_And have not the Courts in some parts of the World by their practice testified their concurrence with such belief, prosecuting to Death many people upon that notion, of their improving such power of the Evil one, to the raising of Storms; afflicting and killing of others, tho at great distance from them; doing things in their own persons above humane strength, destroying of Cattle, flying in the Air, turning themselves into Cats or Dogs, &c. Which by the way must needs imply some thing of goodness to be in that evil Being, who, tho he has such power, would not exert it, were it not for this people, or else that they can some way add to this mighty power._[75] _And are the people a whit behind in their beliefs? is there any thing (abovementioned,) their strong Faith looks upon to be too hard for this evil Being to effect?_ _Here it will be answered, God permits it. Which answer is so far an owning the Doctrine, that the Devil has in his nature a power to do all these things, and can exert this power, except when he is restrained, which is in effect to say that God has made Nature to fight against itself. That he has made a Creature, who has it in the power of his Nature to overthrow Nature, and to act above and against it. Which he that can believe may as well believe the greatest contradiction. That Being which can do this in the smallest thing, can do it in the greatest. If_ Moses _with a bare permission might stretch forth his Rod, yet he was not able to bring Plagues upon the_ Egyptians, _or to divide the Waters, without a Commission from the most high; so neither can that evil Being perform any of this without a Commission from the same power. The Scripture recites more Miracles wrought by Men than by Angels good and bad; Tho this Doctrine be so dishonourable to the only Almighty Being, as to ascribe such Attributes to the Evil one, as are the Incommunicable prerogative of him, who is the alone Sovereign Being; yet here is not all: But as he that Steers by a false Compass, the further he Sails the more he is out of his way; so though there is in some things a variation_ [50] _from, there is in others a further progression in, or building upon the said Doctrine of the Maniche_.