D. ^y^ ay^ pray do, I'll go and enjoy my felfj

I won't throw away the pleaiure of my life, I Jcnow the confequence of it.
Gr. And I'll go and reform my felf, elfe I know the confequence too.
This ihort 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 queftion, and the debate brought the profligate to be a penitent > fo in fliort, the Devil was made a preacher of repentance.
The Truth is, God and the Devil, however op- pofite ii} thejr nature, and remote from one ano ther in their place of abiding, feem to ftand pret ty much upon a level in our faith : For as to our Relieving the reality of |heir exiftence, he that
of the DEVIL; 25
denies one, generally denies both ; and he that be lieves one, neceflarily believes both.
Very few, if any of thofe who believe there is a GOD, and acknowledge the debt of homage which mankind owes to the fupreme Governor of the World, doubt the exiftence of the Devil, except here and there one, whom we call practical Atheifts -, and 'tis the character of an Atheift, if there is fuch a creature on Earth, that like my Lord Duke^ he believes neither GOD or Devil.
As the belief of both thefe (lands upon a level, and that GOD and the Devil feem to have an equal {hare in our faith, fo the evidence of their exiftence feems to ftand upon a level too> in many things j and as they are known by their Works in the fame particular cafes, fo they are difcover'd after the fame manner of demonftration.
Nay, in fome refpe&s 'tis equally criminal to deny the reality of them both, only with this difference, that to believe the exiftence of a GOD is a debt to nature, and to believe the exiftence of the Devil is a like debt to reafon j one is a demon ftration from the reality of vifible cauies, and the other a deduction from the like reality of their effe£ts.
One demonftration of the exiftence of GOD, is from the univcrfal well-guided confent of all nations to worfliip and adore a fupreme Power ; One demonftration of the exiftence of the Devil^ is from the avow'd ill-guided confent of fome na tions, who knowing no other GOD, make a GOD of the Devil, for want of a better.
It may be true, that thofe nations have no other Ideas of the Devil than as of a fuperior Power $ if they thought him a fupreme Power it would have other effects on them, and they would fubmit to and worfhip him with a different kind of fear.
C 4 But
24 T^HSITORY
But 'tis plain they have right notions of him as a Devil or evil Spirit, becaufe the beft reafon, and in ibme places the only reafon they give for worfhip- ing him is, that he may do them no hurt 3 having no notions at all of his having any power, much lefs any inclination to do them good $ fo that in deed they make a meer Devil of him, at the fame time that they bow| to him as to a GOD.
All the ages of Paganifm in the World have had this notion of the Devil: indeed in fome parts of the World they had alfo fome Deities which they honoured above him, as being fuppofed to be beneficent, kind and inclin'd, as well as capable to give them good things > for this reafon the more polite Heathens, fuch as the Grecians and the Romans, had their Lares or houfhold Gods, whom they paid a particular refpect to j as being their Protectors from Hobgoblins, Ghofls of the Dead, evil jSpirits, frightful Appearances, evil Ge nius's and other noxious Beings from the invi- fible World 5 or to put it into the language of the day we live in, from the Devil, in whatever fhape or appearance he might come to them, and from whatever might hurt them : and what was all this but fetting up Devils againft Devils, fupplica- ting one Devil under the notion of a good Spirit, to drive out and protect them from another, whom they calFd a bad Spirit, the white Devil againft the black Devil?
This proceeds from the natural notions man kind neceflarily entertain of things to come; fupe* rior or inferior, GOD and the Devil, fill up all fu turity in our thoughts ^ and 'tis impoflible for us to form any images in our minds of an immor tality and an invifible World, but under the no tions of perfect felicity, or extreme mifery.
Now as thefe two refpect the Eternal ftate of man after life, they are refpeftively the object
of the DEVIL #
of our reverence and affection, or of our horror and averfionj but not with {landing they are plac'd thus in a diametrical opposition in our affections and paffions, they are on an evident level as to the cer tainty of their exiftence, and, as I faid above, bear an equal {hare in our faith.
It being then as certain that there is a Devil, as that there is a GW, I mud from this time forward admit no more doubt of his exiftence, nor take any more pains to convince you of it 5 but {peak ing 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 Hiftory.
Now not to enter into all the metaphyfical trum pery of his Schools, nor wholly to confine my felf to the language of the Pulpit ; where we are told, that to think of GOD and of the Z)m7, we muft endeavour firft to form Ideas of thofe things which illuftrate the defcription of rewards and punifhments > in the one the eternal prefence of the higheft good, and, as a neceflary attendant, the moft perfect, confummate, durable blifs and felicity, fpringing from the prefence of that Being in whom all poffible Beatitude is inexpreflibly prefent, and that in the higheft perfection : On the contra ry, to conceive of a fublime fallen Arch-angel, attended with an innumerable hoft of degenerate, rebel Seraphs or Angels caftout of Heaven toge ther -y all guilty of inexpreffible rebellion, and all fuffering from that time, and to fuffer for ever the eternal vengeance of the Almighty, in an in conceivable manner ; that his prefence, tho' blefled in it felf, is to them the moft compleat article of ter ror 9 That they are in themfelves perfectly miferablej and to be with whom for ever, adds an inex- preffible mifery to any ftate as well as place j and fills the minds of thofe who are to be, or expect to
be
26 The HIS TORY
be banifh'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' lefs intelligible language, which the paffions of men colled to amufe one another with ; you have faid nothing if you omit the main article, namely, the perfonality of the Devil y and till you add to all the reft fome defcription of the company with whom all this is to be fuffer'd, viz. the Devil and his Angels.
Now who this Devil and his Angels are, what ihare they have either actively or paffively in the eternal miferies of a future ftate, how far they are Agents in or Partners with the fufferings of the place, is a difficulty yet not fully difcover'd by the moft learned j nor do I believe 'tis made lefs a difficulty by their medling with it.
But to come to the perfon and original of the Devi^ or, as I faid before, of Devils j I allow him to come of an ancient family, for he is from Hea ven, and more truly than the Romans could fay of their idoliz'd Numa, he is of the race of the Gods.
That Satan is a fallen Angel, a rebel Seraph, caft out for his Rebellion, is the general opini on, and 'tis not my bufinefs to difpute things uni- verfally receiv'd ; as he was try'd, condemn'd, and the fentence of expulfion executed on him in Heaven, he is in this World like atranfportcd Fe lon never to return; His crime, whatever par ticular aggravations it might have, 'tis certain, amounted to High-treafon againft his Lord and Go vernor, who wasalfo his Maker j againft whom he rofe in rebellion, took up arms, and in a word, rais'd a horrid and unnatural war in his domini ons ; but being overcome in battle, and made pri- r™^ f^ ancj an jjj$ Hoft, whofe numbers were
infinite*
of the DEVIL; 27
infinite, all glorious Angels like himfelf, loft at once their beauty and glory with their Innocence, and commenc'd Devils^ being transform'd by crime into monfters and frightful objects > fuch as to defcribe, human fancy is obliged to draw piftures and defcriptions in fuch forms as are moft hateful and frightful to the imagination.
Thele notions, I doubt not, gave birth to all the beauteous Images and fublime expreflions in Mr. Milton's majeftick Poem > where, tho' he has play'd the Poet in a moil luxuriant manner, he has finn'd a- gain ft Satan mo ft egregioufly, and done the Devil a manifeft injury in a great many particulars, as I fhall {hew in its place. And as I fhall be oblig'd to do Satan juftice when I come to that part of his Hiftory, Mr. Milton's admirers muft pardon me, if I let them fee, that tho' I admire Mr. Milton as a Poet, yet that he was greatly out in matters of Hiftory, and efpecially the Hiftory of the Devil$ in fhort, That he has charged Satan falfly in fe- veral particulars ; and fo he has Adam and Eve too : But that I lhall leave till I come to the Hi ftory of the Royal Family of Eden\ which I re- folve to prefent you with when the Devil and I have done with one another.
But not to run down Mr. Milton neither, whofe poetry, or his judgment, cannot be reproached without injury to our own j all thofe bright Ideas of his, which make his poem fo juftly valued, whether they are capable of proof as to the fact, are notwithstanding, confirmations of my hypo- thefis i and are taken from a fuppofition of the Perfonality of the Devil^ placing him at the head of the infernal hoft, as a fovereign ele vated Spirit and Monarch of Hell > and as fuch it i$ that I undertake to write his hiftory.
By the word Hell I do not fuppofe, or at leaft Hot determine, that his residence, or that of the
whole
*s The HISTORY
whole army of Devils, is yet in the fame local HELL, to which the Divines tell us he fliall be at lad chain'ddovvn j or at lead that he is yet con- fin'd to it, for we fhall find he is atprefenta pri- foner at large: of both which circum fiances of Satan I fhall take occafion to fpeak in its courfe?
But when I call the Devil the Monarch of /&//, I am to be underftood as fuits to the prefent pur- pofe; that he is the Sovereign of all the race of Hell, that is to fay of all the Devils or Spirits of the infernal Clan, let their numbers, quality and powers be what they will.
Upon this fuppofed peribnality and fuperiority of Satan^ or, as I call it, the fovereignty and go vernment of one Devil above all the reft -y I fay, upon this notion are form'd all the fyftems of the dark fide of futurity, that we can form in our minds : And fo general is the opinion of it, that it will hardly bear to be oppos'd by any other argument, at leaft that will bear to be reafon'd upon : All the notions of a parity of Devils, or making 3 common-wealth among the black Divan, feem to be enthufiaftick and vifionary, but with no con- fiftency or certainty, and is fo generally exploded, that we muft not venture fo much as to debate the point.
Taking it then as the generality of mankind do, that there is a Grand Devil, a fuperiorof the whole black race j that they all fell, together with their General, Satan^ at the head of them 5 that tho' he, Sat&n^ could not maintain his high fta- don in Heaven, yet that he did continue his dig nity among the reft, who are call'd his fervants, in Scripture his dngeh > that he has a kind of do minion or authority over the reft, and that they were all, how many million^ foever in number, at his command > employ'd by him in all his hellifh
defigns.
of the DEVIL. *<>
defigns, and in all his wicked contrivances for the deftru&ion of man, and for the fetting up his own kingdom in the world.
