Chapter VI: Part II: Chap. I (4)

That at length they found the infinite untrodden Space, on a sudden spread full with glorious Bodies, shining in self-existing Beauty, with a new, and to them unknown Lustre, call'd Light: They found these luminous Bodies, tho' immense in Bulk, and infinite in Number, yet fixt in their wondrous Stations, regular and exact in their Motions, confin'd in their proper Orbits, tending to their particular Centers, and enjoying every one their peculiar Systems, within which was contain'd innumerable Planets with their Satellites or Moons, in which (_again_) a reciprocal Influence, Motion and Revolution conspired to Form the most admirable Uniformity of the whole.

Surprized, to be sure, with this sudden and yet glorious Work of the Almighty; for the Creation was enough, with its Lustre, even to surprize _the Devils_; they might reasonably be supposed to start out of their dark Retreat, and with a Curiosity not below the Seraphic Dignity; for _these are_ some of _the things which the Angels desire to look into_, to take a flight thro' all the amazing Systems of the fix'd Suns or Stars, which we see now but at a Distance, and only make Astronomical Guesses at.

Here the Devil found not subject of Wonder only, but matter to swell his revolted Spirit with more Rage, and to revive the Malignity of his Mind against his Maker, and especially against this new encrease of Glory, which to his infinite Regret was extended over the whole Wast, and which he look'd upon, as we say in human Affairs, as a _Pays conquis_, or, if you will have it in the Language of the _Devil_, as an invasion upon his Kingdom.

Here it naturally occur'd to them, in their State of Envy and Rebellion, that tho' they could not assault the impregnable Walls of Heaven, and could no more pretend to raise War in the Place of Blessedness and Peace; yet that perhaps they might find Room in this new, and however glorious, yet inferior Kingdom or Creation, to work some despite to their great Creator, or to affront his Majesty in the Person of some of his new made Creatures; and upon this they may be justly supposed to double their Vigilance, in the survey they resolve to take of these new Worlds, however great, numberless and wonderful.

What Discoveries they may have made in the other and greater Worlds, than this Earth, we have not yet had an account; possibly they are conversant with other Parts of God's Creation, besides this little little Globe, which is but as a Point in comparison of the Rest; and with other of God's Creatures besides Man, who may, according to the Opinion of our Philosophers, inhabit those Worlds; but as no body knows that Part but the _Devil_, we shall not trouble our selves with the Enquiry.

But 'tis very reasonable, and indeed probable, that _the Devils_ were more than ordinarily surpriz'd at the Nature and Reason of all this glorious Creation, after they had, with the utmost Curiosity, view'd all the parts of it; The Glories of the several Systems; the immense spaces in which those glorious Bodies that were created and made part of it, were allow'd respectively to move; the innumerable fix'd Stars, as so many Suns in the Center of so many distant _Solar Systems_; the (likewise innumerable) dark opaque Bodies receiving light, and depending upon those Suns respectively for such light, and then reflecting that light again upon and for the Use of one another; To see the Beauty and Splendor of their Forms, the Regularity of their Position, the Order and Exactness, and yet inconceivable Velocity of their Motions, the certainty of their Revolutions, and the Variety and Virtue of their Influences; and then, which was even to the Devils themselves most astonishing, That after all the rest of their Observations they should find this whole immense Work was adapted for, and made subservient to the Use, Delight and Blessing only of one poor Species, in itself small, and in Appearance contemptible; the meanest of all the Kinds supposed to inhabit so many glorious Worlds, as appeared now to be form'd; I mean, that Moon call'd the Earth, and the Creature call'd Man; that all was made for him, upheld by the wise Creator, on his account only, and would necessarily end and cease whenever that Species should end and be determin'd.

