetter shortened more than it has been, or
that he does not find the old Way (as I said before) so fit for his
Purpose as he did formerly, and therefore takes other Measures, but I
must adjourn 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, in whom and by whom the Devil really acts, and they know it not.
It would take up a great deal of Time and Room, too much for this Place,
so near the Close of this Work, to describe and mark out the involuntary
_Devils_ which there are in the World; of whom it may be truly said,
that really the _Devil_ is in them, and they know it not: Now, tho' the
_Devil_ is cunning and managing, and can be very silent where he finds
it for his Interest not to be known; yet it is very hard for him to
conceal himself, and to give so little Disturbance in the House, as that
the Family should not know who lodged in it; yet, I say, the Devil is so
subtle and so mischievous an Agent, that he uses all manner of Methods
and Craft to reside in such People as he finds for his Purpose, whether
they will or no, and which is more, whether they know it or no.
And let none of my Readers be angry or think themselves ill used, when I
tell them the Devil may be in them, and may act them, and by them, and
they not know it; for I must add, it may, perhaps, be one of the
greatest Pieces of human Wisdom in the World, for a Man to know when the
Devil is in him, and when not; when he is a Tool and Agent of Hell, and
when he is not; in a Word, when he is doing the Devil's Work, and under
his Direction, and when not.
It is true, this is a very weighty Point, and might deserve to be
handled in a more serious Way than I seem to be talking in all this
Book; but give me leave to talk of Things my own way, and withall, to
tell you, that there is no Part of this Work so seemingly ludicrous, but
a grave and well weigh'd Mind may make a serious and solid Application
of it, if they please; nor is there any Part of this Work, in which a
clear Sight and a good Sense may not see that the Author's Design is,
that they should do so; and as I am now so near the End of my Book, I
thought it was meet to tell you so, and lead you to it as far as I can.
I say, 'tis a great Part of human Wisdom to know when the _Devil_ is
acting in us and by us, and when not; the next and still greatest Part
would be to prevent him, put a Stop to his Progress, bid him go about
his Business, and let him know he should carry on his Designs no farther
in that manner; that we will be his Tools no longer; in short, to turn
him out of Doors, and bring a stronger Power to take Possession; but
this, indeed, is too solid a Subject, and too great to begin with here.
But now, as to the bare knowing when he is at work with us, I say this,
tho' it is considerable, may be done, nor is it so very difficult; _for
Example_, you have no more to do but look a little into the Microcosm of
the Soul, and see there how the Passions which are the Blood, and the
Affections which are the Spirit, move in their particular Vessels; how
they circulate, and in what Temper the Pulse beats there, and you may
easily see who turns the Wheel; if a perfect Calm possesses the Soul; if
Peace and Temper prevail, and the Mind feels no Tempests rising; if the
Affections are regular and exalted to vertuous and sublime Objects, the
Spirits cool, and the Mind sedate, the Man is in a general Rectitude of
Mind, he may be truly said to be _his own Man_; Heaven shines upon his
Soul with its benign Influences, and he is out of the Reach of the evil
Spirit; for the divine Spirit is an Influence of Peace, all calm and
bright, happy and sweet like it self, and tending to every Thing that is
good both present and future.
But on the other Hand, if at any Time the Mind is ruffled, if Vapours
rise, Clouds gather, if Passions swell the Breast, if Anger, Envy,
Revenge, Hatred, Wrath, Strife; if these, or any of these hover over
you, much more if you feel them within you; if the Affections are
possess'd, and the Soul hurried down the Stream to embrace low and base
Objects; if those Spirits, which are the Life and enlivening Powers of
the Soul, are drawn off to Parties, and to be engag'd in a vicious and
corrupt manner, shooting out wild and wicked Desires, and running the
Man headlong into Crime, the Case is easily resolv'd, the Man is
possess'd, the _Devil_ is in him; and having taken the Fort, or at least
the Counterscarp and Out-Works, is making his Lodgment to cover and
secure himself in his Hold, that he may not be dispossess'd.
