The History of the Devil Part 1

The History of the Devil.

by Daniel Defoe.

CHAP. I.

_Being an Introduction to the whole Work._

I doubt not but the t.i.tle of this book will amuse some of my reading friends a little at first; they will make a pause, perhaps, as they do at a witch's prayer, and be some time resolving whether they had best look into it or no, lest they should really raise the _Devil_ by reading his story.

Children and old women have told themselves so many frightful things _of the Devil_, and have form'd ideas of him in their minds, in so many horrible and monstrous shapes, that really it were enough to fright the _Devil_ himself, to meet himself in the dark, dress'd up in the several figures which imagination has form'd for him in the minds of men; and as for themselves, I cannot think by any means that the _Devil_ would terrify them half so much, if they were to converse face to face with him.

It must certainly therefore be a most useful undertaking to give the true history of this _Tyrant of the air_, this _G.o.d of the world_, this terror and aversion of mankind, which we call _Devil_; to shew what he IS, and what he IS NOT, where he IS, and where he IS NOT, when he is IN US, and when he IS NOT; for I cannot doubt but that the _Devil_ is really and _bona fide_ in a great many of our honest weak-headed friends, when they themselves know nothing of the matter.

Nor is the work so difficult as some may imagine. The _Devil_'s _history_ is not so hard to come at, as it seems to be; His original and the first rise of his family is upon record, and as for his conduct, he has acted indeed in the dark, as to method in many things; but _in general_, as cunning as he is, he has been fool enough to expose himself in some of the most considerable transactions of his Life, and has not shewn himself a politician at all: Our old friend _Matchiavel_ outdid him in many things, and I may in the process of this work give an account of several of the sons of _Adam_, and some societies of 'em too, who have out-witted _the Devil_, nay, who have out-sin'd _the Devil_, and that I think may be call'd out-shooting him in his own bow.

It may perhaps be expected of me in this history, that since I seem inclin'd to speak favourably of _Satan_, to do him justice, and to write his story impartially, I should take some pains to tell you what religion he is of; and even this part may not be so much a jest, as at first sight you may take it to be; for _Satan_ has something of religion in him, I a.s.sure you; nor is he such an unprofitable _Devil_ that way, as some may suppose him to be; for tho', in reverence to my brethren, I will not reckon him among the Clergy; No not so much as a gifted Brother, yet I cannot deny, but that he often preaches, and if it be not profitably to his hearers; 'tis as much their fault, as it is out of his design.

It has indeed been suggested that he has taken orders, and that a certain Pope, famous for being an extraordinary favourite of his, gave him both inst.i.tution and induction; but as this is not upon record, and therefore we have no authentic doc.u.ment for the probation, I shall not affirm it for a truth, for I would not slander the _Devil_.

It is said also, and I am apt to believe it, that he was very familiar with that holy father Pope _Silvester_ II. and some charge him with personating Pope _Hildebrand_ on an extraordinary occasion, and himself sitting in the chair apostolick, in a full congregation; and you may hear more of this hereafter: But as I do not meet with Pope _Diabolus_ among the list; in all father _Platina_'s lives of the Popes, so I am willing to leave it as I find it.

But to speak to the point, and a nice point it is I acknowledge; _namely_, what religion _the Devil_ is of; my answer will indeed be general, yet not at all ambiguous, for I love to speak positively and with undoubted evidence.

1. _He is a believer._ And if in saying so it should follow, that even the _Devil_ has more religion than some of our men of fame can at this time be charged with, I hope my Lord ---- and his Grace the ---- of ---- and some of the upper cla.s.s in the red-hot club, will not wear the coat, however well it may sit to their shapes, or challenge the Satyr, as if it were pointed at them, because 'tis due to them: In a word, whatever their Lordships are, I can a.s.sure them that the _Devil_ is no Infidel.