Suppofing then that there is fuch a iuperior Mafter-Devil over all the reft, it remains that we enquire into his chara&er, and fomething of his Hiftory j in which, tho' we cannot perhaps pro duce fuch authentick documents as in the ftory of other great Monarchs, Tyrants, and Furies of the World > yet I ihall endeavour to fpeak fome things which the experience of mankind may be apt to confirm, and which the Devil hirnfelf will hardly be able to contradict.
It being then granted that there is fuch a thing or perfon, call him which we will, as a Mafter- Devil i that he is thus fuperior to all the reft in power and in authority, and that all the other evil Spirits are his Angels, or Minifters, or Officers to execute his commands, and are employ'd in his bufinefs 5 it remains to enquire, whence he came? how he got hither, into this World ? what that bufinefs is which he is employ'd about? what his prefent ftate is, and where and to what part of the creation of God he is limited and rcftrained ? what the liberties are he takes or is allow'd to take? in what manner he works, and how his in- ftrumcnts arc likewife allow'd to work ? what he has done ever fince he commenc'd Devil, what he is now doing, and what he may yet do before his J,aft and clofer confinement? as alfo what he can/iot do, and how far we may or may not be (aid to be cxpofed to him, or have or have not reaibn to be afraid of him? Thefe, and whatever elfe occurs in the Hiftory and conduct of this Arch-devil and his Agents, that may be ufeful for information, caution, or diverfion, you may ex pect in the procefs of this work,
I know
50 The HI STORY
I know it has been queftion'd by fome, with more face than fear, how it confifts with a com-1 pleat vi&ory of the Devil, which they fay was at firft obtained by the Heavenly Powers over Satan and his apoftate army in Heaven, that when he was caft out of his holy place, and daih'd down into the abyfs of eternal darknefs, as into a place of punifhment, a condemned hold, or place of con finement, to be referved there to the judgment of the great Day > Ifay^ how it confifts with that entire victory, to let him loofe again, and give him liberty, like a thief that has broken prifon, to range about God's creation, and there to continue his rebellion, commit new ravages, and acts of hoftility againft God, make new efforts at de-^ throning the almighty Creator -y and in particular to fall upon the weakefl of his creatures, MAN? how Satan being fo entirely vanquifh'd, he fhould be permitted to recover any of his wicked powers, and find room to do mifchief to mankind.
Nay they go farther, and fuggeft bold things againft the wifdom of Heaven, in expofing man kind, weak in comparifon of the immenfe extent of the DeviVs power, to fomanifeft an overthrow, to fo unequal a fight, in which he is fure, if alone in the conflict, to be worfted > to leave him fuch a dreadful enemy to engage with, and fo ill fur- nifh'd with weapons to aflift hiro.
Thefe objections I fhall give as good an an- fwer to as the cafe will admit in this courfe, but muft adjourn them for the prefent.
That the Devil is not yet a clofe prifoner, we have evidence enough to confirm $ I will not fuggeft, that like our Newgate Thieves, (to bring little Devils and great Devils together) he is let out by connivance, and has fome little latitudes and advantages for mifchief, by that means > return* ing at certain fcafons to his confinement again.
This
of the DEVIL: ?t
This might hold, were it not, that the companion muft fuggeft, that the power which has caft him down could be deluded, and the under- keepers or jaylors, under whofe charge he was in cuftody, could wink at his excurfions, 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 isl and what be was before his expulfion out of Heaven, and in whatflate he was from that time to the creation of Man.
TO come to a regular enquiry into Satan's affairs, 'tis needful we fliould go back to his original, as far as hiftory and the opinion of the learned World will give us leave.
It is screed by all Writers, as well facred aspro- phane, that this creature we now call a Devil, was originally an Angel of light, a glorious Seraph 5 perhaps the choiceft of all the glorious Seraphs. See how Milton defcribes his original glory :
Satan, fo call him now, his former name Is heard no more in Heaven : He of the firft, If not the fir ft Archangel -, great in power, In favour and preeminence.
lib. v. foL 140.
And again the fame author, and upon the fame fubjeft :
•-Brighter
32, The HIS TORY
Brighter once amidft the hoft Of Angels, than that ftar the liars among.
lib. vii. fol. i8p.
The glorious figure which Satan is fuppofed to make among the Thrones and Dominions in Hea ven is fuch, as we might fuppofe the highefl An gel in that exalted train could make ; and fome think, as above^ that he was the chief of the Arch- angels.
Hence that notion, (and not ill founded) namely ', that the firft caufe of his difgrace, and on which enfued his rebellion, was occafioned upon God's proclaiming his SON Generaliflimo , and with himfelf fupreme ruler in heaven 3 giving the do minion of all his works of creation, as well al ready finifh'd, as not then begun, to him j which poft of honour (fay they) Satan expefted to be conferr'd on himfelf, as next in honour, majefty and power to God the Supreme.
This opinion is folio w'd by Mr. Milton too, as appears in the following lines, where he makes all the Angels attending all a general fummons, and God the Father making the following de claration to them.
"• Here, all ye Angels, prodigy of light, cc Hear my decree, which unrevok'd ihall Hand. " This day I have begot whom I declare " My only S o N, and on this hill ^ Him have anointed, whom you now behold " At my right hand j your Head I Him appoint: cc And my felf have fworn to him {hall bow " All knees inHeav'n, and fhallconfefs him Lord,
4 " United^
of the DEVIL. 33
" United, as one individual foul,
4C For ever happy : Him who difobeys,
" Me difobeys, breaks union, and that day
" Caft out from GOD, and bleffedvifion, falls
" Into utter darknefs, deep ingulph'd, his place
Cc Ordain'd without redemption, without end.
Satan, affronted at the appearance of a new Ef- (ence or Being in Heaven, call'd the Son of God > for God, fays Mr.A//7/0#, (tho' erroneoufly) declared himfelf at that time, faying, This day have I be gotten him, and that he fhould be fet up, above all the former Powers of Heaven, of whom Satan (as above) was the Chier^ and expe&ing, if any higher poft could be granted, it might be his due j I lay, affronted at this he rcfolv'd
a With all his Legions to diflodge, and leave " Unworfhip'd, unobey'd, the throne fupreme
" Contemptuous.
Par. lofti lib. v. fo. 140*
But Mr. Milton is grofly erroneous inafcribing thofe words, This day have I begotten thee^ to that de claration of the Father before Satan fell, and confe- quently to a time before the creation •, whereas, it is by Interpreters agreed to be underftood of the Incarnation of the Son of God, or at leafl of the Refurre&ion : * fee Pool upon Atts xiii. 33.
D In
* Mr. Pool*! words are t'hefe : Some refer the words, This day have 1 begotten tbee, to the incarnation of the Son of GOD, others to the Refurreflion : our Tranflators lay the flrefs on the prepo- fktion of which the verb is compounded, and by adding again, (viz.) raifdup Jeftts again> Afts xiii. 33. interidit to be under ftood
34 The H I S T O R Y
In a word, Satan withdrew with all his followers malecontent and chagrine, refolv'd to diibbey 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 fuggefts in one place, that they were the greateft half of all the angelick Body or fera- phick Hoft.
" But Satan with his Power,
" An hoft
" Innumerable as the flars of night, cc Or liars of morning, dew drops, which the Sun " Impearls on ev'ry leaf and ev'ry flower.
ib. lib. v. fo.
Be their number as it is, numberlefs millions and legions of millions, that is no part of my pre- fent enquiry j Satan the leader, guide and fuperior, as he was author of the celeftial rebellion, is ftill the great Head and Mafter-Devil as before 5 un der his authority they ftill aft) not obeying but carrying on the fame infurreclion againft God, which they begun in Heaven ; making war ftill againft Heaven, in the perfon of his Image and Creature man; and tho' vanquifli'd by the thunder of the Son of God, and call down headlong from Heaven, they have yet reafiumed, or rather not
ftood of the Refurreftion ; and there is ground for it, in the context, for the Refurreftion of Chrift, is that which St. Paul had propounded in v. 30. of die fame Chapter, as his theme or argument to preach upon.
Not that Chrift at hisReiiirreftion began to be the Son of God, but that he was manifefted then to be fo.
loft
oftfoDEVlL. 35
loft either the will or the power of doing evil.
This fall of the Angels, with the war in Heaven which preceded it, is finely defcrib'd by Ovid, in his war of the Titans againft Jupiter $ calling mountain upon mountain, and hill upon hill (Pe- lion upon Offa) in order to fcale the Adamantine walls, and break open the gates of Heaven; till Jupiter ftruck them with his thunder-bolts and overwhelmed them intheabyfs : Fide Ovid Metam. hew tranflation, lib. i. p. ip.
" For now the Gyants ftrove to ftorm the sky, cc The lawlefs brood with bold attempt invade " THE GODS, and mountains upon mountains toT-
" But now the bolt^ enrag'd/fo Father took^ ^ Olympus from her deep foundations fhook, " Their ftru&ure nodded at the mighty ftroke, " And Ofla's (hatter'd top o'er Pelion broke, cc They're in their own ungodly mines flam.-—
Then again (peaking of Jupiter, refolving in council to deftroy mankind by a deluge, and giving the reafons of it to the heavenly Hoft, fay thus, fpeaking of the demy-Gods alluding to good men below.
" Think you that they infafety can remain, c' When I my felf who o'er Immortals reign, " Who fend the lightning, and Heaven's empire
(fway, * The ftern * Lycaon praftis'd to betray.
ib. p. 10.
Satan,
D 2. Since
36 The HISTORY
Since then fo much poetic liberty is taken with the Devil, relating to his moft early (late, and the time before his fall, give me leave to make an excurfion of the like kind, relating to his Hiftory immediately after the fall, and till the creation of manj an interval which I think much of the De vil's ftory is to be feen in, and which Mr. Milton has taken little notice of, at lead it does not feem compleatly fill'd up; after which I ihall return to honeft Profe again, and perfue the duty of an Hiftorian.
with hideous ruin thus fuppreft ExpeWd the feat of bleflednefs and reft, Look'd back and faw the high eternal mound, Where all his rebel hofl their outlet found Reft or' d impregnable : The breach made up, And garrifons of Angels rang'd a top j In1 front a hundred thoufand thunders roll, And lightnings tempered to transfix a foul> Terror of Devils. Satan and his hofl, Now to thcmfelves as ivell as ftation loft^ Unable to fupport the hated fight, Expand feraphic ivings^ and fwift as light Seek for new fafety in eternal Night.
