The History of the Devil, As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts

by Daniel Defoe

Wonderful Operations astonish the Mind, especially where the Head is not over-burthen’d with Brains; and Custom has made it so natural to give the Devil either the Honour or Scandal of every Thing, that we cannot otherwise Account for, that it is not possible to put the People out of the Road of it.

The Magicians were, in the Chaldean Monarchy, call’d the Wisemen; and tho’ they are joined with the Sorcerers and Astrologers in the same Place, Dan. ii. 4. yet they were generally so understood among those People; but in our Language we understand them to be People that have an Art to reveal Secrets, interpret Dreams, foretel Events, &c. and that use Enchantments and Sorceries, by all which we understand the same Thing; which now in a more vulgar Way we express by one general coarse Expression, Dealing with the Devil.

The Scripture speaks of a Spirit of Divination, Acts xvi. 16. and a Wench that was possess’d by this Spirit brought her Master much Gain by Southsaying, that is to say, according to the Learned, by Oracling or answering Questions; whence you will see in the Margin, that this southsaying Devil is there call’d Python, that is, Apollo, who is often call’d Python, and who at the Oracle of Delphos gave out such Answers and double Entendres, as this Wench possibly did; and hence all those Spirits which were call’d Spirits of Divination, were in another Sense call’d Pythons.

Now when the Apostle St. Paul came to see this Creature, this Spirit takes upon it to declare that those Men, meaning St. Paul and Timotheus, were the Servants of the most high God, which shew’d unto them the Way of Salvation; this was a good turn of the Devil, to preserve his Authority in the possess’d Girl; she brought them Gain by Southsaying, that is to say, resolving difficult Questions, answering Doubts, interpreting Dreams, &c. Among these Doubts, he makes her give Testimony to Paul and Timotheus, to wheedle in with the new Christians, and perhaps (tho’ very ignorantly) even with Paul and Timotheus themselves, so to give a Kind of Credit and Respect to her for speaking.

But the Devil, who never speaks Truth, but with some sinister End, was discover’d here and detected; his flattering Recognition not accepted, and he himself unkennel’d as he deserv’d; there the Devil was over-shot in his own Bow again.

Here now was a real Possession, and the evil Spirits who possess’d her, did stoop to sundry little Acts of Servitude, that we could give little or no Reason for, only that the Girl’s Master might get Money by her; but perhaps this was a particular Case, and, prepar’d to honour the Authority and Power the Apostles had over evil Spirits.

But we find these Things carried a great Way farther in many Cases, that is to say, where the Parties are thus really possess’d; namely, the Devil makes Agents of the possess’d Parties to do many Things for the propagating his Interest and Kingdom, and particularly for the carrying on his Dominion in the World: But I am for the present not so much upon the real Possession as the pretended, and particularly we have had many that have believed themselves possess’d, when the Devil never believed it of them, and perhaps knew them better; some of these are really poor Devils to be pitied, and are what I call Diables Imaginaire; these have notwithstanding done the Devil good Service, and brought their Masters good Gain by Southsaying.

We find Possessions acknowledg’d in Scripture to be really and personally the Devil, or according to the Text, Legions of Devils in the Plural. The Devil or Devils rather, which possessed the Man among the Tombs, is positively affirm’d to be the Devil in the Scripture; all the Evangelists agree in calling him so, and his very Works shew it; namely, the Mischief he did, as well to the poor Creature among the Tombs, who was made so fierce, that he was the Terror of all the Country, as to the Herd of Swine and to the Country in the Loss of them.

I might preach you a Lecture here of the Devil’s Terror upon the Approach of our Saviour, the Dread of his Government, and how he acknowledg’d that there was a Time for his Torment, which was not yet come: Art thou come to torment us before our Time? It is evident the Devil apprehended that Christ would chain them up before the Day of Judgment; and therefore some think the Devil here, being, as it were, caught out of his due Bounds, possessing the poor Man in such a furious manner, was afraid, and petition’d Christ not to chain him up for it, and as the Text says, They besought him to suffer them to go away, &c. that is to say, when they say, art thou come to torment us before the Time? the Meaning is, they begg’d he would not cast them into Torment before the Time, which was already fix’d; but that if he would cast them out of the Man, he would let them go away, &c.

The Evangelist St. Luke says, the Devil besought him that he would not command them to go out into the Deep: Our learned Annotators think that part is not rightly render’d; adding, that they do not believe the Devil fears drowning; but with Submission, I believe the meaning is, that they would not be confin’d to the vast Ocean, where no Inhabitants being to be seen, they would be effectually imprison’d and tied down from doing Mischief, which would be a Hell to them; as to their going into the Swine, that might afford us some Allegory; but I am not disposed to jest with the Scripture, no nor with the Devil neither, farther than needs must.