After having given a detailed account of a number of monstrous beliefs gleaned from the Talmud and other sources respecting angels, the author of “Supernatural Religion” then proceeds: “The belief in demons at the time of Jesus was equally emphatic and comprehensive, and we need not mention also that the New Testament is full of it. They are in the air, on earth, in the bodies of men and animals, and even at the bottom of the sea. They are the offspring of the fallen angels who loved the daughters of men. They have wings like angels, and can fly from one place in the earth to another. They attain a knowledge of the future by listening behind the veil of the temple of God. Their numbers are infinite. The earth is so full of them, that if man had the power to see, he could not exist on account of them; there are more demons than men, and they are about as close as the earth thrown up out of a new made grave. It is stated that each man had 10,000 demons on his right hand, and 1000 on his left.... The crush on the Sabbath in the synagogue arises from them; also the dresses of the Rabbins become so soon worn through their rubbing; in like manner also they cause the tottering of the feet. He who wishes to discover these spirits must take sifted ashes, and strew them about his bed, and he will perceive their footprints upon them like a cock’s tread.” Here follow a number of the most ineffable absurdities, unsurpassed by anything contained in the Arabian Nights, which I need not cite. The author then proceeds: “Demons, however, take more especial delight in foul and offensive places, and an evil spirit inhabits every private closet in the world. Demons haunt deserted places, ruins, graves, and certain kinds of trees. We find indications of these superstitions throughout the Gospels. The possessed are represented as dwelling among the tombs, and being driven by unclean spirits into the wilderness, and the demons can find no rest in clean places. Demons also frequented springs and fountains. The episode of the angel who was said to descend at certain times and trouble the water of the pool of Bethesda, so that he that first stepped in was healed of whatsoever disease he had, may be mentioned here in passing, although the passage is not found in the older manuscripts of the fourth Gospel, and was certainly a late addition.” Here follow further citations of Rabbinical absurdities. The author then proceeds: “The Talmud and other Rabbinical writings are full of references to demoniacal possession, but we need not enter into details on this point, as the New Testament itself presents sufficient evidence respecting it. Not only could one spirit enter into a body, but many took possession of the same individual. There are many instances mentioned in the Gospels, such as Mary Magdalene, out of whom went seven demons (ἑπτὰ δαιμόνια), and the man whose name was legion, because many demons (πολλὰ δαιμόνια) had entered into him. Demons