Thus these Pillotoas gaining an Opinion among the People, behave like so many Mountebanks of Hell, pretending to understand dark Things, cure Diseases, practise Surgery, Physick and Necromancy altogether; I will not say, but Satan may pick out such Tools to work with, and I believe does in those Parts, but I think he has found a nearer Way to the Wood with us, and that is sufficient to my present Purpose.
Some would persuade me the Devil had a great Hand in the late religious Breaches in France, among the Clergy, (viz.) about the Pope’s Constitution Unigenitus, and that he made a fair Attempt to set the Pope and the Gallican Church together by the Ears, for they were all just upon the Point or breaking out into a Church War, that for ought we knew might have gone farther than the Devil himself car’d it should; now I am of the quite contrary Opinion, I believe the Devil really did not make the Breach, but rather heal’d it, for fear it should have gone so far among them as to have set them all in a Flame, and have open’d the Door to the Return of the Hugonots again, which it was in a fair Way to have done.
But be it one Way or t’other, the historical Part seems to be a little against me; for ’tis certain, the Devil both wanted and made Use of Legions of Agents, as well human as infernal, visible and invisible in that great and important Affair, and we cannot doubt but he has innumerable Instruments still at work about it.
Like as in Poland, I make no Question but the Devil has thousands of his Banditti at work at this Time, and in another Country not far from it, perhaps, preparing Matters for the next General Diet, taking care to prevent giving any Relaxation to the Protestants, and to justify the moderate Executions at Thorn, to excite a Nation to quarrel with every Body who are able to fight with no body; to erect the Apostate Race of S——y upon a Throne which they have no Title to, and turn an elective Throne into an hereditary, in favour of Popery.
I might anticipate all your Objections, by granting the busy Devil at this Time employing all his Agents and Instruments (for I never told you they were idle and useless) in striving to enflame the Christian World, and bring a new War to overspread Europe; I might, perhaps, point out to you some of the Measures he takes, the Provocatives which his State Physicians administer to the Courts and Counsellors of Princes, to foment and ferment the Spirits, and Members of Nations, Kingdoms, Empires and States in the World, in order to bring these glorious Ends of Blood and War to pass; for you cannot think but he that knows so much of the Devil’s Affairs, as to write his History, must know something of all these Matters more than those that do not know so much as he.
But all this is remote to the present Case, for this is no Impeachment of Satan’s new Methods with Mankind, in this Part of the World, and in his private and separate Capacity; all this only signifies that in his more general and national Affairs, the Devil acts still by his old Methods; and when he is to seduce or embroil Nations, he, like other Conquerors, subdues them by Armies, employs mighty Squadrons of Devils, and sends out strong Detachments, with Generals and Generalissimos to lead them, some to one Part of the World, some to another; some to influence one Nation, some to manage and direct another, according as Business presents, and his Occasions require, that his Affairs may be carried on currently, and to his Satisfaction.
If it were not thus, but that the Devil by his new and exquisite Management, of which I have said so much, had brought Mankind in general to be the Agents of their own Mischiefs, and that the World were so at his Beck, that he need but command them to go and fight, declare War, raise Armies, destroy Cities, Kingdoms, Countries and People; the World would be a Field of Blood indeed, and all Things would run into Confusion presently.
But this is not the Case at all, Heaven has not let go the Government of the Creation to his subdu’d Enemy, the Devil; that would overturn the whole System of God, and give Satan more Power, than ever he was or will be vested with; when, therefore, I speak of a few forward Wretches in our Day, who are so warm in their Wickedness, that they anticipate the Devil, save him the Trouble to tempt, turn Devils to themselves, and gallop Hellward faster than he drives; I speak of them as single Persons, and acting in their own personal and private Capacity, but when I speak of Nations and Kingdoms, there the Devil is oblig’d to go on in the old Road, and act by Stratagem, by his proper Machinery, and to make use of all his Arts, and all his Agents, just as he has done in all Ages, from the beginning of his politic Government to this Day.
And if it was not thus too, what would become of all his numberless Legions, of which all Ages have heard so much, and all Parts of the World have had so much fatal Experience? They would seem to be quite out of Employment, and be render’d useless in the World of Spirits, where it is to be supposed they reside; not the Devil himself could find any Business for them, which by the Way, to busy and mischievous Spirits, as they are, would be a Hell to them, even before their Time; they would be, as it were, doom’d to a State of Inactivity, which we may suppose was one Part of their Expulsion from Blessedness and the Creation of Man; or as they were for the surprising Interval between the Destruction of Mankind by the Deluge and Noah’s coming out of the Ark, when indeed they might be said to have nothing at all to do.
But this is not Satan’s Case, and therefore let me tell you too, that you may not think I treat the Case with more Levity than I really do, and than I am sure I intend to do; tho’ it is too true that our modern and modish Sinners have arrived to more exquisite Ways of being wicked, than their Fathers, and really seem, as I have said, to need no Devil to tempt them; nay, that they do Satan’s Work for him as to others also, and make themselves Devils to their Neighbours, tempting others to crime even faster than the Devil desires them, running before they are sent, and going of the Devil’s Errands gratis; by which Means Satan’s Work is, as to them, done to his Hand, and they may be said to save him a great deal of Trouble; yet after all, the Devil has still a great deal of Business upon his Hands, and as well himself as all his Legions, find themselves a full Employment in disturbing the World, and opposing the Glory and Kingdom of their great Superior, whose Kingdom it is their whole Business, however vain in its End, to overthrow and destroy, if they were able, or at least to endeavour it.