That this Creature was to be found no where but (as above) in one little individual _Moon_; a Spot less than almost any of the Moons, which were in such great Numbers to be found attendant upon, and prescrib'd with in every System of the whole created Heavens; This was astonishing even to the _Devil_ himself, nay the whole Clan of _Devils_ could scarce entertain any just Ideas of the thing; Till at last _Satan_, indefatigable in his Search or Enquiry into the Nature and Reason of this new Work, and particularly searching into the Species of Man, whom he found God had thus plac'd in the little Globe, call'd _Earth_; he soon came to an _Eclairicissement_, or a clear Understanding of the whole. _For Example_,

_First_, He found this Creature, call'd Man, was however mean and
small in his Appearance, a kind of a Seraphic Species; that he was
made in the very Image of God, endowed with reasonable Faculties to
know Good and Evil, and possess'd of a certain thing till then
unknown and unheard of even in Hell it self; that is, in the
Habitation of Devils, let that be where it would, (_viz._)

2. That GOD had made him indeed of the lowest and coarsest
Materials, but that he had breath'd into him the Breath of Life,
and that he became a living thing call'd SOUL, being a kind of an
extraordinary heavenly and divine Emanation; and consequently that
Man, however mean and Terrestrial his Body might be, was yet,
Heaven-born, in his spirituous Part compleatly Seraphic; and after
a Space of Life here, (determin'd to be a state of probation) he
should be translated thro' the Regions of Death into a Life purely
and truly Heavenly, and which should remain so for ever; being
capable of knowing and enjoying God his Maker, and standing in his
Presence, as the glorified Angels do.

3. That he had the most sublime Faculties infused into him; was
capable not only of knowing and contemplating God, and which was
still more, of enjoying him, as above; but (which the _Devil_ now
was not) capable of honouring and glorifying his Maker; who also
had condescended to accept of Honour from him.

4. And which was still more, that being of an Angelic Nature, tho'
mix'd with, and confined for the present in a Case of mortal Flesh;
he was intended to be remov'd from this Earth after a certain time
of Life here, to inhabit that Heaven, and enjoy that very Glory and
Felicity, from which Satan and his Angels had been expell'd.

When he found all this, it presently occur'd to him, that God had done it all as an act of Triumph over him (Satan,) and that these Creatures were only created to people Heaven, depopulated or stript of its inhabitants by his Expulsion, and that these were all to be made _Angels_ in the _Devil_'s stead.

If this thought encreas'd his Fury and Envy, as far as _Rage of Devils_ can be capable of being made greater; it doubtless set him on work to give a Vent to that Rage and Envy, by searching into the Nature and Constitution of this Creature, call'd _Man_; and to find out whether he was invulnerable, and could by no means be hurt by the Power of Hell, or deluded by his Subtilty; or whether he might be beguil'd and deluded, and so, instead of being preserv'd in Holiness and Purity, wherein he was certainly created, be brought to fall and rebell as he (_Satan_) had done before him; by which, instead of being transplanted into a glorious State, after this Life in Heaven, as his Maker had design'd him to be, to fill up the Angelic Choir, and supply the Place from whence he (_Satan_) had fallen, he might be made to fall also like him, and in a Word, be made a _Devil_ like himself.

This convinces us that the _Devil_ has not lost his natural Powers by his Fall; and our learned Commentator Mr. _Pool_ is of the same Opinion; tho' he grants that the _Devil_ has lost his moral Power, or his Power of doing Good, which he can never recover. _Vide_ Mr. _Pool_ upon _Acts_ xix. 17. where we may particularly observe, when the Man possess'd with an evil Spirit flew upon the seven Sons of _Scaeva_ the _Jew_, who would have Exorcis'd them in the Name of _Jesus_, without the Authority of _Jesus_, or without Faith in him; He flew on them and master'd them, so that they fled out of the House from the Devil conquered, naked and wounded: But of this Power of the Devil I shall speak by it self.

In a Word, and to sum up all the _Devil_'s Story from his first Expulsion, it stands thus: For so many Years as were between his Fall and the Creation of Man, tho' we have no _Memoirs_ of his particular Affairs, we have Reason to believe he was without any Manner of Employment; but a certain tormenting Endeavour to be always expressing his Rage and Enmity against Heaven; I call it tormenting, Because ever disappointed; every thought about it proving empty; every attempt towards it abortive; Leaving him only Light enough to see still more and more Reason to despair of Success; and that this made his Condition still more and more a Hell than it was before.

After a Space of Duration in this Misery, which we have no light given us to measure or judge of, He at length discovered the new Creation of Man, as above, upon which he soon found Matter to set himself to work upon, and has been busily employ'd ever since.