2. _He fears G.o.d._ We have such abundant evidence of this in sacred History, that if I were not at present, in common with a few others, talking to an infidel sort of Gentlemen, with whom those remote things call'd Scriptures are not allow'd in evidence, I might say it was sufficiently prov'd; but I doubt not in the process of this undertaking to shew, that _the Devil_ really _fears G.o.d_, and that after another manner than ever he fear'd Saint _Frances_ or Saint _Dunstan_; and if that be proved, as I take upon me to advance, I shall leave it to judgment, who's the better Christian, _the Devil_ who _believes_ and _trembles_, or our modern gentry of ---- who believe neither _G.o.d nor Devil_.

Having thus brought the _Devil_ within the _Pale_, I shall leave him among you for the present; not but that I may examine in its order who has the best claim to his brotherhood, the Papists or the Protestants; and among the latter the Lutherans or the Calvinists; and so descending to all the several denominations of churches, see who has less of _the Devil_ in them, and who more; and whether _less_ or _more_ the Devil has not a seat in every synagogue, a pew in every church, a place in every pulpit, and a vote in every synod; even from the Sanhedrim of the _Jews_, to our friends at the _Bull and Mouth_, &c. from the greatest to the least.

It will, I confess, come very much within the compa.s.s of this part of my discourse, to give an account, _or at least make an essay toward it_, of the share _the Devil_ has had in the spreading religion in the world; and especially of dividing and subdividing opinions in religion; perhaps, to eke it out and make it reach the farther; and also to shew how far he is or has made himself a missionary of the famous clan _de propaganda fide_; it is true, we find him heartily employ'd in almost every corner of the world _ad propagandum errorem_: But that may require a history by it self.

As to his propagating religion, 'tis a little hard indeed, at first sight, to charge _the Devil_ with propagating religion, that is to say, if we take it literally, and in the gross; but if you take it as the _Scots_ insisted to take the oath of fidelity, _viz._ with an _explanation_, it is plain _Satan_ has very often had a share in the method, if not in the design of propagating the _christian faith_: For example.

I think I do no injury at all to the Devil, to say that he had a great hand in the old _holy war_, as it was ignorantly and enthusiastically call'd; stirring up the christian princes and powers of _Europe_ to run a madding after the _Turks_ and _Saracens_, and make war with those innocent people above a thousand miles off, only because they entred into G.o.d's heritage when he had forsaken it; graz'd upon his ground when he had fairly turn'd it into a common, and laid it open for the next comer; spending their nation's treasure, and embarking their kings and people, (I say) in a war above a thousand miles off, filling their heads with that religious madness, call'd, in those days, _holy zeal_ to recover the _terra sancta_, the sepulchers of Christ and the Saints, and as they call'd it falsly, the _holy city_, tho' true religion says it was the accursed city, and not worth spending one drop of blood for.

This religious _Bubble_ was certainly of _Satan_, who, as he craftily drew them in, so like a true _Devil_ he left them in the lurch when they came there, fac'd about to the _Saracens_, animated the immortal _Saladin_ against them, and manag'd so dexterously that he left the bones of about thirteen or fourteen hundred thousand Christians there as a trophy of his infernal politicks; and after the christian world had run _a la santa terra_, or in _English_ a _saunt'ring_, about a hundred year, he dropt it to play another game less foolish, but ten times wickeder than that which went before it, _namely_, turning the crusadoes of the Christians one against another; and, as _Hudibras_ said in another case,

"Made them fight like mad or drunk "For dame religion as for punk.

Of this you have a compleat account in the history of the Popes decrees against the Count _de Thoulouse_, and the _Waldenses_ and _Albigenses_, with the crusadoes and ma.s.sacres which follow'd upon them, wherein to do _the Devil_'s politicks some justice, he met with all the success he could desire; the zealots of that day executed his infernal orders most punctually, and planted religion in those countries in a glorious and triumphant manner, upon the destruction of an infinite number of innocent people, whose blood has fatten'd the soil for the growth of the Catholick faith, in a manner very particular, and to Satan's full satisfaction.

