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

by Daniel Defoe

It is evident the Devil makes Use of very mean Instruments sometimes, such as the Damsel possess’d with a Spirit of Divination, and several others.

I remember a Story, how true I know not, of a weak Creature next Door to an Ideot, who was establish’d in the Country for an Oracle, and would tell People strange Things that should be, long before they came to pass; when People were sick, would tell them whether they should live or die; if People were married, tell how many Children they should have; and a hundred such Things as fill’d the People with Admiration, and they were the easier brought to believe that the Girl was possess’d; but then they were divided about her too, and that was the finest spun Thread the Devil could work, for he carried a great Point in it; some said she had a good Spirit, and some a bad, some said she was a Prophetess, and some that she was the Devil.

Now had I been there to decide the Question, I should certainly have given it for the latter; if it were only upon this Account, namely, that the Devil has often found Fools very necessary Agents for the propagating his Interest and Kingdom, but we never knew the good Spirits do so; on the other Hand, it does not seem likely that Heaven should deprive a poor Creature of its Senses, and as it were take her Soul from her, and then make her an Instrument of Instruction to others, and an Oracle to declare his Decrees by; this does not seem to be rational.

But as far as this kind of Divination is in Use in our Days, yet I do not find room to charge the Devil with making any great Use of Fools, unless it be such as he has particularly qualified for his Work, for as to Ideots and Naturals, they are perfectly useless to him; but a sort of Fools call’d the Magi, indeed, we have some Reason to think he often works with.

We are not arriv’d to a certainty yet, in the settling this great Point, namely, what Magick is? whether a diabolical Art or a Branch of the Mathematicks? Our most learned Lexicon Technicum is of the latter Opinion, and gives the Magic Square and the Magic Lantern, two Terms of Art.

The Magic Square is when Numbers in Arithmetical Proportion are dispos’d into such Parallels or equal Ranks, as that the Sums of each Row as well Diagonally as Laterally shall be all equal; for Example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Place these Nine in a Square of three, they will directly and diagonally make 18. Thus,

This he calls the Magic Square, but gives no Reason for the Term, nor any Account of what infernal Operations are wrought by this Concurrence of the Numbers; neither do I see that there can be any such Use made of it.

The Magic Lantern is an optic Machine, by the Means of which are represented, on a Wall in the Dark, many Phantasms and terrible Appearances, but no Devil in all this, only that they are taken for the Effects of Magic, by those that are not acquainted with the Secret.