In the remoteft gulphs of dark they land, Here vengeance gives them leave to make their ftandj Not that to fteps and mea fares they pretend, Councils zndfcbemes their ftation to defend; But broken, difconcerted and difmafd, By guilt and fright to guilt and fright betray' d; Rage and confufion ev'ry Spirit pofTefs'd, AndJ/jame and horror fwell'd in ev'ry breaft>
i Trans-
of the DEVIL: 37
Transforming envy to their eflentials burns, And the bright Angel to a frightful Devil turns. Thus Hell began 3 the fire of confcious rage No years can quench, no length of time afTwage. Material Fire, with its mtenfeft flame, Compared with, this can fcarce deferve a Name 5 How fhould it up to immaterial* rife, When we're all flame, we fhall all fire defpife.
This fire outrageous and its heat intenfc Turns all the pain of lofs to pain of fenfe. The folding flames concave and inward roll, Act uponfpirit and penetrate the foul : Not force of Devils can its new powers repel, Where'er it burns it finds or makes a H E L L j For Satan flaming with unquench'd defire Forms his own Hell, and kindles his own fir e^ Vanquifh'd,#0/ humbl'd, not in will brought low, But as his powers decline his pajffions grow : The malice, Viper like, takes vent within, Gnaws its own bowels, and burfts in its own fin ;, Impatient of the change he fcorns to bow, And never impotent in power //'// now ; Ardent with hate, and with revenge diilracT:, A will to new attempts, but none to aflrj Yet all feraphick, and in juft degree. Suited 'to Spirits high fenfe of mifery, Deriv'd from lofs which nothing can repair, And room for nothing left but meer defpair, Here's finijtfd Hell ! what fiercer fire. can burn? Enough ten thoufimd Worlds to over-turn. HELL'S but the frenzy of defeated pridc^ Seraphick Treafon's ftrong impetuous tide,
D Where
38 The HISTORY
Where vile ambition difappointed firft, To its own rage and handle fs hatred cur ft j The hate's farfd up to fury, that to flame , Por fire and /»ry are in kind the lame; Thefe burn unquenchable in every face. And the word ENDLESS conititutes the place,
O.ftate of Being! where being's the only griefs And the chief torture's to be damn'd to life j O life! the only thing they have to hate 5 The finiflfd torment of a future ftate, Com pleat in all the parts of endlefs mifery, And worfc ten thoufand times than not to BE ! Could but the Damn'd the1 immortal law repeal. And Devils dye^ thcre'd be an end of Hell, Could they that thing call'd Being annihilate, There'd be no forroivs in a future ftate j The Wretch,whofe crimes had {hut him out on high^ Could be reveng'd on God himfelf and die , Job's Wife was in the right, and always we Might end by death all human mifery, ?
Might have it in our choice, to be or not to be. j
CHAP. IV.
Of the name of the the nature of his circumftances Jince he has been called by that name.
THE Scripture is the firft writing on earth where we find the Devil called by his own proper diftinguifhing denomination, DEVIL,
of the D E V I L. 39
or the * Deftroyer-y nor indeed is there any other author of antiquity or of fufficient authority which fays any thing of that kind about him.
Here he makes his firft appearance in the world, and on that occaflon he is called the Serpent ; but the Serpent however fince made to fignify the Devil) when fpoken of in general terms, was but the Devil's reprefentative, or the Devil in quo vzs vehicuh) for that time, clothed in a bodily fhape, acting under cover and in difguife, or if you will the Devil in mafquerade : Nay, if we believe Mr. Milton) the Angel Gabriel's fpear had fuch a fecret powerful influence, as to make him (trip of a fudden, and with a touch to unmask, and fhnd upright in his naked original fhape, mser Devil) without any difguifes whatfoever.
Now as we go to the Scripture for much of his hiftory, fo we muft go there alfo for fome of his names j and he has a great variety of names in deed, as his feveral mifchievous doings guide us to conceive of him. The truth is, all the anrient names given him, of which the Scripture is full, feems to be originals derived from and adapted to the feveral fteps he has taken, and the feveral fhapes he has appeared in to do mifchief in the world.
Here he is called the Serpent) Gen. iii. i . The old Serpent^ Rev. xii. p. The great red Dragon, Rev. xii. $. Thedccttfer of the Brethren^ Rev. xii. i o. The Enerny^ Matt, xxiii. 2p. Sat art) Job i. Zcch. iii. i, z. Belial) 2. Cor. vi. if.
* The meaning of the word Devil is Deftroyer. See Pool upon ^7/xiii. 10.
D 4 Bed-
40 The HISTORY
Beelzebub, Matt. xii. 24. Mammon, Matt. vi. 24. The dngel of tight, z Cor. xi. 14. The Angel of the bottomlefs pif,
Rev. ix. ii. The Prince of the power of the air,
Eph. ii. 2. Lucifer, I(a. xiv. 12. Mb ad don or Apollion, Rev. ix. ii. Legion, Mark v. p. The God of ibis 'world, 2 Cor. iv. 4. The Foul Spirit, Mark ix. f . The Unclean Spirit, Mark i. 27. The Lying Spirit, 2 Chron. xxx.
nr^ 1 *-*-' * * •
The Tempter, Matt. iv.
v. 3. , Ilii.
The £0# 0/ ?fe morning, Ilii. xiv. 12.
But to fum them all up in one, he is called in the new Teftament^/0*» DEVIL j all his other names are varied according to the cuitoin of fpeech, and the dialecls of the ieveral nations where he is Ipoken of 3 But in a word, Devil is the common name of the Devil in all the known languages of the earth. Nay, all the mifchiefs he is empowered Co do, are in Scripture placed to his account, un der the particular title of the Devil^ not of Devils in the plural number, though they are fometimes mentioned too j but in the lingular it is the iden tical individual Devil, in and under whom all the little Devils, and all the great Devils, if fuch there be, are fuppofed to act 5 nay, they are fuppofed to be governed and d.ire&ed by him. Thus we are told in Scripture of the works of the Devil, i John iii. 8. of cafting out the Devil, Mark i. 34. of rcfifting the Devil, fames iv. f. of our Saviour being tempted of the Devil, Mat. iv. 1 . of Si mon Magus, a child of the Devil, Acbs xiii. 10. The Devil came down in a great wrath. Rev. xii.
of the DEVIL: 4?
12. and the like. According to thisufage in fpeech we go on to this day, and all the infernal things \ve converfe with in the world, are fathered upon the Devil r, as one undivided fimple effence, by how many agents foever working : Every thing evil, frightful in appearance, wicked in its actings, horrible in its manner, monftrous in its effects, is called the Devil; in a word, Devil is the com mon name for all Devils j that is to (ay, for all evil Spirits, all evil Powers, all evil Works, and even all evil things : Yet 'tis remarkable the Devil is no old Teftament word, and we never find it ufed in all that part of the Bible but four times, and then not once in the fingular number, and not once to fignify Satan as 'tis now underftood.
It is true, the Learned give a great many differ ing interpretations of the word Devil ; the Eng- lijh Commentators tell us, it means a deftroyer, others that it fignifies a deceiver, and the Greeks derive it from a Calumniator or falfe witnefs j for we find that Calumny was a Goddefs^ to whom the Athenians built altars and offer'd facrifices upon fome folemn occafions, and they call her Aia/Bo^rj from whence came the mafculine Aidfiohos which we translate Devil.
Thus we take the name of Devil to fignify not perfons only, but actions and habits 5 making ima ginary Devils, and transforming that fubflantial creature call'd DEVIL into every thing noxious and offenfive : Thus St. Francis being tempted by the Devil in the fhape of a bag of money lying in the highway, the Saint having difcover'd the fraud, whether feeing his Cloven-foot hang out of the purfe, or whether he diftinguifh'd him by his fmell of fulphur* or how other wile, authors arc not agreed ; but, I fay, the Saint having difco ver'd the cheat, and out-witted the Devil j took occafion to preach that eminent fermon to his
difciples,
42, The H I S T O R Y
difciples, 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 fovereignty of the whole army of Hell, and making ail the numberlefs legions of the bot- tomlefs pit lervants j or, as the Scripture calls them, Angels to Satan the grand Devil > all their ac tions, performances and atchievements are juftly 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 fuch manner they are to be underilood in this whole work ; mutatis mutandi^ accoiding to the feveral circurn fiances of which we are to ipeak of them.
This being premised, and rny authority being fo good, Satan muil not take it ill, if I treat him after the manner of men, and give him thofe titles which he is belt known by among us > for indeed having fo many, 'tis not very eafy to call him out of his name.
However, as I am oblig'd by the duty of an Hiflorian to decency as well as impartiality, fo I thought it neceffary, before I ufed too much free dom with Sat art) to produce authentick Docu ments, and bring antiquity upon the ibge, to jufti- fy the manner of my writing, and let you fee I iliall defcribe 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 under {binding of my Readers, I am oblig'd to treat Satan very coarily, and to fpeak of him in the common acceptation, calling him plain Devil^ a word which in this mannerly age is not fo.fono-
rous
of the "DEVI L: 4j
rous as others might be, and which by the error of the Times is apt to prejudice us againft his Per- fonj yet it muft be acknowledg'd he has a great many other names and firnames which he might be known by, of a lefs obnoxious import than that of Devil) or Deflroyer, 8tc.
Mr. Milton* indeed, wanting titles of honour to give to the Leaders of Satan's Holt, is oblig'd to borrow feveral of his Scripture names, and beflow them upon his infernal Heroes, whom he makes the Generals and Leaders of the armies of Hell > and fo he makes Beelzebub, Lucifer, Belial, Mam mon, and fome others, to be the names of parti cular Devils, members of Satan's upper houfe or Pandemonium \ whereas indeed, thefe are all names proper and peculiar to Satan himfelf.
