The History of the Devil - As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts

Daniel Defoe

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• Publié par: zuiv
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 34
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of the Devil, by Daniel Defoe This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The History of the Devil As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts Author: Daniel Defoe Release Date: January 23, 2010 [EBook #31053] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL *** Produced by Michael Roe, Stephanie Eason, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL, AS WELL ANCIENT as MODERN: IN TWO PARTS. PART I. Containing a State of the Devil’s Circumstances, and the various Turns of his Affairs; from his Expulsion out of Heaven, to the Creation of Man; with Remarks on the Several Mistakes concerning the Reason and Manner of his Fall. Also his Proceedings with Mankind ever since Adam, to the first planting of the Christian Religion in the World. PART II. Containing his more private Conduct, down to the present Times: His Government, his Appearances, his manner of Working, and the Tools he works with. Bad as he is, the Devil may be abus’d, Be falsly charg’d, and causelesly accus’d, When Men, unwilling to be blam’d alone, Shift off these Crimes on Him which are their Own. The SECOND EDITION. LONDON: Printed for T. WARNER, at the Black Boy in Pater-noster Row . 1727. The PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. T HIS Second Edition of this Work, notwithstanding a large Impression of the First, is a Certificate from the World of its general Acceptation; so we need not, according to the Custom of Editors, boast of it without Evidence, or tell a F——b in its Favour. The Subject is singular, and it has been handled after a singular Manner: The wise World has been pleased with it, the merry World has been diverted with it, and the ignorant World has been taught by it; none but the malicious part of the World has been offended at it: Who can wonder, that when the Devil is not pleased, his Friends should be angry? The strangest thing of it all is, to hear Satan complain that the Story is handled prophanely: But who can think it strange that his Advocates should BE, what he was from the Beginning? The Author affirms, and has good Vouchers for it (in the Opinion of such whose Judgment passes with him for an Authority) that the whole Tenor of the Work is solemn, calculated to promote serious Religion, and capable of being improv’d in a religious manner. But he does not think that we are bound never to speak of the Devil but with an Air of Terror, as if we were always afraid of him. ’Tis evident the Devil, as subtle and as frightful as he is, has acted the ridiculous and foolish Part, as much as most of God’s Creatures, and daily does so. And he cannot believe ’tis any Sin to expose him for a foolish Devil, as he is, or shew the World that he may be laugh’d at. Those that think the Subject not handled with Gravity enough, have all the Room given them in the World to handle it better; and as the Author professes he is far from thinking his Piece perfect, they ought not to be angry that he gives them leave to mend it. He has had the Satisfaction to please some Readers, and to see good Men approve it; and for the rest, as my Lord Rochester says in another Case, He counts their Censure Fame. As for a certain Reverend Gentleman, who is pleased gravely to dislike the Work (he hopes, rather for the Author’s sake than the Devil’s) he only says, Let the Performance be how it will, and the Author what he will, it is apparent he has not yet preach’d away all his Hearers. It is enough to me (says the Author) that the Devil himself is not pleased with my Work, and less with the Design of it; let the Devil and all his fellow Complainers stand on one side, and the honest, well meaning, charitable World, who approve my Work, on the other, and I’ll tell Noses with Satan, if he dares. THE CONTENTS. PART I. C HAP. I. Being an Introduction to the whole Work , C HAP. II. Of the Word DEVIL, as it is a proper Name to the Devil, and any or all his Host, Angels , &c. C HAP. III. Of the Original of the DEVIL, who he is, what he was before his Expulsion out of Heaven, and in what State he was from that Time to the Creation of Man C HAP. IV. Of the Name of the Devil, his Original, and the Nature of his Circumstances since he has been call’d by that Name C HAP. V. Of the Station Satan had in Heaven before he fell; the Nature and Original of his Crime, and some of Mr. Milton’s Mistakes about it C HAP. VI. What became of the Devil and his Host of fallen Spirits after their being expell’d from Heaven, and his wandring Condition till the Creation; with some more of Mr. Milton’s Absurdities on that Subject C HAP. VII. Of the Number of Satan’s Host; how they came