I take the Devil to be under great Difficulties in his Affairs on his Part, especially occasion’d by the Bounds which are set him, or which Policys oblige him to set to himself, in his Access to the conversing with Mankind; ’tis evident he is not permitted to fall upon them with Force and Arms, that is to say, to muster up his infernal Troops, and attack them with Fire and Sword; if he was not loose to act in this Manner as he was able, by his own seraphic Power to have destroy’d the whole Race, and even the Earth they dwelt upon, so he would certainly, and long ago have effectually done it; his particular Interests and Inclinations are well enough known.
But in the next Place, as he is thus restrain’d from Violence, so Prudentials restrain him in all his other Actings with Mankind; and being confin’d to Stratagem, and soft still Methods, such as Persuasion, Allurement, feeding the Appetite, prompting, and then gratifying corrupt Desires, and the like; he finds it for his Purpose not to appear in Person, except very rarely, and then in Disguise; but to act all the rest in the Dark, under the Vizor of Art and Craft, making Use of Persons and Methods conceal’d, or at least not fully understood or discover’d.
As to the Persons whom he employs, I have taken some Pains you see to discover some of them; but the Methods he uses with them, either to inform and instruct, and give Orders to them, or to converse with other People by them, these are very particular, and deserve some Place in our Memoirs, particularly as they may serve to remove some of our Mistakes, and to take off some of the frightful Ideas we are apt to entertain in Prejudice of this great Manager; as if he was no more to be match’d in his Politics, than he would be to be match’d in his Power, if it was let loose; which is so much a Mistake, that on the contrary, we read of several People that have abused and cheated the Devil, a Thing, which I cannot say, is very honest nor just, notwithstanding the old Latin Proverb, Fallere fallentem non est fraus, (which Men construe, or rather render, by way of Banter Upon Satan) ’tis no Sin to cheat the Devil, which for all that, upon the whole I deny, and alledge, that let the Devil act how he will by us, we ought to deal fairly by him.
But to come to the Business, without Circumlocutions; I am to enquire how Satan issues out his Orders, gives his Instructions and fully delivers his Mind to his Emissaries, of whom I have mention’d some in the Title to [Chap. IX]. In order to this, you must form an Idea of the Devil sitting in great State, in open Campaign, with all his Legions about him, in the height of the Atmosphere; or if you will, at a certain Distance from the Atmosphere, and above it, that the Plan of his Encampment might not be hurried round its own Axis, with the Earth’s diurnal Motion, which might be some Disturbance to him.
By this fix’d Situation, the Earth performing its Rotation, he has every Part and Parcel of it brought to a direct Opposition to him, and consequently to his View once in twenty four Hours: The last time I was there, if I remember right, he had this Quarter of the World, which we call Christendom, just under his Eye; and as the Motion is not so swift, but that his piercing Opticks can take a strict View of it en passant; for the Circumference of it being but twenty one thousand Miles, and its circular Motion being full twenty four Hours performing, he has something more than an Hour to view every thousand Miles, which, to his supernatural Penetration, is not worth naming.
As he takes thus a daily View of all the Circle, and an hourly View of the Parts, he is fully Master of all Transactions, at least such as are done above Board by all Mankind; and then he dispatches his Emissaries or Aid du Camps to every Part with his Orders and Instructions: Now these Emissaries, you are to understand, are not the Witches and Diviners, who I spoke of above, for I call them also Emissaries; but they are all Devils or (as you know they are call’d) Devil’s Angels; and these may, perhaps, come and converse personally with the Sub-emissaries I mention’d, to be ready for their Support and Assistance on all Occasions of Business: These are those Devils which the Witches are said to raise; for we can hardly suppose the Master Devil comes himself, at the Summons of every ugly old Woman.
These run about into every Nook and Corner, wherever Satan’s Business calls them, and are never wanting to him; but are the most diligent Devils imaginable; like the Turkish Chaiux, they no sooner receive their Errand, but they execute it with the utmost Alacrity; and as to their Speed, it may be truly written as a Motto, upon the Head of every individual Devil,
Non indiget calcaribus.
These are those, who they tell us our Witches, Sorcerers, Wizards, and such Sorts of Folks converse freely with, and are therefore call’d their Familiars; and as they tell us, come to them in human Shapes, talk to them with articulate plain Voices, as if Men, and that yet the said Witches, &c. know them to be Devils.
History has not yet enlighten’d us in this Part of useful Knowledge, or at least not sufficiently for a Description of the Persons or Habits of these Sorts of Appearances; as what Shapes they take up, what Language they speak, and what particular Works they perform, so we must refer it to farther Enquiry; but if we may credit History, we are told many famous Stories of these Appearances; for Example, the famous Mother Lakland, who was burnt for a Witch at Ipswich, Anno 1646, confessed at the Time of her Execution, or a little before it, that she had frequent Conversation with the Devil himself; that she being very poor, and withal of a devilish passionate, cruel and revengeful Disposition before, used to wish she had it in her Power to do such and such mischievous Things to some that she hated; and that the Devil himself, who, it seems, knew her Temper, came to her one Night as she lay in her Bed, and was between sleeping and waking, and speaking in a deep hollow Voice, told her; if she would serve him in some Things he would employ her to do, she should have her Will of all her Enemies, and should want for nothing: That she was much afraid at first, but that he solliciting her very often, bad her not be afraid of him, and still urg’d her to yield, and as she says, struck his Claw into her Hand, and tho’ it did not hurt her, made it bleed, and with the Blood wrote the Covenants, that is to say, the Bargain between them: being ask’d what was in them, and whether he requir’d her to curse or deny God or Christ? She said no.