And now indeed there may be room to suggest a Local _Hell_, and the Confinement of Souls (made corrupt and degenerate by him) to it, as a Place; tho' he himself, as is still apparent by his Actings, is not yet confin'd to it; of this Hell, its Locality, Extent, Dimensions, Continuance and Nature, as it does not belong to Satan's History, I have a good excuse for saying nothing, and so put off my meddling with that, which if I would meddle with, I could say nothing of to the Purpose.

CHAP. VIII.

_Of the Power of the Devil at the Time of the Creation of this World;
whether it has not been farther straitn'd and limited since that
Time, and what Shifts and Stratagems he is obliged to make use of to
compass his Designs upon Mankind._

Cunning Men have fabled, and tho' it be without either Religion, Authority or physical Foundation, it may be we may like it ne'er the worse for that; that when God made the Stars and all the Heavenly Luminaries, the _Devil_, to mimick his Maker and insult his new Creation, made Comets, in Imitation of the fix'd Stars; but that the Composition of them being combustible, when they came to wander in the Abyss, rolling by an irregular ill-grounded Motion, they took Fire, in their Approach to some of those great Bodies of Flame, _the fix'd Stars_; and being thus kindled (like a Fire-work unskilfully let off) they then took wild and excentrick, as also different Motions of their own, out of Satan's Direction, and beyond his Power to regulate ever after.

Let this Thought stand by it self, it matters not to our purpose whether we believe any thing of it, or no; 'tis enough to our Case, that if Satan had any such Power then, he has no such Power now, and that leads me to enquire into his more recent Limitations.

I am to suppose, he and all his Accomplices being confounded at the Discovery of the new Creation, and racking their Wits to find out the meaning of it, had at last (_no matter how_) discover'd the whole System, and concluded, _as I have said_, that the Creature, _call'd Man_, was to be their Successor in the Heavenly Mansions; upon which I suggest that the first Motion of Hell was to destroy this new Work, and, if possible, to overwhelm it.

But when they came to make the Attempt, they found their Chains were not long enough, and that they could not reach to the Extremes of the System: They had no Power either to break the Order, or stop the Motion, dislocate the Parts, or confound the Situation of Things; they traversed, no doubt, the whole Work, visited every Star, landed upon every Solid, and sail'd upon every Fluid in the whole Scheme, to see what Mischief they could do.

Upon a long and full Survey, they came to this Point in their Enquiry, that in short they could do nothing by Force; that they could not displace any Part, annihilate any Atom, or destroy any Life in the whole Creation; but that as Omnipotence had created it, so the same Omnipotence had arm'd it at all Points against the utmost Power of Hell, had made the smallest Creature in it invulnerable, as to _Satan_; so that without the Permission of the same Power which had made _Heaven_, and conquer'd the _Devil_, he could do nothing at all, as to destroying any thing that God had made, no, not the little diminutive thing call'd Man, who _Satan_ saw so much reason to hate, as being created to succeed him in Happiness in _Heaven_.

Satan found him placed out of his Power to hurt, or out of his Reach to touch; and here, by the way, appears the second Conquest of _Heaven_ over the _Devil_; that having plac'd his Rival, as it were, just before his Face, and shew'd the hateful sight to him, he saw written upon his Image, _Touch him if you dare_.

It cannot be doubted, but, had it not been thus, Man is so far from being a Match for the _Devil_, that one of Satan's least Imps or _Angels_ could destroy all the Race of them in the World, ay World and all in a moment;

As he is Prince of the Power of the Air, taking the Air for _the Elementary World_, how easily could he, at one Blast, sweep all the Surface of the Earth into the Sea, or drive weighty immense Surges of the Ocean over the whole Plane of the Earth, and deluge the Globe at once with a Storm? Or how easily could he, who, by the Situation of the Empire, must be supposed able to manage the Clouds, draw them up, in such Position as should naturally produce Thunders and Lightnings, cause those Lightnings to blast the Earth, dash in Pieces all the Buildings, burn all the populous Towns and Cities, and lay wast the World;

At the same time he might command suited Quantities of sublimated Air to burst out of the Bowels of the Earth, and overwhelm and swallow up, in the opening Chasms, all the Inhabitants of the Globe?