The Scripture alfo has fome names of a coar- fer kind, by which the Devil is underftood, as particularly, which is noted already, in the Apoca- lypfe he is call'd the Great Red Dragon, \hzBeafl, the Old Serpent, and the like : But take it in the Scripture, or where you will in Hiflory facred or prophane, you will find that in general the De vil is, as I have faid above, his ordinary name in all languages and in all nations > the name by which he and his works are principally diftinguifli'd : Alfa the Scripture, befides that it often gives him this name, fpeaks of the works of the Devil^ of the fubtilty of the Devil, of cafting out De vils, of being tempted of the Devil, of being pof? (efs'd with a Devil, and fo many other expreffions of that kind, as I have faid already, are made ufe of for us to underftand 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 fo, and all the reft were a diminutive fpecies who did not go by that name> But, I fay, even in Scripture, every Spirit, whether under his
Domi-
44 The HIS TORY
Dominion or out of his Dominion, is called the Devil, and is as much a real Devil, that is to fay,' a condemned Spirit, and employ'd in the fame wicked work as Satan himfelf.
His Name then being thus afcertain'd, and hk Exiftence acknowledged, it fhould be a little en- quir'd what be is ; we believe there is fuch a thing, fuch a creature as the Devil, and that he has been, and may Hill with propriety of fpeech, and without injuflice 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 prefent ftation and con dition? for thefe things and thefe enquiries are very neceflciry to his Hiftory, nor indeed can any part of his Hiiiory be compleat without them.
That he is of an antient and noble original muft 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 queftion, there is no room to doubt the genealogy of the Devil; he is not only fpoken of as an An gel ^ 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 furrounded the Throne of the mod High j from whence, com mencing rebel and being expell'd, he was caft down, down, down, GOD and the Devil himfelf only knows where $ for indeed we cannot fay that any man on Earth knows it j and wherever it is, he has ever fince man's creation been a plague to him, been a tempter, a deluder, a calumniator, an enemy and the objecl: of man's horror and a- verfion.
As his original is Heaven-born^ and his Race Angelic, fo the Angelic nature is evidently plac'd in a clafs fupcrior to the human, and this the Scrip ture is exprefs in alfp 3 when fpeaking of man,
it
*fthe DEVIL; 4.5
it fays, he made him a little lower than the An gels.
Thus the Devil, as mean thoughts as you may have of him, is of a better family than any of you, nay than the beft Gentleman of you allj what he may be fallen to, is one thing^ but what he is fallen from, is another, and therefore I mud tell my learned and reverend friend J. W. LL. D. when he fpoke fo 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 fearch after the Devil's Original, than it is in our fearch after his Nature : it is true, Authors are not agreed about his age, what time he was crea ted, how many years he enjoy'd his (late of blef- fednefs before he fell j or how many years he con tinued with his whole army in a ftate of darknefs,and before the creation of man. 'Tisfuppofed it might be a confiderable fpace, and that it was a part of his punifhment too, being all the while una&ive, un- employ'd, having no bufinefs, nothing to do but gnawing his own Bowels, and rolling in the ago ny of his own felf-approaches, being a Hell to himfelf in reflecting on the glorious ftate from whence he was fallen.
How long he remained thus, 'tis true, we have no light into from Hiftory, and but little from Tra dition 5 Rabbi Judah fays, the Jews were of the opinion, that he remained twenty thoufand years in that condition, and that the World {hall con tinue twenty thoufand more, in which he {hall find work enough to fatisfy his mifchievous de- fires ; but he fhews no authority for his opi nion.
Indeed let the Devil have been as idle as they think he was before, it muft be acknowledged that now he is the moil bufy, vigilant and diligent, of all
GOD'S
46 The HIST O RY
GOD'S creatures, and very full of employment too? fitch as it is.
Scripture indeed, gives us light into the en mity there is between the two natures, the Dia bolical and the Human 5 the reafon of it, and how and by what means the power of the Devil is re train' d by the Mejffias •, and to thofe who are wil ling to truft to Gofpel-light, and believe what the Scripture fays of the Devil^ there may much of his Hiftory be difcover'd, and therefore thofe that lift may go there for a fuller account of the matter.
But to referve all Scripture-evidence of thefe things, as a Magazine in ftore for the ufe of thofe \vith whom Scripture- teftimony is of force, I mult for the prefent turn to other enquiries, being now directing my flory to an age, wherein to be driven to Revelation and Scripture-afTertions is efleem'd
fiving up the difputej people now-a-days muft ave demonftration $ and in a word, nothing will fatisfy the age, but fuch evidence as perhaps the na ture of the queftion will not admit.
It is hard, indeed, to bring demonftrations in fuch a cafe as this: No man has feen GOD at any time, fays the fcripture, i John iv. 12,. So the Devil being a fpirit incorporeal, an Angel of light, and confequently not vifible in his own fubftance, nature and form, it may in fome fenfe be faid, no man has feen the Devil at any time 5 all thofe pretences of phrenziful and fanciful people, who tell us, they have feen the Devil 9 I {hall ex amine, and perhaps expofe by themfelves.
It might take up a great deal of our time here, to enquire whether the Devil has any particular fhape or perfonality of fubftance, which can be vifible to us, felt, heard, or underftood > and which he cannot alter, and then, what fhapes or appear ances the Devil has at any time taken upon him ;
i and
of the DEVIL; 4?
and whether he can really appear in a body which might be handled and feen, and yet fo as to know it to have been the Demi at the time of his ap pearing 5 but this alfo I defer as not of weight in the prefent enquiry.
We have divers accounts of Witches conver ging with /^? Devil; the Devil in a real body, with all the appearance of a body of a man or wo man appearing to them > alfo of having a Familiar, as they call it, an Incubus or little Devil, which fucks their bodies, runs away with them into the air, and the like : Much of this is faid, but much more than it is eafy to prove, and we ought to give but a juft proportion of credit to thofe things.
As to his borrow'd fhapes and his fubtle tranf- formings, that we have fuch open tefttmony of^ that there is no room for any queftion about it > and when I come to that part, I fhall be obliged rather to give a hiftory of the fact, than enter into any difTertation upon the nature and reafon of it.
I do not find in any author, whom we can call creditable, that even in thofe countries where the dominion of Satan is more particularly eftablifh'd, and where they may be faid to worfhip him in a more particular manner, as a Devil > which fome tell us the Indians in America, did, who worihip'd the Devil that he might not hurt them j yet, Ijay9 I do not find that even there the Devil appear'd to them in any particular conilant fhape or perfona- lity peculiar to himfelf.
Scripture and Hiftory therefore, giving us no light into that part of the queftion, I conclude and Jay it down, not as my opinion only, but as what all ages feem to concur in, that the Devil has no
Particular body 5 that he is a fpirit, and that tho* e may, Proteus like, aflumc the appearance of
either
4S The HI STORY
either man or beaft, yet it muft be fome borrowed fhape, fome aflum'd figure, pro hac vice, and that he has no vifible body of his own.
I thought it needful to difcufs this as a prelimi nary, and that the next difcourfe might go upon a certainty in this grand point ; namely, that the Devil, however, he may for his particular occafions put himfelf into a great many fhapes,and clothe him felf, perhaps, with what appearances he pleafes, yet that he is himfelf ftill ameer Spirit, that he re tains the feraphic Nature, is not vifible by our eyes, which are human and Organic, neither can he act with the ordinary Powers, or in the ordinary manner as bodies do j and therefore, when he has thought fit to defcend to the meannefles of di- Curbing and frightning children and old women, by noifes and knockings, diflocating the chairs and flools, breaking windows, and fuch like little ambulatory things, which would feem to be below the dignity of his character, and which in parti cular, is ordinarily performed by organic Powers 5 yet even then he has thought fit not to be/een, and rather to make the poor people believe he had a real fhape and body, with hands to act, mouth to fpeak, and the like^ than to give proof of it in common to the whole World, by mewing him felf, and acting vifibly and openly, as a body ufu- ally and ordinarily does.
Nor is it any difadvantage to the Devil, that his Seraphic nature is not confined or impriibn'd in a body or fhape, fuppofe that fhape to be what monftrous thing we would j for this would, indeed, confine his actings within the narrow fphere of the organ or body to which he was limited j and tho* you were to fuppofe the body to have wings for a velocity of Motion equal to fpirir, yet if it had not a power of invifibility too, and a capacity of conveying it felfj undifcovcr'd, into all the fe-
crct
of the DEVI L. 49
cretrecefles of mankind, and the fame fecretarto^ capacity of infinuation, fuggeftion, accusation, &V. by which his wicked defigns are now propagated, and all his other devices affifted, by which he de ludes and betrays mankind $ I fay, he would be no more a Devil, that is a Dcftroyer, no more a De ceiver, and, no more a Satan, that is, a dangerous Arch enemy to the fouls of men > nor would it be any difficulty to mankind to ihun and avoid him, as I fhall make plain in the other part of his Hi- ftory.
Had the Devil from the beginning been embodi ed, as he could not have been invifible to us, whole fouls equally feraphic are only prefcrib'd by being embody'd and encas'd in fleih and blood as we are j fo he would have been no more a Devil to any body but hirnfelf: Theimprifonmentina body, had the powers of that body been all that we can con ceive to make him formidable to us, would yet have been a Hell to him 5 confidjer him as a conquer'd cxafperated Rebel, retaining all that fury and fwel- ling ambition, that hatred of God, and envy at his creatures which dwells now in his enrag'd fpifit as a Devil: yet fuppofe him to have been condemn'd to organic Powers, confin'd to corporeal motion, and reftrain'd as a Body muft be fuppofed to re- ftrain a Spirit; it muft, at the fame time, fuppofe him to be effectually diiabled from all the me thods he is now allow'd to makeufe of, for exert ing his rage and enmity againft God, any farther than as he might fuppofe it to afFeft his Maker at fecond hand, by wounding his Glory thro' the fides of his weakeft creature, MAN.
He muft, certainly, be thus confin'd, becaufe Body can only act upon Body, not upon Spirit ; no fpecies being empower'd to aft out of the com- pafs of its own fphere: He might have been em power'd, indeed, to have a&ed terrible and even de-
E flruftive
50 The HISTORY
ftru6Hve things upon mankind, efpecially 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 felf-defence 3 for exam ple, fuppofe him to have had wings to have flown in the air j Or to be invulnerable, and that no human invention, art, or engine could hurt, erifnare, capti vate, or reftrain him.