Nor can he be easily dispossess'd when he has got such hold as this; and
'tis no wonder, that being lodg'd thus upon the Out-Works of the Soul he
continues to sap the Foundation of the rest, and by his incessant and
furious Assaults, reduces the Man at last to a Surrender.
If the Allegory be not as just and apposite as you would have it be, you
may, however, see by it in a full View, the State of the Man, and how
the _Devil_ carries on his Designs; nothing is more common, and I
believe there are few thinking Minds but may reflect upon it in their
own Compass, than for our Passions and Affections to flow out of the
ordinary Channel; the Spirits and Blood of the Soul to be extravasated,
the Passions grow violent and outragious, the Affections impetuous,
corrupt and violently vicious: Whence does all this proceed? from Heaven
we can't pretend it comes; if we must not say 'tis the _Devil_, whose
Door must it lie at? Pride swells the Passions; Avarice moves the
Affections; and what is Pride, and what is Avarice, but the _Devil_ in
the Inside of the Man? ay, as personally and really as ever he was in
the Herd of Swine.
Let not any Man then, who is a Slave to his Passions, or who is chain'd
down to his Covetousness, pretend to take it ill, when I say he has the
_Devil_ in him, or that he is a _Devil_: What else can it be, and how
comes it to pass that Passion and Revenge so often dispossess the Man of
himself, as to lead him to commit Murther, to lay Plots and Snares for
the Life of his Enemies, and so to thirst for Blood? How comes this but
by the Devil's putting those Spirits of the Soul into so violent a
Ferment, into a Fever? that the Circulation is precipitated to that
Degree, and that the Man too is precipitated into Mischief, and at last
into Ruin; 'tis all the _Devil_, tho' the Man does not know it.
In like manner Avarice leads him to rob, plunder and destroy for Money,
and to commit sometimes the worst of Violences to obtain the wicked
Reward. How many have had their Throats cut for their Money, have been
murther'd on the Highway, or in their Beds, for the Desire of what they
had? It is the same Thing in other Articles, every Vice is the Devil in
a Man; Lust of Rule is the _Devil_ of great Men, and that Ambition is
their _Devil_ as much as whoring is Father ------'s _Devil_, one has a
_Devil_ of one Class acting him, one another, and every Man's reigning
Vice is a _Devil_ to him.
Thus the _Devil_ has his involuntary Instruments, as well as those who
act in Confederacy with him; he has a very great Share in many of us,
and acts us, and in us, unknown to our selves tho' we know nothing of
it, and indeed tho' we may not suspect it of our selves; like _Hazael_
the _Assyrian_, who when the Prophet told him how he would act the
_Devil_ upon the poor _Israelites_, answer'd with Detestation, _is thy
Servant a Dog that he should do this Thing_, and yet he was that Dog,
and did all those cruel Things 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.
The CONCLUSION.
_Of the_ Devil_'s last Scene of Liberty, and what may be supposed to be
his End, with what we are to understand of his being tormented for
ever and ever._
As the _Devil_ is a Prince of the Power of the Air, his Kingdom is
mortal, and must have an End; and as he is call'd the God of this World,
that is, the great Usurper of the Homage and Reverence which Mankind
ought of right to pay to their Maker, so his Usurpation also, like the
World it self, must have an End: Satan is call'd the God of the World,
as Men too much prostrate and prostitute themselves to him, yet he is
not the Governor of this World; and therefore the Homage and Worship he
has from the World is an Usurpation; and this will have an End, because
the World it self will have an End; and all Mankind, as they had a
beginning in Time, so must expire and be remov'd before the End of Time.
Since then the _Devil_'s Empire is to expire and come to an End, and
that the _Devil_ himself and all his Host of _Devils_ are immortal
Seraphs, Spirits that are not embodied and cannot die, but are to remain
in being; the Question before us next will be, what is to become of him?
what is his State to be? whether is he to wander, and in what Condition
is he to remain to that Eternity to which he is still to exist?
I hope no Man will mistake me so much in what I have said as to Spirits,
which are all Flame, not being affected with Fire, as if I supposed
there was no Place of Punishment for the _Devil_, nor any Kind of
Punishment that could affect them; and so of our Spirits also when
transform'd into Flame.