I might, to compleat this part of his history, give you the detail of his progress in these first steps of his alliances with _Rome_; and add a long list of ma.s.sacres, wars, and expeditions in behalf of religion, which he has had the honour to have a visible hand in; such as the _Parisian_ ma.s.sacre, the _Flemish_ war under the Duke _d' Alva_, the _Smithfield_ fires in the _Marian days_ in _England_, and the ma.s.sacres in _Ireland_; all which would most effectually convince us that _the Devil_ has not been idle in his business; but I may meet with these again in my way, 'tis enough, while I am upon the generals only, to mention them thus in a summary way; I say, 'tis enough to prove that _the Devil_ has really been as much concerned as any body, in the methods taken by some people for propagating the christian religion in the world.

Some have rashly, and I had almost said maliciously charg'd _the Devil_ with the great triumphs of his friends the _Spaniards_ in _America_, and would place the conquest of _Mexico_ and _Peru_ to the credit of his account.

But I cannot join with them in this at all, I must say, I believe _the Devil_ was innocent of that matter; my reason is, because, _Satan_ was never such a fool as to spend his time, or his politicks, or embark his allies to conquer nations who were already his own; that would be _Satan_ against _Beelzebub_, making war upon himself, and at least doing nothing to the purpose.

If they should charge him, indeed, with deluding _Philip_ II. of _Spain_ into that preposterous attempt call'd _the Armada_, (_anglice_, the _Spanish Invasion_,) I should indeed more readily join with them; but whether he did it weakly, in hope, _which was indeed not likely_, that it should succeed; or wickedly, to destroy that great fleet of the _Spaniards_, and draw them within the reach of his own dominions, the elements; this being a question which authors differ exceedingly about, I shall leave it to decide it self.

But the greatest piece of management, which we find _the Devil_ has concern'd himself in of late, in the matter of religion, seems to be that of the mission into _China_; and here indeed _Satan_ has acted his master-piece: It was, no doubt, much for his service that _the Chineses_ should have no insight into matters of religion, I mean, that we call christian; and therefore, tho' _Popery_ and the _Devil_ are not at so much variance as some may imagine, yet he did not think it safe to let the general system of Christianity be heard of among them in _China_.

Hence when the name of the christian religion had but been received with some seeming approbation in the country of _j.a.pan_, _Satan_ immediately, as if alarm'd at the thing, and dreading what the consequence of it might be, arm'd the _j.a.poneses_ against it with such fury, that they expell'd it at once.

It was much safer to his designs, when, if the story be not a fiction, he put that _Dutch_ witicism into the mouths of the States commanders, when they came to _j.a.pan_; who having more wit than to own themselves Christians in such a place as that, when the question was put to them, answered negatively, _That they were not_, but that _they were of another religion call'd_ Hollanders.

However, it seems the diligent _Jesuits_ out-witted the Devil in _China_, and, as I said above, over-shot him in his own Bow; for the mission being in danger _by the Devil and the_ Chinese _Emperor_'s _joining together_, of being wholly expell'd there too, as they had been in _j.a.pan_, they cunningly fell in with the ecclesiasticks of the country, and joining the priestcraft of both religions together, they brought _Jesus Christ_ and _Confucius_ to be so reconcilable, that the _Chinese_ and the _Roman_ idolatry appeared capable of a confederacy, of going on hand in hand together, and consequently of being very good friends.

This was a master-piece indeed, and, _as they say_, almost frighted _Satan_ out of his wits; but he being a ready manager, and particularly famous for serving himself of the rogueries of the priests, fac'd about immediately to the mission, and making a virtue of necessity, clapt in, with all possible alacrity, with the proposal[1]; so the _Jesuits_ and he form'd a _hotch-potch_ of _religion_ made up of _Popery_ and _Paganism_ and calculated to leave the latter rather worse than they found it, binding the faith of Christ and the philosophy or morals of _Confucius_ together, and formally christening them by the name of _religion_; by which means the politick interest of the mission was preserved; and yet _Satan_ lost not one inch of ground with the _Chineses_, no, not by the planting the Gospel it self, _such as it was_, among them.