But this is to fuppofe the righteous and wife Creator to have made a creature and not be able to defend and prefcrve him > or to have left him de- fencclefs to the mercy of another of his own creatures, whom he had given power to deftroy him j This indeed, might have occaiion'd a gene ral idolatry, and made mankind, as the Americans do to this day, worfhip the D&vil^ that he might not hurt them , but it could not have prevented the deftruftion of mankind, fuppofing the Devil to have had malice equal to his power: and he mult put on a new nature, be compaffionate, ge nerous, beneficent, and fteadily good in fparing tfie rival enemy he was able to deftroy, or he muft have ruin'd mankind : Injhort^ he muft have ceas'd to have been a Devil, and muft have re-arTum'd his original, Angelic, heavenly nature 5 been fill'd with the principles of love to, and delight in the Works of his Creator, and bent to propagate his Glory and Jntereft 5 or he muft have put an end to the race of man, whom it would be in his Power to deftroy, and oblige his Maker to create a new fpecies, or fortify the old with fome kind of defence, which muft be invulnerable, and which his fiery darts could not penetrate.
On this occafion differ me to make an excur- fion from the ufual ftile of this Work, and with ibme folemnity to exprefs my Thoughts thus :
How glorious is the wifdom and goodnefs of the great Creator of the World ! in thusrellrain-
ing
of the D E V I L. 51
ing thefe feraphic OUTCASTS from the power of afluming human or organic bodies ! which could they do, envigorating them with the fupernatural Powers, which, as Seraphs and Angels, they now poilefsand might exert, they would be able even to fright mankind from the face of vhe Earth, and to deilroy and confound God's Creation 3 nay, even as they are^ were not their power limited, they might deitroy the Creation it felf, reverfe and over-turn nature, and put the World into a general confla gration : But were thofe immortal Spirits embodi ed, tho' they were not permitted to confound na ture, they would be able to harrafs poor weak and defenceleis man out of his wits, and render him perfectly ufelefs, either to his Maker or himfelf.
But the Dragon is chained, the Devil's Power is limited) he has indeed a vaftly extended Em pire, being Prince of the Air, having, at leafl, the whole Atmofphere to range in, and how far that Atmofphere is extended, is not yet afcertain'd by the niceft obfervations 3 I fay at leaft^ becaufe we do not yet know how far he may be allow'd to make excurfions beyond the Atmofphere of this Globe into the planetary Worlds, and what power he may exercife in all the habitable parts of the filar fyfletn$ nay, of all the'totlierfolarjyfowf9 which, for ought we know, may exift in the mighty extent of created fpace, and of which you may hear farther in its order.
But let his power be what it will there, we arc fure 'tis limited here, and that in two particulars j firft, he is limited as above, from affuming body or bodily fhapes with fub fiance ; and fecondly, from exerting feraphic Powers, and a&ing with that fu pernatural force, which, as an Angel, he was cer tainly veiled with before the fall, and which we are not certain is yet taken from him -y or at moir, we do not know how much it may or may not be E 2, dimininYd
52 The H I ST O R Y
dimininYd by his degeneracy, and by the blow given him at his expuldon : this we are certain, that be his Power greater or lefs, he is reltrain'd from the exercife of it in this World 5 and he, who was one equal to the Angel who kill'd 180000 men in one night, is not able now, without a new commiffion, to take away the life of one Job^ nor to touch any thing he had.
But letusconfiderhim then limited and reflrain- ed as he is, yet he remains a mighty, a terrible, an immortal Being 3 infinitely fuperior to man, as well in the dignity of his nature, as in the dreadful powers he retains ftili about him 5 it is true the brain-fick heads of our Enthufiafticks paint him blacker than he is, and, as I have faid, wickedly reprefent him clothed with terrors that do not really belong to him > as if the power of good and evil was wholly vefted in him,and that he was plac ed in the Throne of his Maker, to diftribute both puniiliments and rewards 3 In this they are much wrong, terrifying and deluding fanciful people a- bout him, till they turn their heads, and fright them into a belief that the Devil will let them alone, if they do fuch and fuch good things > or carry them away with him they know not whither, if they do not -, as if the Devil, whofe proper bufinefs is mifchief, feducing and deluding man kind, and drawing them, in to be rebels like him- felf, fhould threaten to feize 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, de- bauch'd life, was frighted with an Apparition, as he calPd it, of the Devil; He fancy'd that he fpoke to him, and telling his tale to a good honeil chri- ftian Gentleman his neighbour, that had a little
more
of the DEVI L, 53
more fcnfe than himfelf 3 the Gentleman ask'd him if he was fare he really faw the Devil? yes, yes. Sir, fays he^ I faw him very plain, and fo they be gan the following difcourfe.
Gent. See him ! fee the Devil ! art thou fure of it, Thomas?
fho. Yes, yes, I am fure enough of it, Mafter; to be fure 'twas the Devil.
Gent. And how do you know 'twas the Devil, fhomas? had you ever feen the Devil before ?
fho. No, no, I had never ieen him before, to be fure -, but, for all that, I know 'twas the Devil.
Gent. Well, if you're fure, Thomas^ there's no contradicting you ; pray what clothes had he on?
fho. Nay, Sir, don't jeft with me, he had no clothes on, he was clothed with fire and brim- Hone.
Gent. Was it dark or day light when you faw him?
fho. O ! it was very dark, for it was midnight.
Gent. How could you fee him then ? did you fee by the light of the fire you fpeak of?
fho. No, no, he gave no light himfelf 5 but I faw him, for all that.
Gent. But was it within doors, or out in the ftrect?
fho. It was within, it was in my own Chamber, when I was juft going into bed, that I faw him.
Gent. Well then, you had a candle, hadn't you?
fho. Yes, I had a candle, but it burnt as blue! and as dim !
Gent. Well, but if the Devil was clothed with fire and brimftone, he muft give you fome light, there can't be fuch a fire as you fpeak of, but it muft give a light with it.
fho, AT0, 00, He gave no light, but I fmelt his fire and brimftone 5 he left a fmell of it behind him? when he was gone.
E 3 Gent.
54 The HISTORY
Gent. Well, fo you fay he had fire, but gave no light, it was a deviliih fire indeed j did it feel warm ? was the room hot while he was in it ?
Tbo. No, no, but I was hot enough without it, for it put me into a great fwcat with the fright.
Gent. Very well, he was all in fire, you fay, but without light or heat, only, itfeems, he flunk of brimftonej pray what iliapes was he in, what was he like} for you fay you law him?
Tho. O! Sir, I faw t wo great flaring (aucer eyes, enough to fright any body out of their wits.
Gent. And was that all you (aw?
Tbo. No, I law his cloven-foot very plain, 'twas as big as one of our bullocks that goes to plow.
Gent. So you faw none of his body, but his eyes and his feet ? a fine vifion indeed !
TJjo. Sir, that was enough to fend me going.
Gent. Going ! what did you run away from him ?
Tho. No, but I fled into bed at one jump, and funk down and pull'd the bed-clothes quite over me.
Gent. And what did you do that for?
Tho. To hide my felf from fuch a frightful creature.
Gent. Why, if it had really been the Devil, do you think the bed-clothes would have fecur'd you from him ?
Tho. Nay, I don't know, but in a fright it was all I could do.
Gent. Nay, 'twas as wife as all the reft 5 but come, Thomas, to be a little ferious, pray did he jpcak to you ?
Tbo. 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 ?
Tbo^ No, it was a hoarfe ugly noife, like the croak ing of a Frog, and it call 'd me by my name twice, Thomas Dawfon^ Thomas Dawfon.
Gent.
of the DEVIL. 55
Gsnt. Well, did you anfvver ?
Tho. No, not I, 1 could not havefpokeaword for my life 5 -why, I was frighted to death.
Gent. Did it fay any thing elfe?
Tho. Tes, when it faw that I did not (peak, it faid, Thomas Dawfon, Thomas Daivfon, you are a wicked wretch, you lay 'with Jenny S — lafl night j if you don't repent ', / will take you away alive and cany you to Hell, andyoujhall be damn* d, you wretch.
Gent. And was it true, Thomas, did you lye with Jenny S the night before ?
Tho. Indeed Matter, why yes it was true, byt I was very ferry afterwards.
Gent. But how fhould the Devil know \l,Thomas?
Tho. Nay, he knows it to be furej why, they fay he knows every thing.
Gent. Well, but why fhould he be angry at that ? he would rather bid you lye with her again, and encourage you to lye with forty whores, than hin der you: This can't be the Devil, Thomas.
Tho. Yes, yes, Sir, 'twas the Devil to be fure.
Gent. But he bid you repent too, you fay ?
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 fay to that j but what could it be ? 'twas the Devil to be fure, it could be nobody elfe ?
Gent. No, no, 'twas neither the Devil, Thomas, nor any body elfe, but your own frighted ima gination -, you had lain with that wench, and be ing a young firmer of that kind, your Confcience terrified you, told you the Devil would fetch you away, and you would be damn'dj and you were fo perfuaded it would be fo, that you at lafl imagined he was come for you indeed > that you faw him and heard him $ whereas, you may depend upon it, \£ Jenny S— will let you lye with her every
E 4 night,
5« 736* H I S T O Pv Y
night, the Devil will hold the candle, or do any thing to forward it, but will never diihirb you; he's too much a friend to your wicked nefs, it could never be the Devil, Thomas $ 'twas only your own guilt frighted yon, and that was Devil enough too, if you knew the worfl of it, you need no other enemy.
T'ho. Why that's true, Matter, one would think the Devil mould not bid me repent, that's true > but certainly 'twas the Devil for all that.
Now fbomas was not the only man that ha ving committed a flagitious crime had been de luded by his own imagination, and the power of fancy, to think the Devil was come for him $ whereas the Devil, to give him his clue, is too honed: to pretend to fuch things -> 'tis his bufinefs to perfuade men to offend, not to repent 5 and he profefles no other , he may prcfs men to this or that a&ion, by telling them 'tis no fin, no offence, no breach of God's Law, and the like, when really 'tis both > but to prefsthem to repent, when they have offended, that's quite out of his way j 'tis none of his bufinefs, nor does he pretend to it 3 therefore, let no man charge the Devil with what he is not concerned in.