In a Word, _Satan_ left to himself as a Devil, and to the Power, which by virtue of his Seraphic Original he must be vested with, was able to have made Devilish Work in the World, if by a superior Power he was not restrain'd.

But there is no doubt, _at least to me_, but that with his fall from Heaven, as he lost the Rectitude and Glory of his Angelic Nature, I mean his Innocence, so he lost the Power too that he had before; and that when he first commenc'd Devil, he received the Chains of Restraint too, as the Badge of his Apostacy, _viz._ a general Prohibition, to do any thing to the Prejudice of this Creation, or to act any thing by Force or Violence without special Permission.

This Prohibition was not sent him by a Messenger, or by an Order in Writing, or proclaimed from Heaven by a Law; but _Satan_, by a strange, invisible and unaccountable Impression felt the Restraint within him; and at the same time that his moral Capacity was not taken away, yet his Power of exerting that Capacity felt the Restraint, and left him unable to do, even what he was able to do at the same time.

I make no question, but the Devil is sensible of this Restraint, that is to say, _not_ as it is a restraint only, or as an effect of his Expulsion from _Heaven_; But as it prevents his Capital Design against Man, who, for the Reason I have given already, he entertains a mortal Hatred of, and would destroy with all his Heart, if he might; and therefore, like a chain'd Mastiff, we find him oftentimes making a horrid hellish Clamour and Noise, barking and howling, and frighting the People, letting them know, that if he was loose he would tear them in pieces; but at the same time his very Fury shakes his Chain, which lets them know, to their Satisfaction, he can only Bark, but cannot Bite.

Some are of Opinion that the Devil is not restrain'd so much by the superior Power of his Sovereign and Maker; but that all his milder Measures with Man are the effect of a political Scheme, and done upon mature Deliberation; that it was resolved to act thus, in the great Council or P----t of Devils, call'd upon this very Occasion, when they first were inform'd of the Creation of Man; and especially when they considered what kind of Creature he was, and what might probably be the Reason of making him, (_viz._) to fill up the Vacancies in Heaven; I say, that then the _Devils_ resolv'd, that it was not for their Interest to fall upon him with Fury and Rage, and so destroy the Species, for that this would be no Benefit at all to them, and would only cause another original Man to be created; for that they knew GOD could, by the same Omnipotence, form as many new Species of Creatures as he pleased; and, if he thought fit, create them in Heaven too, out of the Reach of _Devils_ or evil Spirits, and that therefore, to destroy Man would no way answer their End.

On the other hand, examining strictly the Mould of this new made Creature, and of what Materials he was form'd; how mixt up of a Nature convertible and pervertible, capable indeed of infinite Excellence, and consequently of eternal Felicity; but subject likewise to Corruption and Degeneracy, and consequently to eternal Misery; That instead of being fit to supply the Places of Satan and his rejected Tribe (the expell'd Angels) in Heaven, and filling up the Thrones or Stalls in the Celestial Choir, they might, if they could but be brought into Crime, become a Race of Rebels and Traytors like the rest; and so come at last to keep them Company, as well in the Place of eternal Misery, as in the Merit of it, and in a Word, become Devils instead of Angels.

Upon this Discovery, I say, they found it infinitely more for the Interest of Satan's infernal Kingdom, to go another way to work with Mankind, and see if it were possible, by the strength of all their infernal Wit and Counsels, to lay some Snare for him, and by some Stratagem to bring him to eternal Ruin and Misery.

This being then approv'd as their only Method, (and the _Devil_ shew'd he was no Fool in the Choice) he next resolv'd that there was no time to be lost; that it was to be set about immediately, before the Race was Multiplied, and by that means the Work be not made greater only, but perhaps the more difficult too; accordingly the diligent Devil went instantly about it, agreeably to all the Story of _Eve_ and the serpent, as before; the belief of which, whether historically or allegorically, is not at all obstructed by this Hypothesis.