Nor has it been such disadvantage to him that this plan or scheme of a new modell'd religion would not go down at _Rome_, and that the Inquisition d.a.m.n'd it with Bell, Book and Candle; distance of place serv'd his new allies, the missionaries, in the stead of a protection from the Inquisition; and now and then a rich present well plac'd found them friends in the congregation it self; and where any Nuncio with his impudent zeal pretended to take such a long voyage to oppose them, _Satan_ took care to get him sent back _re infecta_, or inspir'd the million to move him off the premisses, by methods of their own (that is to say, being interpreted) to _murther him_.

Thus the mission has in itself been truly _devilish_, and the Devil has interested himself in the planting the christian religion in _China_.

The influence _the Devil_ has in the Politicks of mankind, is another especial part of his history, and would require, if it were possible, a very exact description; but here we shall necessarily be obliged to inquire so nicely into the Arcana of circ.u.mstances, and unlock the cabinets of state in so many courts, canva.s.s the councils of ministers and the conduct of princes so fully, and expose them so much, that it may, perhaps, make a combustion among the great politicians abroad; and in doing that we may come so near home too, that tho' personal safety and prudentials forbid our medling with our own country, we may be taken in a double entendre, and fall unpitied for being only suspected of touching truths that are so tender, whether we are guilty or no; on these accounts I must meddle the less with that part, at least for the present.

Be it that the Devil has had a share in some of the late councils of _Europe_, influencing them this way or that way, to his own advantage, what is it to us? For example, What if he has had any concern in the late affair of _Thorn_? What need we put it upon him, seeing his confederates the _Jesuites_ with the _a.s.sessorial_ tribunal of _Poland_ take it upon themselves? I shall leave that part to the issue of time. I wish it were as easy to persuade the world that he had no hand in bringing the injur'd Protestants to leave the justice due to the cries of protestant blood to the arbitrament of a popish power, who dare say that _the Devil_ must be in it, if justice should be obtain'd that way: I should rather say, _the Devil_ is in it, or else it would never be expected.

It occurs next to enquire from the premisses, whether _the Devil_ has more influence or less in the affairs of the world now, than he had in former ages; and this will depend upon comparing, as we go along, his methods and way of working in past times, and the modern politicks by which he acts in our days; with the differing reception which he has met with among the men of such distant ages.

But there is so much to enquire of about _the Devil_, before we can bring his story down to our modern times, that we must for the present let them drop, and look a little back to the remoter parts of this history; drawing his picture that people may know him when they meet him, and see who and what he is, and what he has been doing ever since he got leave to act in the high station he now appears in.

In the mean time, if I might obtain leave to present an humble pet.i.tion to _Satan_, it should be, that he would according to modern usage oblige us all, with writing _the history of his own times_; 'twould, as well as one that is gone before it, be a Devilish good one; for as to the sincerity of the performance, the authority of the particulars, the justice of the characters, _&c._ if they were no better vouch'd, no more consistent with themselves, with charity, with truth, and with the honour of an historian, than the last of that kind which came abroad among us, it must be a reproach to _the Devil_ himself to be the author of it.

Were _Satan_ to be brought under the least obligation to write truth, and that the matters of fact, which he should write, might be depended upon, he is certainly qualified by his knowledge of things to be a compleat historian; nor could the Bishop himself, _who, by the way, has given us already the Devil of a history_, come up to him: _Milton_'s _Pandemonium_, tho' an excellent dramatick performance, would appear a meer trifling sing-song business, beneath the dignity of _Chevy-chase_: The _Devil_ could give us a true account of all the civil wars in Heaven; how and by whom, and in what manner he lost the day there, and was oblig'd to quit the field: The fiction of his refusing to acknowledge and submit to the _Messiah_, upon his being declar'd Generalissimo of the Heavenly forces, which Satan expected himself, as the eldest officer; and his not being able to brook another to be put in over his head; I say, that fine-spun thought of Mr. _Milton_ would appear to be strain'd too far, and only serve to convince us that he (_Milton_) knew nothing of the matter. _Satan_ knows very well, that the _Messiah_ was not _declared to be the Son of G.o.d with power_ till by and after _the resurrection from the dead_, and that all power was then given him _in Heaven and earth_, and not before; so that _Satan_'s rebellion must derive from other causes, and upon other occasions, as he himself can doubtless give us an account, if he thinks fit, and of which we shall speak further in this work.

