Chap. VI.
Of the extraordinary Appearance of the Devil, and particularly of the Cloven-Foot.
Some People would fain have us treat this Tale of the Devil’s appearing with a Cloven-Foot with more Solemnity than I believe the Devil himself does; for Satan, who knows how much of a Cheat it is, must certainly ridicule it, in his own Thoughts, to the last Degree; but as he is glad of any Way to hoodwink the Understandings, and bubble the weak Part of the World; so if he sees Men willing to take every Scarecrow for a Devil, it is not his Business to undeceive them; on the other Hand, he finds it his Interest to foster the Cheat, and serve himself of the Consequence: Nor could I doubt but the Devil, if any Mirth be allow’d him, often laughs at the many frightful Shapes and Figures we dress him up in, and especially to see how willing we are first to paint him as black, and make him appear as ugly as we can, and then stare and start at the Spectrum of our own making.
The Truth is, that among all the Horribles that we dress up Satan in, I cannot but think we shew the least of Invention in this of a Goat, or a Thing with a Goat’s Foot, of all the rest; for tho’ a Goat is a Creature made use of by our Saviour in the Allegory of the Day of Judgment, and is said there to represent the wicked rejected Party, yet it seems to be only on Account of their Similitude to the Sheep, and so to represent the just Fate of Hypocrisy and Hypocrites, and in particular to form the necessary Antithesis in the Story; for else, our whimsical Fancies excepted, a Sheep or a Lamb has a Cloven-Foot as well as a Goat; nay, if the Scripture be of any Value in the Case, ’tis to the Devil’s Advantage, for the dividing the Hoof was the distinguishing Character or Mark of a clean Beast, and how the Devil can be brought into that Number is pretty hard to say.
One would have thought if we had intended to have given a just Figure of the Devil, it would have been more apposite to have rank’d him among the Cat-kind, and given him a Foot (if he is to be known by his Foot) like a Lion, or like a red Dragon, being the same Creatures which he is represented by in the Text, and so his Claws would have had some Terror in them as well as his Teeth.
But neither is the Goat a true Representative of the Devil at all, for we do not rank the Goats among the Subtle or cunning Part of the Brutes; he is counted a fierce Creature indeed of his Kind, tho’ nothing like those other abovemention’d; and he is emblematically used to represent a lustful Temper, but even that Part does not fully serve to describe the Devil, whose Operation lies principally another Way.
Besides it is not the Goat himself that is made use of, ’tis the Cloven-Hoof only, and that so particularly, that the Cloven Foot of a Ram or a Swine, or any other Creature, may serve as well as that of a Goat, only that History gives us some Cause to call it the Goat’s Foot.
In the next Place ’tis understood by us not as a bare Token to know Satan by, but as if it were a Brand upon him, and that like the Mark God put upon Cain, it was given him for a Punishment, so that he cannot get leave to appear without it, nay cannot conceal it whatever other Dress or Disguise he may put on; and as if it was to make him as ridiculous as possible, they will have it be, that whenever Satan has Occasion to dress himself in any humane Shape, be it of what Degree soever, from the King to the Beggar, be it of a fine Lady or of an old Woman, (the Latter it seems he oftenest assumes) yet still he not only must have this Cloven-Foot about him, but he is oblig’d to shew it too; nay, they will not allow him any Dress, whether it be a Prince’s Robes, a Lord Cha—r’s Gown, or a Lady’s Hoop and long Petticoats, but the Cloven-Foot must be shew’d from under them; they will not so much as allow him an artificial Shoe or a Jack-Boot, as we often see contriv’d to conceal a Club-Foot or a Wooden-Leg; but that the Devil may be known wherever he goes, he is bound to shew his Foot; they might as well oblige him to set a Bill upon his Cap, as Folks do upon a House to be let, and have it written in capital Letters, I am the Devil.
It must be confess’d this is very particular, and would be very hard upon the Devil, if it had not another Article in it, which is some Advantage to him, and that is, that the Fact is not true; but the Belief of this is so universal, that all the World runs away with it; by which Mistake the good People miss the Devil many times where they look for him, and meet him as often where they did not expect him, and when for want of this Cloven-Foot they do not know him.
Upon this very Account I have sometimes thought, not that this has been put upon him by meer Fancy, and the Cheat of a heavy Imagination, propagated by Fable and Chymny-Corner Divinity, but that it has been a Contrivance of his own; and that, in short, the Devil rais’d this Scandal upon himself, that he might keep his Disguise the better, and might go a Visiting among his Friends without being known; for were it really so, that he could go no where without this particular Brand of Infamy, he could not come into Company, could not dine with my Lord Mayor, nor drink Tea with the Ladies, could not go to the Drawing-R—— at ———, could not have gone to Fountainbleau to the King of France’s Wedding, or to the Diet of Poland, to prevent the Grandees there coming to an Agreement; nay, which would be still worse than all, he could not go to the Masquerade, nor to any of our Balls; the Reason is plain, he would be always discover’d, expos’d and forc’d to leave the good Company, or which would be as bad, the Company would all cry out the Devil and run out of the Room as if they were frighted; nor could all the Help of Invention do him any Service, no Dress he could put on would cover him; not all our Friends at Tavistock Corner could furnish him with a Habit that would disguise or conceal him, this unhappy Foot would spoil it all: Now this would be a great a Loss to him, that I question whether he could carry on any of his most important Affairs in the World without it; for tho’ he has access to Mankind in his compleat Disguise, I mean that of his Invisibility, yet the Learned very much agree in this, that his corporal Presence in the World is absolutely necessary upon many Occasions, to support his Interest and keep up his Correspondences, and particularly to encourage his Friends when Numbers are requisite to carry on his Affairs; but this Part I shall have Occasion to speak of again, when I come to consider him as a Gentleman of Business in his Locality, and under the Head of visible Apparition; but I return to the Foot.