I do not affirm that this was the Case at first, because being not present in that black _Divan_, at least not that I know of, _for who knows where he was or was not in his pre-existent State?_ I cannot be positive in the Resolve that past there; but except for some very little Contradiction, which we find in the sacred Writings, I should, I confess, incline to believe it Historically; and I shall speak of those things which I call Contradictions to it more largely hereafter.

In the mean time, be it one way or other, _that is to say_, either that Satan had no Power to have proceeded with Man by Violence, and to have destroy'd him as soon as he was made; or that he had the Power, but chose rather to proceed by other Methods to deceive and debauch him; _I say_, be it which you please, I am still of the Opinion that it really was not the _Devil_'s Business to destroy the Species; that it would have been nothing to the purpose, and no Advantage at all to him, if he had done it; for that, as above, God could immediately have created another Species to the same end, whom he either could have made invulnerable, and not subject to the Devil's Power, or remov'd him out of _Satan_'s Reach, plac'd him out of the _Devil_'s Ken, in Heaven or some other Place, where the Devil could not come to hurt him; and that therefore it is infinitely more his Advantage, and more suited to his real Design of defeating the End of Man's Creation, to debauch him and make a _Devil_ of him, that he may be rejected like himself, and increase the infernal Kingdom and Company in the Lake of Misery _in aeternum_.

It may be true, for ought I know, that Satan has not the Power of Destruction put into his Hand, and that he cannot take away the Life of a Man: and it seems probable to be so, from the Story of _Satan_ and _Job_, when _Satan_ appear'd among the Sons of GOD, as the Text says, _Job_ i. 6. Now when God gave such a Character of _Job_ to him, and ask'd him _if he had consider'd his Servant Job_, ver. 8. why did not the Devil go immediately and exert his Malice against the good Man at once, to let his Maker see what would become of his Servant _Job_ in his Distress? On the contrary, we see he only answers by shewing the Reason of _Job_'s good Behaviour; that it was but common Gratitude for the Blessing and Protection he enjoy'd, ver. 10. and pleading that if his Estate was taken away, and he was expos'd as he (Satan) was, to be a beggar and a Vagabond, going _to and fro in the Earth, and walking up and down therein_, he should be a very Devil too, like himself, and curse God to his Face.

Upon this, the Text says, that God answered ver. 11. _Behold all that he hath is in thy Power_; now 'tis plain here, that God gave up _Job_'s Wealth and Estate, nay his Family, and the Lives of his Children and Servants into the Devil's Power; and accordingly, like a true merciless Devil, _as he is_, he destroy'd them all; he mov'd the _Sabeans_ to fall upon the Oxen and the Asses, and carry them off; he mov'd the _Chaldeans_ to fall upon the Camels and the Servants, to carry off the first, and murther the last; he made Lightning flash upon the poor Sheep, and kill them all; and he blow'd his House down upon his poor Children, and buried them all in the Ruins.

Now here is (1.) a Specimen of Satan's good Will to Mankind, and what Havock the _Devil_ would make in the World, if he might; and here is a Testimony too, that he could not do this without leave; so that I cannot but be of the Opinion he has some Limitations, some Bounds set to his natural Fury; a certain Number of Links in his Chain, which he cannot exceed, or, in a Word, that he cannot go a Foot beyond his _Tether_.

The same kind of Evidence we have in the Gospel, _Matth._ viii. 31. where Satan could not so much as possess the filthiest and meanest of all Creatures, _the Swine_, till he had ask'd leave; and that still, to shew his good Will, as soon as he had gotten leave, he hurried them all into the Sea and choak'd them; these, I say, are some of the Reasons why I am not willing to say, the _Devil_ is not restrain'd in Power; but on the other side, we are told of so many mischievous things the Devil has done in the World, by virtue of his Dominion over the Elements, and by other Testimonies of his Power, that I don't know what to think of it; tho', upon the whole, the first is the safest Opinion; for if we should believe the last, we might, for ought I know, be brought, like the _American Indians_, to worship him _at last_, that he may do us no Harm.