What a fine History might this old Gentleman write of the Antediluvian world, and of all the weighty affairs, as well of state as of religion, which happen'd during the fifteen hundred years of the patriarchal administration!

Who, like him, could give a full and compleat account of the Deluge, whether it was a meer vindictive, a blast from Heaven, wrought by a supernatural power in the way of miracle? or whether, according to Mr.

_Burnet_'s _Theory_, it was a consequence following antecedent causes by the meer necessity of nature; seen in const.i.tution, natural position, and unavoidable working of things, as by the Theory publish'd by that learn'd enthusiast it seems to be?

_Satan_ could easily account for all the difficulties of the _Theory_, and tell us whether, as there was a natural necessity of the Deluge, there is not the like necessity and natural tendency to a Conflagration at last.

Would _the Devil_ exert himself as an Historian, for our improvement and diversion, how glorious an account could he give us of _Noah_'s Voyage round the world, in the famous Ark! he could resolve all the difficulties about the building it, the furnishing it, and the laying up provision in it for all the collection of kinds that he had made; He could tell us whether all the creatures came voluntier to him to go into the ark, or whether he went a hunting for several years before, in order to bring them together.

He could give us a true relation how he wheedled the people of the next world into the absurd ridiculous undertaking of building a _Babel_; how far that stupendous stair-case, which was in imagination to reach up to Heaven, was carried, before it was interrupted and the builders confounded; how their speech was alter'd, how many Tongues it was divided into, or whether they were divided at all; and how many subdivisions or dialects have been made since that, by which means very few of G.o.d's creatures, except the Brutes, understand one another, or care one farthing whether they do or no.

In all these things _Satan_, who, no doubt, would make a very good chronologist, could settle every Epocha, correct every Calendar, and bring all our accounts of time to a general agreement; as well the _Grecian Olympiads_, the _Turkish Heghira_, the _Chinese_ fict.i.tious account of the world's duration, as our blind _Julian_ and _Gregorian_ accounts, which have put the world, to this day, into such confusion, that we neither agree in our holy-days or working days, fasts or feasts, nor keep the same sabbaths in any part of the same globe.

This great Antiquary could bring us to a certainty in all the difficulties of ancient story, and tell us whether the tale of the siege of _Troy_, and the rape of _Helen_ was a fable of _Homer_ or a history; whether the fictions of the Poets are form'd from their own brain, or founded in facts; and whether letters were invented by _Cadmus_ the _Phoenician_, or dictated immediately from _Heaven_ at mount _Sinai_.

Nay, he could tell us how and in what manner he wheedled _Eve_, deluded _Adam_, put _Cain_ into a pa.s.sion, till he made him murther his own brother; and made _Noah_, who was above 500 years a preacher of righteousness, turn Sot in his old age, dishonour all his ministry, debauch himself with wine, and by getting drunk and exposing himself, become the jest and laughing-stock of his children, and of all his posterity to this day.

And would Satan, according to the modern practice of the late right reverend Historian, enter into the characters of the great men of his age, how should we be diverted with the just history of _Adam_, in paradise and out of it; his character, and how he behaved at and after his expulsion; how _Cain_ wandered in the land of _Nod_, what the mark was which _G.o.d_ set upon him, whose daughter his wife was, and how big the city was he built there, according to a certain Poet of n.o.ble extraction,

How _Cain_ in the land of _Nod_ When the rascal was alone Like an owl in an ivy tod Built a city as big as _Roan_.