But to return to his Perfon, he is, as I have {aid, not with (landing his loft glory, a mighty, a ter rible and an immortal Spirit 5 he is himfclf calPd a Prince, the Prince of the Po^er of the Air 3 the Prince of Darknefs, the Prince of Devils, and the like, and his attending Spirits are call'd his Angels : ib that however Satan has loft the glory and reftitude of his Nature, by his apoftate Hate, yet he retains a greatnefs 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 bleiTed Angels are j of whom we can fay no more than that they arc
winiftring
of the DEVIL. 57
winiftring Spirits, 8tc. as the Scripture has de- crib'd them.
Two things, however, may give us fome in- fight into the nature of the Devil, in the prefent Hate he is in ; and thefe we have a clear difcovery of in the whole feries of his Conduct from the Beginning.
i. That he is the vanquifli'd but implacable ene my of God his Creator, who has conquer'd him, andexpelPd him from the habitations of blifs -y on which account he is fill'd with envy, rage, malice, and all uricharitablenefs 5 would dethrone God and overturn the thrones of Heaven, if it was in his power.
z. That he is man's irreconcilable Enemy 5 not as he is a man, nor on his own account iim- ply, nor for any advantage he (the Devil) can make by the ruin and deflruction of man j but in meer envy at the felicity he is fuppofed to enjoy as Satan's rival ; and as he is appoin ted to fucceed Satan and his Angels in the poffeffion of thole glories from which they are fallen.
And here I mult take upon me to fay, Mr. Milton makes a wrong judgment of the reafon of Satan's refolution to difturb the felicity of man ; He tells us it was meerly to affront God his Maker, rob him of the glory defign'd in his new work of creation, and to difappoint him in his main defign, namely, the creating a new fpecies of creatures in a perfect reftituoc of foul, and after his own image, from whom he might ex pect a new Fund of glory fhould be rais'd, and who was to appear as the triumph of the Meffiah's victory over the Devil. In all which Satan could not be fool enough not to know that lie ihould
be
58 The HISTORY
be difappointed by the fame Power which had fo eminently counter- a6ted his rage before.
But, I believe, the Devil went upon a much more probable defign -, and tho' he may be faid to act upon a meaner principle than that of pointing his rage at the perfonal glory of his Creator j yet I own, that in my opinion, it was by much the more rational undertaking, and more likely to fuc- ceed 5 and that was, that whereas he perceived this new fpecies of creatures had a fublime as well as a, human part, and were made capable of pofleffing the manlions of eternal Beatitude, from whence, he (Satan) and his Angels were e^pell'd and irre trievably banifh'd j envy at fuch a rival mov'd him by all poflible artifice, for he faw him deprived of capacity to do it by force^ to render him unworthy like himfelf} that bringing him to fall into re bellion and difobedience, he might fee his Rival damn'd with him > and thofe who were intended to fill up the empty fpaces in Heaven, made fo by the abfence of fo many millions of fallen Angels, be caft out into the fame darknefs with them.
How he came to know that this new fpecies of creatures were liable tor fuch imperfection, is beft explained by the Devil's prying, vigilant difpofi- tion, judging or leading him to judge by himfelfj (for he was as near being infallible as any of God's creatures had been) and then inclining him to try whether it was fo or no.
Modern Naturalifts, efpecially fome who have not fo large a chanty for the fair fex, as I have, tell us, that as foon as ever Satan faw the woman, and look'd in her face, he faw evidently that fhe was the beft form'd creature to make a Tool of^ and the beft to make a hypocrite of, that could be made, and therefore the moft fitted for his purpofe.
i. He faw by fome thwart lines in her face, 'legible, perhaps, to himfelf only) that there was
a throne
of the DEVIL; 59
a throne ready prepared for the fin of pride to fit in flate upon, efpecially if it took an early pofTef- fion : EVE you may fuppofe was a perfect Beauty, if ever fuch a thing may befuppofedin the human frame > her figure being fo 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 fo, or was infinitely more fub- lime and beautiful than it really was 3 and having thus tickl'd her vanity, to introduce Pride gradu ally, till at lafl he might perfuade her, that fhe was really Angelic, or of heavenly Race, and wanted nothing but to eat the forbidden fruit, and that would make her fomething more excel lent ftill.
2. Looking farther into her Frame, and with a nearer view to her imperfections, he faw room to conclude that fhe was of a conftitution eafy to be feduc'd, and efpecially by flattering her ; railing a commotion in her Soul, and adiflurbance among her paffions $ and accordingly he fet himfelf to work, to difturb her repofe, and put dreams of great things into her head ; together with fome thing of a namelefs Kind, which ( however, fome have been ill-natur'd enough to fuggeft ) I fhall not injure the Devil fo much as to mention, with out better evidence.
3. But, befides this, he found, upon the very firft furvey of her outfide, fomething fo veiy charming in her mein and behaviour, fo engag ing as well as agreeable in the whole texture of her perfon, and withal fuch a fprightly wit, fuch a vivacity of parts, fuch a fluency of tongue, and above all, fuch a winning prevailing whine in her fmiles, or at leaft in her tears, that he made no doubt if he could but once delude her, fhe would eafily be brought to delude Adam^ whom he found fet not only a great value upon her perfon, but
was
60 The HI ST O R Y
was perfectly captivated by her charms j in a word,' he faw plainly, that if he could but ruin her, he fhould eafily make a Devil cf her, to ruin her husband, and draw him into any gulph of mis chief, were it ever fo black and dreadful, that ihc fhould firft fall into herfelfj how far fome may be wicked enough, from hence, to fuggeflof the fair feu, that they have been Devils to their huf- bands ever fince, I cannot fay $ J hope they will not be fo unmerciful to difcover truths of fuch fatal confequence, tho' they ihould come to their knowledge.
Thus fubtle and penetrating has Satan been from the beginning > and who can wonder that upon thefe difcoveries made into the woman's iniide, 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 feen fo much of it in his countenance, as to have encouraged him to make his attack directly upon him, and not go round about, beating the bum, and ploughing with the Heifer -, fetting upon the woman firit, and then fetting her upon her husband, who might as eaiily have been impofed upon as fhe.
Other Commentators upon this critical Text fuggeft to us, that Eve was not fo pleafed with the hopes of being made aGaddefs> That the pride of a Seraphic Knowledge did not fo much work upon her imagination to bring her to confent, as a certain fecret Notion infus'd into her head by the fame wicked inflrument, that fhe fhould be wifer than Adam^ and fhould by the fuperiority of her undcrftanding, neceflarily have the govern ment over him $ which, at prefent, fhe was fen- lible fhe had not, he being matter of a particular air of gravity and majefty, as well as of firength, infinitely fuperior to her.
4 ' This
DEVIL: 61
This is an ill-natur'd fuggeftion ; but it muft be confefs'd the impatient defire of government, which (fince that) appears in the general Beha- viour of the fex,and particularly of governing huf- bands, leaves too much room tb legitimate the fuppofition.
The Expofitors, 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 fhew his juftice, in making her more entire fubjeftion to her husband be a part of the Curfe, that fhe might read her fin in the puniftiment, (viz.) he Jh all rule over the e.
I only give the general hint of thefe things as they appear recorded in the annals of Satan's firft Tyranny, and at the beginning of his govern ment in the World 5 thofe that would be more particularly informed, may enquire of him and know farther.
I cannot however, but obferve here with feme regret, how it appears by the confequence, that the Devil was not miftaken when he made an early judgment of Mrs. Eve -, and how Satan really went the right way to work, to judge of her y 'tis certain the Devil had nothing to do but to look in her face, and upon a near ileady view he might eafily fee there, an inftrumcnt for his Turn 5 nor has he fail'd to make her a Tool ever fince, by the very methods which he at firft pro- poled ^ to which, perhaps, he has made fome ad ditions in the corrupting her compofition, as well as her underftanding j qualifying her to be a corn- pleat fnare to the poor weaker ve/el M A N > to wheedle him with her Syren's voice, abufe him with her fmiles, delude him with her crocodile tears, and fometimes cock her crown at him, and ter rify him with the thunder of her TREBLE j ma king the effeminated Male Apple -eater tremble at the
noife
6i The H I S T O R Y
noife of that very Tongue, which at firft com manded him to Sin. For it is yet a debate which the Learned have not decided, whether fhe per- fuaded and entreated him, or like a true fhe- ty rant, exercifed her authority and ,oblig'd him to eat the forbidden fruit.
And therefore a certain author, whofe name, for fear of the Sex's refentment I conceal, brings her in, calling to Adam at a great diftance, in an imperious haughty manner, beckoning to him with her hand, thus 5 Here, fays fhe, you coward ly faint-hearted wretch^ take this branch of heaven ly fruity eat and be a ftupid fool no longer 5 eat and be wife j eat and be a God -y and know^ to your eter- naljhame^ that your wife has been made anenlighttfd Goddefs before you.
He tells you Adam hung back a little at firfr, and trembl'd, afraid to trefpafs : What alls the SOT, (ays the new Termagant? what are you afraid of? did God forbid you! yes^ and why ? that we might not be knowing and wife like himfelf ! What reafon can there be that we, who have capacious foulS) able to receive knowledge^ Jhould have it with held ? take //, you Fool, and eat ; don't you fee how I am exalted in foul by it^ and am quite another Creature ? Take it, I fay, or^ if you don't , /'// go and cut down the free, andyoujhall never eat any of it at all) and you fo all be ft ill a fool^ and be governed by your wife for ever.
Thus, if this interpretation of the thing be jtift, fhe Scolded him into it > Rated him, and brought him to it by the terror of her voice -y a thing that has retained a dreadful influence over him ever fmce > nor have the greatefl of Adam's Succef- fors, how light foever fome husbands make of it in this age, been ever able, fince that, to con ceal their terror, at the very Sound j nay, if we may believe hiftory,it prevailed even among the Gods >
z not
of the DEVIL. 63
not all the noife of Vulcarfs hammers could iilence the clamours of that outrageous whore his Goddefs $ nay, even Jupiter himfelf led fuch a life with a termagant wife, that once, they fay, Juno out-fcolded the noife of all his Thunders, and was within an ace of brawling him out of Heaven. But to return to the Devil.