And now I have nam'd those People in _America_, I confess it would go a great way in favour of Satan's Generosity, as well as in Testimony of his Power, if we might believe all the Accounts, which indeed Authors are pretty well agreed in the Truth of, namely, of the Mischiefs the _Devil_ does in those Countries, where his Dominion seems to be establish'd; how he uses them when they deny him the Homage he claims of them as his Due; what Havock and Combustion he makes among them; and how Beneficent he is (or at least negative in his Mischiefs) when they Appease him by their hellish Sacrifices.

Likewise we see a Test of his wicked Subtilty in his Management of those dark Nations, when he was more immediately worship'd by them; namely, the making them believe that all their good Weather, Rains, Dews, and kind Influences upon the Earth, to make it fruitful, was from Him; whereas they really were the common Blessings of a higher Hand, and came not from him, the _Devil_, but from him that made the _Devil_, and made him a Devil or fallen Angel by his Curse.

But to go back to the Method the Devil took with the first of Mankind; 'tis plain the Policy of Hell was right, tho' the Execution of the Resolves they took did not fully answer their End neither; For _Satan_ fastening upon poor, proud, ridiculous Mother _Eve_, as I have said before, made presently a true Judgment of her Capacities, and of her Temper; took her by the right Handle, and soothing her Vanity (which is to this Day the softest Place in the Head of all the Sex) wheedl'd her out of her Senses, by praising her Beauty, and promising to make her a Goddess.

The foolish Woman yielded presently, and that we are told is the Reason why the same Method so strangely takes with all her Posterity (_viz._) that you are sure to prevail with them, if you can but once persuade them that you believe they are Witty and Handsome; for the Devil, you may observe, never quits any Hold he gets, and having once found a way into the Heart, always takes care to keep the Door open, that any of his Agents may enter after him without any more Difficulty: Hence the same Argument, especially the last, has so bewitching an Influence on the Sex, that they rarely deny you any thing, after they are but weak enough and vain enough to accept of the Praises you offer them on that Head; on the other hand you are sure they never forgive you the unpardonable Crime of saying they are Ugly or Disagreeable: It is suggested that the first Method the Devil took to insinuate all those fine things into _Eve_'s giddy Head, was by creeping close to her _one Night_, when she was asleep, and laying his Mouth to her _Ear_, whispering all the fine things to her, which he knew would set her Fancy a Tip-toe, and so made her receive them involuntarily into her Mind; knowing well enough that when she had form'd such Ideas in her Soul, however they came there, she would never be quiet till she had work'd them up to some extraordinary thing or other.

It was evident what the _Devil_ aim'd at, _namely_, that she should break in upon the Command of GOD, and so having corrupted her self, bring the Curse upon her self and all her Race, as GOD had threatn'd; but why the Pride of _Eve_ should be so easily tickled by the Motion of her exquisite Beauty, when there then was no prospect of the use or want of those Charms? that indeed makes a kind of Difficulty here, which the learn'd have not determined. For,

1. If she had been as Ugly as the _Devil_, she had no body to rival
her, so that she need not fear _Adam_ should leave her and get
another Mistress.

2. If she had been Bright and Beautiful as an Angel, she had no
other Admirer but poor _Adam_, and he could have no room to be
jealous of her, or afraid she should cuckold him; so that in short,
_Eve_ had no such Occasion for her Beauty, nor could she make any
use of it either to a bad purpose or to a good, and therefore I
believe the _Devil_, who is too cunning to do any thing that
signifies Nothing, rather tempted her by the Hope of encreasing her
Wit, than her Beauty.

But to come back to the Method of Satan's tempting her, _viz._ by whispering to her in her sleep; 'twas a cunning Trick, that's the Truth of it, and by that means he certainly set her Head a madding after _Deism_, and to be made a Goddess, and then back'd it by the subtle talk he had with her afterward.

I am the more particular upon this Part, because, however the Devil may have been the first that ever practised it, yet I can assure him the Experiment has been tried upon many a Woman since, to the wheedling her out of her Modesty, as well as her Simplicity; and the Cunning Men tell us still, that if you can come at a Woman when she is in a deep sleep, and Whisper to her close to her Ear, she will certainly Dream of the Thing you say to her, and so will a Man too.

