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
Upon this very Account I have sometimes thought, not that this has been
put upon him by meer Fancy, and the Cheat of a heavy Imagination,
propagated by Fable and Chymny-Corner Divinity, but that it has been a
Contrivance of his own; and that, in short, the Devil rais'd this
Scandal upon himself, that he might keep his Disguise the better, and
might go a Visiting among his Friends without being known; for were it
really so, that he could go no where without this particular Brand of
Infamy, he could not come into Company, could not dine with my Lord
Mayor, nor drink Tea with the Ladies, could not go to the Drawing-R----
at ------, could not have gone to _Fountainbleau_ to the King of
_France_'s Wedding, or to the Diet of _Poland_, to prevent the Grandees
there coming to an Agreement; nay, _which would be still worse than
all_, he could not go to the Masquerade, nor to any of our Balls; the
Reason is plain, he would be always discover'd, expos'd and forc'd to
leave the good Company, or which would be as bad, the Company would all
cry out the _Devil_ and run out of the Room as if they were frighted;
nor could all the Help of Invention do him any Service, no Dress he
could put on would cover him; not all our Friends at _Tavistock Corner_
could furnish him with a Habit that would disguise or conceal him, this
unhappy Foot would spoil it all: Now this would be a great a Loss to
him, that I question whether he could carry on any of his most important
Affairs in the World without it; for tho' he has access to Mankind in
his compleat Disguise, I mean that of his Invisibility, yet the Learned
very much agree in this, that his corporal Presence in the World is
absolutely necessary upon many Occasions, to support his Interest and
keep up his Correspondences, and particularly to encourage his Friends
when Numbers are requisite to carry on his Affairs; but this Part I
shall have Occasion to speak of again, when I come to consider him as a
Gentleman of Business in his Locality, and under the Head of visible
Apparition; but I return to the _Foot_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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