With thefe views he refolv'd, it feems, to at tack the woman > and if you coniider him as a Devil, and what he aim'd at, and confider the fair profpe I do not fee who can blame him, or at leaft, how any thing lefs could be expefted from him -y But we fhall meet with it again by and by.
C H A P. V.
Of the fiat ion Satan had in Heaven before he fell ; the nature and original of his crime y and fome of Mr. Milton'j miflakes about it.
THUS far I have gone upon general obfer- vation, in this great affair of Satan and his Empire in the World > I now come to my Title^ and fhall enter upon the hiftorical part, as the main work before me.
Befides what has been faid Poetically, relating to the fall and wandering condition of the Devil and his Ho ft, which poetical part I offer only as an excurfion, and defire it fhould be taken fo > I fhall give you what I think is deduced from good originals on the part of Satatfs flory in a few words.
He was one of the created Angels, form'd by the fame omnipotent hand and glorious power,
who
64 The H I S T O R Y
who created the Heavens and the Earth, and all that is therein : This innumerable heavenly hoft, as we have reafon to believe, contain'd Angels of higher and lower ftations, of greater and ol- lefler degree, exprefs'd in the Scripture by Thrones, Do minions, and Principalities : This, I think, we have as much reafon to believe, as we have, that there are Stars in the Firmament (or ftarry Hea vens) of greater and of lefler magnitude.
What particular ftation among the immortal Choir of Angels, this Arch-feraph, this Prince of Devils, call'd Satan, was plac'd in before his ex- pulfion, that 'indeed, we cannot come at the knowledge of, at leaft, not with fuch an Autho^ rity as may be depended upon > but as from Scrip ture authority, he is plac'd at the head of all the Apoftate armies, after he was fallen, we cannot think it in the leaft afluming to fay, that he might be fuppofed to be one of the principal Agents in the Rebellion which happened in Heaven, and confequently that he might be one of the higheft in dignity there, before that Rebellion.
The higher his ftation, the lower, and with the greater precipitation, was his overthrow 5 and therefore, thofe words, tho' taken in another fenfe, may very well be apply'd to him : How art thou fallen, O Lucifer ! Son of the Morning ! Having granted the dignity of his Perfon, and the high ftation in which he was placed among the heavenly Hoft ; it would come then neceflari- ly to inquire into the nature of his fall, and above all, a little into the reafon of it -9 certain it is, he did fall, was guilty of Rebellion and Difobedience, the juft effect of Pride ; fins, 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 feeds of crime to rife in the Angelic Nature?
created
of the DEVIL. 65
treated in a ftate of perfect, unfpotted holinefs ? how was it firft 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 puri ty breed corruption ? could that nature contami nate and infect, which was always Drinking iri principles of perfection ?
Happy 'tis to me, that writing the Hiflor}^ not folvingthe Difficulties of Satan's Affairs, is my province in this Work j that I am to relate the Fact, not give reafons for it, or fign caufes 5 if it was otherwife, I fhould break off at this difficulty, for I acknowledge I do not fee thro' it j neither do I think that the great Milton^ after all his fine Ima ges and lofty Excurfions upon the Subject, has left it one jot clearer than he found it : Some are of opinion, and among them the great Dr. J?— -r, that crime broke in upon them at fome 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 em ployment of Angels 5 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 coin- prehenfible than it was before > all I can fay to it here, is, thaty^ it w^j, the fact was upon Record, and the reje6bed Troop are in being, whofe cir- cum fiances confefs the Guilt, and flill groan un der the Punifhment.
If you will bear with a poetic excurfion upon die fubjeft, not to folve but to illuflrate the diffi culty 5 take it in a few lines, thus.
Thou
66 The HISTORY
Thou fin of Witchcraft ! firftborn child of Crime !
Produc'd before the bloom of Time 5 Ambition's maiden Sin, in Heaven conceiv'd,
And who could have believ'd Defilement could in purity begin. And bright eternal Day be foil'd with Sin ?
Tell us, fly penetrating Crime, How cam' ft thou there, thou fault fublime ? How didft thou pafs the Adamantine Gate j
And into Spirit thy felf infinuate ?
From what dark ftate? from what deep place ?
From what ftrange uncreated race ? Where was thy ancient habitation found Before void Chaos heard the forming found ?
Waft thou a Subftance, or an airy Ghoft,
A Vapour flying in the fluid wafte Of unconco6bed air ?
And how at firft didft thou come there ? Sure there was once a time when thou wert not, By whom waft thou created ? and for what ? Art thou a fteam from fome contagious damp ex- hal'd?
How fhould contagion be intail'd,
On bright feraphic Spirits, and in a place Where all's fupreme, and Glory fills the Space?
No noxious vapour there could rile. For there no noxious matter lies ;
Nothing that's evil could appear, Sin never could Seraphic Glory bear j The brightnefs of the eternal Face, Which fills as well as conftitutes the place, Would be a fire too hot for crime to bear, •*T would calcine Sin, or melt it into air,
How
of the DEVIL. 67
How then did firft defilement enter in?
Ambition, chou firft vital feed of Sin !
Thou Life of Death, how canVft thou there ? In what bright form didft thou appear ? In what Seraphic Orb did ft thou arife?
Surely that place admits of no difguife, Eternal Sight mult know thee there. And being known, thou foon muft difappean But iince the fatal Truth we know, Without the matter whence or manner how :
Thou high fuperlative of Sin,
Tell us thy nature, where thou didfl begin ? The firft degree of thy increafe,
Debauch'd the Regions of eternal Peace,
And fill'd the breafts of loyal Angels there
With the firft Treafon and infernal War.
Thou art the high extreme of pride, And doft o'er lefTer crimes prefide$ Not for the mean attempt of Vice defign'd, But to embroil the World, and damn Mankind,. Transforming mifchief, now haft thou procur'd
That lofs that ne'er to be reftor'd, And made the bright Seraphic Morning-ftar
In horrid monftrous fhapes appear ?
Satan^ that while he dwelt in glorious light, Was always then as pure as he was bright, That in effulgent rays of glory fhone, Excell'd by eternal Light, by him alone, Diftorted now, and ftript of Innocence, (nence- And banifh'd with thee from the high Pre-emi* How has the fplendid Seraph chang'd his face, Transformed by thee, and like thy monftrous race ? F z Ugly
158 The HISTORY
Ugly. as is the crime, for which he fell. Fitted by thce to make a local Hell, For fuch muft be the place where either of youi (dwell.
Thus, as I told you, I only moralize upon the fubjccl:, but as to the difficulty, I muft leave it as I find it, unlefs, as I hinted at fa ft , I could pre- Vail with Satan to fet pen to paper, and write this part of his own Hiftory : No queftion, but he could let us into the fecret j but to be plain, I doubt I fhall tell fo many plain truths of the Devil) in this Hiftory, and difcover fo many of his fecrets, which it is not for his intereft to havedif- cover'd, that before I have done, the Devil and I may not be fo good friends as you may fuppofe we are 5 at leaft, not friends enough to obtain fuch a favour of him, tho' it be for public good j fo we muft be content till we come ont' other fide the Blue-Blanket^ and then \ve {hall know the whole Story.
But now, tho' as I (aid, I will not attempt to folve the difficulty, I may, I hope, venture to tell you, that there is not ib much difficulty in it, as at firft fight appears : and efpecially not fo much as fome people would make us believe ; let us (ec how others are miftaken 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 mer ry things of the Devil, in a moft formal, folemn manner > till in fhort 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 Profe'rpitie. He has made fine Speeches both ht- God and the Devil^ and a little addition
might
of the DEVIL. 69
might have turnM it a la modern into a Harlequin Dieu 6f Diable.
I confefs I don't well know how far the do minion of Poetry extends itfelf 5 it feems the Buts. and Bounds of Parnaffus are not yet afcertaind ; fo that for ought I know, by vcrtue of their an- tienc privileges call'd Licenlia Poetarum, there can be no Blafphemy in Verfe > as fome of our Divines fay there can be no Treafon in the Pulpit. But they that will venture to write that way, ought to be better fatisfy'd about that Point than I am.
Upon this foot Mr. Milton, to grace his Poem, and give room for his To wring Fancy, has gone a length beyond all that ever went before him, fince Ovid in his Metamorphofis. Fie has indeed complimented GOD Almighty with a flux of lofty words, and great founds 5 and has made a very fine Story of the Devil, but he has made a meerje ne fcay Quoi of Jefus Chrift. In one line he has him riding on a Cherub, and in ano ther fitting on a Throne, both in the very fame 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 j and no body can be fo dull as to fay the Angels may be called Saints, without the greateft abfar- dity in nature. Befides, he makes CHRIST him- felf diftinguifh them, as in two feveral Bands, and of differing Perfons and Species, as to be fure they are.
Stand ftill in bright array, ye Saints •
______« Here ftand,
2? Angels.' •
Par. Loft, lib, \\.fo. 174.
F 3 So
70 The HISTORY
So that CHRIST here is brought in drawing up his Army before the laft Battle, and making a Speech to them, to tell them they fhall only ftand by in warlike order, but that they fhall have no oo caflon to fight, for he alone will engage the Re bels. 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 thole 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 j GOD and his Angels fill'd up the place > and till fome of the dngels 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 feen in Heaven^ as well as the Proto-martyr of all that have been upon Earth.
Juft fuch another Mifhke, not to call it a Blun der, 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 fo contrary to the na ture of the thing, and fo great an abfurdity, that no Poetic Licenfe can account for it j for tho' Poefie may form Stories, as Idea and Fancy may furnifh Materials, yet Pocty muft not break in upon Chro nology, and make things which in time were to exift, act before they exifled.
Thus a Painter may make a fine piece of Work, the fancy may be good, the ftrokes mafterly, and the beauty of the Workmanfhip inimitably curi ous and fine, and yet have fome unpardonable im proprieties which marr the whole Work. So the famous Painter of Toledo painted the ftory of the three Wifemen of the Eafl coming to wor- {hip, and bring their prefents to our Lord upon his birth at Bethlehem^ where he reprefents them as
three
.of the DEVIL. 71
three Arabian or Indian Kings 5 two of them are white, and one black 5 ^But unhappily when he drew the latter part of them kneeling, which to be fure was done after their fac.es 5 their legs being neceflarily 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 difco- ver'd the miftake till the piece was preferred to the King, and hung up in the great Church. As this is an unpardonable error in Sculpture or Lim ning, it muft be much more fo in Poetry, where the Images muft have no improprieties, much lefs inconfiftencies.