I must be allow'd to speak there of that material Fire, by which, as by
an Allegory, all the Terrors of an eternal State are represented to us
in Scripture, and in the Writings of the learned Commentators, and by
which the Pain of Sense is describ'd; this, perhaps, I do not understand
as they seem to do, and therefore have said,
When we're all Flame (that is all Spirit) we shall all Fire (that is,
all such Fire as this) despise. And thus I claim to be understood.
It does not follow from hence, neither do I suggest, or so much as think
that infinite Power cannot form a something (tho' inconceivable to us
here) which shall be as tormenting, and as insupportable to a Devil, an
apostate Seraph, and to a Spirit, tho' exalted, unembodied and rarified
into _Flame_, as Fire would be to other Bodies; in which I think I am
orthodox, and do not give the least Occasion to an Enemy to charge me
with profane Speaking, in those Words, or to plead for thinking
prophanely himself.
It must be Atheistical to the last Degree to suggest, that whereas the
_Devil_ has been heaping up and amassing Guilt ever since the Creation
of Man, encreasing in hatred of God and Rebellion against him, and in
all possible endeavour to dethrone and depose the Majesty of Heaven;
that yet Heaven had not prepar'd, or could not prepare a just Penalty
for him; and that it should not all end in God's entire Victory over
Hell, and in Satan's open Condemnation: Heaven could not be just to its
own Glory, if he should not avenge himself upon this Rebel, for all his
superlative Wickedness in his modern as well as ancient Station; for the
Blood of so many millions of his faithful Subjects and Saints whom he
has destroy'd; and if nothing else offer'd it self to prove this Part,
it would appear undoubted to me; but this, I confess, does not belong to
Satan's History, and therefore I have reserv'd it to this Place, and
shall also be the shorter in it.
That his Condition is to be a State of Punishment, and that by Torment,
the _Devil_ himself has own'd, and his calling out to our blessed Lord
when he cast him out of the furious Man among the Tombs, is a Proof of
it, _What have we to do with thee_, and _art thou come to torment us
before the Time?_ Luke viii. 28. where the _Devil_ acknowledges four
Things, and three of them are directly to my present Purpose, and if you
won't believe the Word of God, I hope you will believe the _Devil_,
especially when 'tis an open Confession against himself.
1. He confess Christ to be the _Son of God_ (that by the Way) and _no
Thanks to him_, for that does not want the _Devil_'s Evidence.
2. He acknowledges he may be tormented.
3. He acknowledges Christ was able to torment him.
4. He acknowledges that there is a Time appointed when he shall be
tormented.
As to _how_, in _what Manner_, and by _what Means_, this tormenting the
Devil is to be performed or executed, that I take to be as needless to
us as 'tis impossible to know, and being not at present inclined to fill
your Heads and Thoughts with weak and imperfect Guesses, I leave it
where I find it.
It is enough to us that this Torment of the _Devil_ is represented to us
by Fire, it being impossible for our confin'd Thoughts to conceive of
Torment by any Thing in the World more exquisite; whence I conclude,
that _Devils_ shall at last receive a Punishment suitable to their
Spirituous Nature, and as exquisitely Tormenting as a burning Fire would
be to our Bodies.
Having thus settl'd my own Belief of this Matter, and stated it so, as I
think will let you see 'tis rightly sounded, the Matter stands thus.
Satan having been let loose to play his Game in this World, has improv'd
his Time to the utmost; he has not fail'd on all Occasions to exert his
Hatred, Rage, and Malice at his Conqueror and Enemy, _namely, his
Maker_; he has nor fail'd, from Principles of meer Envy and Pride, to
pursue Mankind with all possible Rancour, in order to deprive him of the
Honour and Felicity which he was created for, namely, to succeed the
_Devil_ and his Angels in the State of Glory from which they fell.
This Hatred of God and Envy at Man, having broken out in so many several
Ways in the whole Series of Time from the Creation, must necessarily
have greatly encreased his Guilt; and as Heaven is righteous to judge
him, must terminate in an encrease of Punishment, adequate to his Crime,
and sufficient to his 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 shall break his Chain, or be unchain'd for a
Time, they cannot tell, nor I neither; and 'tis happy for my Work, that
even this Part too does not belong to his History; if ever it shall be
given an Account of by Mankind, it must be after it is come to pass, for
my Part is not Prophesy of foretelling what the Devil shall do, but
History of what he has done.
