The History of the Devil, As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two PartsDefoe, Daniel
Philosophy
The History of the Devil, As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts
Defoe, Daniel
Devil -- Early works to 1800
Nor does he thus carry on his secret Management by Possession in Men of
the first Magnitude only, but have you not had Evidences of it among our
selves? how has he been a _lying_ Spirit in the Mouths of our Prophets,
a factious Spirit in the Heads of our Politicians, a profuse _Devil_ in
a _B-----s_, a corrupt Devil in _M-----_, a proud Spirit in my Lord
_Plausible_, a bullying Spirit in my Lord _Bugbear_, a talkative Spirit
in his Grace the D---- of _Rattle-hall_, a scribling Spirit in my Lord
_H------_, a run-away Spirit in my Lord _Frightful_; and so thro' a long
Roll of Heroes, whose exceeding, and particular Qualifications proclaim
loudly what Handle the _Devil_ took them by, and how fast he held them;
for these were all Men of ancient Fame, I hope you know that.
From Men of Figure, we descend to the Mob, and 'tis there the same
thing; Possession, like the Plague, is _Morbus Plebaei_; not a Family but
he is a Spirit of Strife and Contention among them; not a Man but he has
a Part in him; he is a drunken _Devil_ in one, a whoring _Devil_ in
another, a thieving _Devil_ in a third, a lying _Devil_ in the fourth,
and so on, to a thousand, and a hundred thousand, _ad infinitum_.
Nay, even the Ladies have their Share in the Possession; and if they
have not the _Devil_ in their Heads, or in their Tails, in their Faces
or their Tongues, it must be some poor despicable She-devil that Satan
did not think it worth his while to meddle with; and the Number of those
that are below his Operation, I doubt is very small. But that Part I
have much more to say to in its Place.
From Degrees of Persons, to Professions and Employments, 'tis the same;
we find the _Devil_ is a true Posture-master, he assumes any Dress,
appears in any Shape, counterfeits every Voice, acts upon every Stage;
here he wears a Gown, there a long Robe; here he wears the Jack-Boots,
there the Small-Sword; is here an _Enthusiast_, there a _Buffoon_; on
this Side he acts the _Mountebank_, on that Side the _Merry-Andrew_;
nothing comes amiss to him, from the Great _Mogul_, to the _Scaramouch_;
the _Devil_ is in them, more or less, and plays his Game so well that he
makes sure Work with 'em all: He knows where the _Common Foible_ lies,
which is UNIVERSAL PASSION, what Handle to take hold of every Man by,
and how to cultivate his Interest so, as not to fail of his End, or
mistake the Means.
How then can it be deny'd but that his acting thus _in tenebris_, and
keeping out of the sight of the World, is abundantly his Interest, and
that he could do nothing, comparatively speaking, by any other Method?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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