In a word, Mr. Milton has indeed made a fine Poem, but it is the Devil of a Hiftory. I can ea- lily allow Mr. Milton to make Hills and Dales, flowry Meadows and Plains (and the like) in Hea ven > and places of Retreat and Contemplation in Hell; tho' I muft add, that it can be allowed to no Poet on Earth but Mr. Milton. Nay, I will allow Mr. Milton^ if you pleafe, to fet the Angels a dancing in Heaven^ lib. v. fo. 138. and the Devils a fing- ing in Hell, lib. i. fo. 44. tho' they are in ihort, efpecially the laft,moft horrid Abfurdities. But I cannot allow him to make their Mufick in Hell to be harmonious and charming as he does > fuch Images being incongruous, and indeed (hocking to Nature. Neither can I think we fhould allow things to be plac'd out of time in Poetry, any more than in Hiftory > 'tis a confufionof Images which is al- low'd to be difallow'd by all the Criticks of what tribe or fpecies foever in the world, and is indeed unpardonable. But we fhall find fo many more of thele 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 Hiftory of Mr. Milton^ but of the Devil: befides,
F 4 Mr.
72 The HISTORY
Mr. Milton is fuch a celebrated Man, that who but he that can write the Hiftory of the Devil dare meddle with him ?
But to come back to the bufinefs. As I had can- tion'd you againtl running to Scripture for fhel- ter in cafes of difficulty, Scripture weighing ve ry little among the people I am directing my Speech to 5 fo indeed Scripture gives but very lit tle light into any thing of the Devil's Story before his Fall, and but to 'very little of it for fome time after.
Nor has Mr. Milton faid one word to folve the main difficulty (viz.) How the Devil came to fall, and how Sin came into Heaven , how the fpotlefs feraphic Nature could receive infection, whence the contagion proceeded, what noxious matter could emit corruption there, how and whence any vapour to poiibn the Angelick Frame could rife up, or how it increased and grew up to crime/ But all this he paries over, and hurrying up that part in two or three words, only tells us,
— . his Pride,
Had caft him out of Heaven with all his Hoft Of rebel Angels, by whofe aid afpiring He trufted to have equal'd the moftHigh.
lib. i. fo. J.
His pride ! but how came Satan while an Arch-an gel to be proud ? How did it confiii, that Pride and perfect Holinefs fhould meet in the fame Per- fon? Here we muft bid Mr. Milton good night 5 for, In plain terms, he is in the dark about it, and fo we are all 3 and the mofl that can be faid, is, that we know the fad is fo, but nothing of the nature or reafoh of it,"
But
of the DEVIL. 73
But to come to the Hiftory : The Angels fell, they finn'd (wonderful*!) in Heaven, and God cafl them out j what their fin was is not explicit, but in general 'tis call'd a Rebellion againftGoD j all fin mull be To.
Mr. Milton here takes upon him to give the Hi ftory of it, as particularly as if he had been born there, and came down hither on purpofe to give us an account of it $ (I hope he is better inform'd by this time y) but this he does in fuch a manner, as joftles with Religion, and fhocks our Faith in fo many points neceflary to be believ'd, that we mull forbear to give up to Mr. Milton, or muft fet afide part of the iacred Text, in fuch a manner, as will afllil fome people to fet it all afide.
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 Generalifiimo of all the Armies of Heaven 3 and of the Father's fummon- ing all the Angels of the heavenly Hofl to fub- mit to him, and pay him homage. The words are quoted already, page 32.
I mull own the Invention, indeed, is very fine; the Images exceeding magnificent, the Thought rich and bright, and, in fome refpecl:, truly fub- lime : But the Authorities fail mofl wretchedly, and the mifs-timing of it, is unfufferably grofs, as is noted in the Introduction to this Work 5 for Chrift is not declar'd the Son of God but on Earth j 'tis true, 'tis fpoken from Heaven, but then 'tis fpoken as perfected on Earth 5 if it was at all to be affign'd to Heaven, it was from Eternity, and there, indeed, his eternal Generation is al- low'd 5 but to take upon us to fay, that On a da>}\ a certain day^ for fo our Poet affiimes, lib. v. fbj. 137.
• c When on a day,
- 4 On fuch a day

74 The HISTORY
« As Heaven's great Year brings forth, the empy real Hoft
« Of Angels by imperial Summons call'd, « Forthwith from all the ends of Heaven appeared.
This is, indeed, too grofs > at this meeting he makes God declare the Son to be that day begot- ten^ as before •> had he made him not begotten that day, but declared General that day, it would be reconcileable with Scripture and with fenfe 3 for either the begetting is meant of ordaining to an office, or elfe the eternal Generation falls to the ground 5 and if it was to the office (Mediator) then Mr. Milton is out in afcribing another fix'd day to the Work > fee lib. x. fo. 194. But then the declaring him that day ', is wrong chronology too, for Chrifl; is declar'd the Son of God 'with power , only by the Refurreftion 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 be fore this, except it be that dull authority call'd foetlc Licenfej which will not pafs in fo folemn an affair as that.
But the thing was neceflary to Milton^ who wanted to affign fome caufe or original of the JDmTs Rebellion j and fo, as I faid above^ the de- iign is well laid, it only wants two Trifles call'd 'Truth and Hiftory , fo I leave it to ftruggle for it felf.
This Ground -plot being laid, he has a fair field for the Devil to play the Rebel in, for he imme diately brings him in, not fatisfy'd with the Ex altation of the Son of God. The cafe muft be thus 5 Satan being an eminent Arch-an^el, and perhaps, the higheft of all the Angelic Train, hearing this fovereign Declaration, that the Son
vZ, Of
of the DEVIL; 75
of God wasdeclar'd to be Head or Generaliflimo of all the heavenly Hoft, took it ill to fee another put into the high ftation over his head^ as the Sol diers call it 3 he, perhaps, thinking himfelf the fe- ni or Officer, and difdaining tofubmit to any but to his former immediate Sovereign 3 in fhort, he threw up his Commiffion, 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 againit the invention, becaufe a deduction of probable Events j but the Plot is wrong laid, as is obferv'd above, becaufe contradicted by the Scripture account, according to which Chrift was declared in Hea ven, not then, but from Eternity, and not declar ed with power, but on Earth, (viz.) in his victory over Sin and Death, by the Refurre&ion from the dead : fo that Mr. Milton is not orthodox in this part, but lays an avow'd foundation for the cor rupt Doctrine of Arius^ which fays, there was a time when Chrift '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 finning Angels, with the great Arch-angel at the head of them, revolted from their obedience, even in Heaven it felf 3 that Satan began the wicked defection, and being a Chief among the heavenly Hoft, confequently carry'd over a great party with him, who all together rebel'd againft God 3 that upon this Rebellion they were (entenc'd, by the righteous judgment of GOD, to be expel'd the holy Habitation 5 this, bcfides the authority of Scripture, we have vifible teftimomes of, from the Devils themfelves3 their influences and ope rations among us every day, of which Mankind are witneiTes 3 in all the merry things they do in his name, and under his prote&ion, in almoft every fcene of life they pafe thro', whether we talk of
things
76 The H I S T O R Y
things done openly or in Mafquerade, things done in— or out of it, things done in earneft or in jell.
But then, what comes of the long and bloody War that Mr. Milton gives fuch a full and parti cular account of, and the terrible Battels in Hea ven between Michael with the royal Army of An gels on one hand, and Satan with his rebel Holt on the other j in which he fuppofes the numbers and ilrength to be pretty near equal ? but at length brings in the Devils Army, upon doubling their rage and bringing new engines of war into the field, putting Michael and all the faithful Army to the Worfl > and, in a word, defeats them? For tho' they were not put to a plain flight, in which cafe he mutt, at lead, have given an account of two or three thoufand millions of Angels cut in pieces and wounded, yet he allows them to give over the fight, and make a kind of retreat > fo making way for the compleat vidory of the Son of GOD : Now this is all invention, or at leaft, a borrow'd thought from the old Poets, and the Fight of the Giants againft Jupiter, fo nobly dc- iign'd by Ovid, almort two thoufand years ago > and there 'twas well enough ; but whether Poetic Fancy fhould be allow'd to fable upon Heaven, or no, and upon the King of Heaven too, that I leave to the Sages.
By this expuliion of the Devils, it is allow'd by moil z^uthors, they are, ipfofaffo, ftript of the Rectitude and Holinefs of their Nature, which was their Beauty and Perfection 5 and being in- gulph'd in the abyfs of irrecoverable ruin, 'tis •no matter where, from that very time they lolt tKeir Angelic beautiful Form, commenced ugly frightful Monfters and Devils, and became evil doers, as well as evil Spirits j fill'd with a horrid malignity and enmity againft their Maker, and with a hellifh refblution to fhew and ex- i ert
DEVIL; 77
crt it on all occafions , retaining however their exalted fpirituous Nature, and having a vail ex- tenfive power of Adion, all which they can ex ert in nothing elfe but doing evil, for they are en tirely diverted of either Power or will to do good^ and even in doing evil, they are under reflraints and limitations of a iuperior 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 Hofl of fallen Spirits after their being expelld from Heaven, and his ixandring condi tion till the Creation ; with fome more of Mr. M.\\totisabfurditieson that fubjeEi.
HAVING thus brought the Devil and his innumerable Legions to the edge of the Bottomlels-pit, it remains, before I bring them to aftion, that fome enquiry fhould be made into the pofture of their affairs immediately after their precipitate Fall, and into the place of their im mediate Rcfidence > for this will appear to be very neceflary to Satan's Hi (lory, and indeed, fo as that without it, all the farther account we have to give of him, will be inconfiftent and imperfecb. And firft, I take upon me to lay down fomc Fundamentals, which I believe I {hall be able to make out Hiflorically, tho', perhaps, not fo Geo graphically as fome have pretended to do,