Thus, good People, I have brought the History of the Devil down to _your
own Times_; I have, as it were, _rais'd him_ for you, and set him in
your View, that you may know him and have a Care of him.
If any cunninger Men among you think they are able now to _lay him_
again, and so dispose of him out of your Sight, that you shall be
troubled no more with him, either here or hereafter, let them go to work
with him their own Way; you know Things future do not belong to an
Historian, so I leave him among you, wishing you may be able to give no
worse an Account of him for the Time to come, than I have done for the
Time past.
FINIS.
Footnotes:
[1] N. B. He never refus'd setting his hand to any opinion, which he
thought it for his interest to acknowledge.
[2] Mean't of nothing.
[3] _Mr._ Pool's _words are these_: Some refer the words, _This day have
I begotten thee_, to the incarnation of the Son of GOD, others to the
Resurrection: our Translators lay the stress on the preposition of which
the verb is compounded, and by adding _again_, (viz.) _rais'd up Jesus
again_, Acts xiii. 33. intend it to be understood of the Resurrection;
and there is ground for it, in the context, for the Resurrection of
Christ, is that which St. _Paul_ had propounded in v. 30. of the same
Chapter, as his theme or argument to preach upon.
Not that Christ at his Resurrection began to be the Son of God, but that
he was manifested then to be so.
[4] Satan.
[5] The meaning of the word Devil is Destroyer. See _Pool_ upon _Acts_
xiii. 10.
[6] _As great as the Devil and Doctor_ Faustus. Vulg. Dr. _Foster_.
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_.
Additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate
both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as
presented in the original text.
Long "s" has been modernized.
The original text includes Greek characters. For this text version these
letters have been replaced with transliterations.
The text includes two instances of unmatched round brackets; as these
require interpretation to close, they have been left unmatched.
The following misprints have been corrected:
"Origiual" corrected to "Original" (Table of Contents)
"34" corrected to "31" (Table of Contents)
"259" corrected to "159" (Table of Contents)
extraneous "a" removed (page 1)
"blinding" corrected to "binding" (page 9)
"decrib'd" corrected to "describ'd" (page 57)
"Battels" corrected to "Battles" (page 76)
"inconcievable" corrected to "inconceivable" (page 91)
"Devils" corrected to "Devil's" (page 101)
"hut" corrected to "but" (page 120)
"that that" corrected to "that" (page 127)
"opposs'd" corrected to "oppos'd" (page 152)
"notwitstanding" corrected to "notwithstanding" (page 162)
"a as Body" corrected to "as a Body" (page 172)
"Peoples" corrected to "People's" (page 184)
"Asia" corrected to "Asa" (page 187)
"was" corrected to "saw" (page 213)
"faling" corrected to "falling" (page 229)
"Christain" corrected to "Christian" (page 230)
"what's is" corrected to "what is" (page 233)
"disapointed" corrected to "disappointed" (page 234)
"been" corrected to "seen" (page 235)
"momentons" corrected to "momentous" (page 244)
"Chritians" corrected to "Christians" (page 250)
"Egyytian" corrected to "Egyptian" (page 252)
"Magnifience" corrected to "Magnificence" (page 256)
"whereever" corrected to "wherever" (page 267)
"compliasant" corrected to "complaisant" (page 294)
"coul'd" corrected to "cou'd" (page 298)
"Acquiantance" corrected to "Acquaintance" (page 299)
"Oportunity" corrected to "Opportunity" (page 300)
"har'd" corrected to "hard" (page 301)
"distingush" corrected to "distinguish" (page 312)
"whereever" corrected to "wherever" (page 322)
"the the" corrected to "the" (page 330)
"CHAP. VII" corrected to "CHAP. IX" (page 339)
"Businses" corrected to "Business" (page 370)
Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation usage have been retained.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The History of the Devil - As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.