first to know of the new created Worlds now in Being, and their Measures with Mankind upon the Discovery C HAP. VIII. Of the Power of the Devil at the Time of the Creation of this World; whether it has not been farther straiten’d and 95 86 77 63 38 31 18 Page 1 limited since that Time, and what Shifts and Stratagems he is oblig’d to make use of to compass his Designs upon Mankind C HAP. IX. Of the Progress of Satan in carrying on his Conquest over Mankind, from the Fall of Eve to the Deluge C HAP. X. Of the Devil’s second Kingdom, and how he got footing in the renewed World by his Victory over Noah and his Race C HAP. XI. Of God’s calling a Church out of the midst of a degenerate World, and of Satan’s new Measures upon that Incident: How he attacked them immediately, and his Success in those Attacks 159 129 111 PART II. C HAP. I. The Introduction C HAP. II. Of Hell as it is represented to us, and how the Devil is to be understood, as being personally in Hell, when at the same Time we find him at Liberty ranging over the World C HAP. III. Of the Manner of Satan’s acting and carrying on his Affairs in this World, and particularly of his ordinary Workings in the dark, by Possession and Agitation C HAP. IV. Of Satan’s Agents or Missionaries, and their Actings upon and in the Minds of Men in his Name C HAP. V. Of the Devil’s Management in the Pagan Hierarchy by Omens, Entrails, Augurs, Oracles, and such like Pageantry of Hell; and how they went off the Stage at last by the Introduction of true Religion 245 226 216 206 192 C HAP. VI. Of the extraordinary Appearances of the Devil, and particularly of the Cloven-Foot C HAP. VII. Whether is most hurtful to the World, the Devil walking about without his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without the Devil? C HAP. VIII. Of the Cloven-Foot walking about the World without the Devil (viz.) of Witches making Bargains with the Devil, and particularly of selling the Soul to the Devil C HAP. IX. Of the Tools the Devil works with (viz.) Witches, Wizards or Warlocks, Conjurers, Magicians, Diviners, Astrologers, Interpreters of Dreams, Tellers of Fortunes; and above all the rest, his particular modern Privy-Counsellors call’d Wits and Fools C HAP. X. Of the various Methods the Devil takes to converse with Mankind C HAP. XI. Of Divination, Sorcery, the Black-Art, Pawawing, and such like Pretenders to Devilisms, and how far the Devil is or is not concern’d in them The C ONCLUSION. Of the Devil’s last Scene of Liberty, and what may be supposed to be his End; with what we are to understand of his being tormented for ever and ever 404 377 352 339 316 282 265 THE HISTORY [Pg 1] OF THE DEVIL, &c. CHAP. I. Being an Introduction to the whole Work. I doubt not but the title of this book will amuse some of my reading friends a little at first; they will make a pause, perhaps, as they do at a witch’s prayer, and be some time resolving whether they had best look into it or no, lest they should really raise the Devil by reading his story. Children and old women have told themselves so many frightful things of the Devil, and have form’d ideas of him in their minds, in so many horrible and monstrous shapes, that really it were enough to fright the Devil himself, to meet himself in the dark, dress’d up in the several figures which imagination has form’d for him in the minds of men; and as for themselves, I cannot think by any means that the Devil would terrify them half so much, if they were to converse face to face with him. It must certainly therefore be a most useful undertaking to give the true history of this Tyrant of the air , this God of the world , this terror and aversion of mankind, which we call Devil; to shew what he IS, and what he IS NOT , where he IS, and where he IS NOT , when he is IN US , and when he IS NOT ; for I cannot doubt but that the Devil is really and bona fide in a great many of our honest weak-headed friends, when they themselves know nothing of the matter. Nor is the work so difficult as some may imagine. The Devil’s history is not so hard to come at, as it seems to be; His original and the first rise of his family is upon record, and as for his conduct, he has acted indeed in the dark, as to method in many things; but in general, as cunning as he is, he has been fool enough to expose himself in some of the most considerable transactions of his Life, and has not shewn himself a politician at all: Our old friend Matchiavel outdid him in many things, and I may in the process of this work give an account of several of the sons of Adam, and some societies of ’em too, who have out-witted the Devil, nay, who have out-sin’d the Devil, and that I think may be call’d out-shooting him in his own bow. It may perhaps be expected of me in this history, that since I seem inclin’d to speak favourably of Satan, to do him justice, and to write his story impartially, I should take some