Well, be this so to her Race or not, it was it seems so to her; for she wak'd with her Head fill'd with pleasing Ideas, and as some will have it, unlawful Desires; such, as to be sure she never had entertain'd before; These are supposed to be fatally infused in her Dream, and suggested to her waking Soul, when the Organ Ear which convey'd them was doz'd and insensible; strange Fate of sleeping in _Paradise_! that whereas we have Notice but of two Sleeps there, that in one a _Woman_ should go out of him, and in the other, the _Devil_ should come into her.

Certainly, when Satan first made the Attempt upon _Eve_, he did not think he should have so easily conquered her, or have brought his Business about so soon; the _Devil_ himself could not have imagined she should have been so soon brought to forget the Command given, or at least who gave it, and have ventur'd to transgress against him, and made her forget that GOD had told her, it should be Death to her to touch it; and above all, that she should aspire to be as wise as him, who was so ignorant before, as to believe it was for fear of her being like himself, that he had forbid it her.

Well might she be said to be the weaker Vessel, tho' _Adam_ himself had little enough to say for his being the stronger of the two, when he was over-persuaded (if it were done by Persuasion) by his Wife to do the same thing.

And mark how wise they were after they had Eaten, and what Fools they both acted like, even to one another; nay, even all the Knowledge they attain'd to by it was, for ought I see, only to know that they were Fools, and to be sensible both of _Sin_ and _Shame_; and see how simply they acted, I say, upon their having committed the Crime, and being detected in it.

'View them to Day conversing with their God,
'His Image both enjoy'd and understood,
'_To Morrow_ skulking with a sordid Flight, }
'Among the Bushes from the _Infinite_, }
'As if that Power _was blind_, which gave them _Sight_; }
'With senseless Labour Tagging Fig-Leaf Vests,
'To hide their Bodies from the sight of Beasts.
'Hark! how the Fool pleads faint, for forfeit Life,
'First he reproaches Heaven, and then his Wife;
'_The Woman which thou gav'st_ as if the Gift
'Could rob him of the little Reason left,
'A weak Pretence to shift his early Crime,
'As if accusing her would excuse him;
'But thus encroaching Crime dethrones the Sense,
'And intercepts the Heavenly Influence,
'Debauches Reason, makes the Man a Fool,
'And turns his active Light to Ridicule.

It must be confess'd that it was unaccountable Degeneracy, even of their common Reasoning, which _Adam_ and _Eve_ both fell into upon the first committing the Offence of taking the forbidden Fruit: If that was their being made as Gods, it made but a poor Appearance in its first coming, to hide their Nakedness when there was no body to see them, and cover themselves among the Bushes from their Maker; but thus it was, and this the Devil had brought them to, and well might he, and all the Clan of Hell, as Mr. _Milton_ brings them in, laugh and triumph over the Man after the Blow was given, as having so egregiously abused and deluded them both.

But here, to be sure, began the _Devil_'s new Kingdom; as he had now seduc'd the two first Creatures, he was pretty sure of Success upon all the Race, and therefore prepar'd to attack them also, as soon as they came on; nor was their encreasing Multitude any Discouragement to his Attempt, but just the contrary; for he had Agents enough to employ, if every Man and Woman that should be born was to want a _Devil_ to wait upon them, separately and singly to seduce them; whereas some whole Nations have been such willing subjects to him, that one of his Seraphic Imps may, _for ought we know_, have been enough to guide a whole Country; the People being entirely subjected to his Government for many Ages; as in _America, for example_, where some will have it, that he convey'd the first Inhabitants, at least if he did not, we don't well know who did, or how they got thither.

And how came all the Communication to be so entirely cut off between the Nations of _Europe_ and _Africa_, from whence _America_ must certainly have been peopl'd, or else the _Devil_ must have done it indeed? I say, how came the Communication to be so entirely cut off between them, that except the time, _whenever it was_, that People did at first reach from one to the other, none ever came back to give their Friends any account of their Success, or invite them to follow? Nor did they hear of one another afterwards, as we have Reason to think: Did _Satan_ politically keep them thus asunder, lest News from Heaven should reach them, and so they should be recover'd out of his Government? We cannot tell how to give any other rational Account of it, that a Nation, nay a Quarter of the World, or as some will have it be, half the Globe, should be peopled from _Europe_ or _Africa_, or both, and no body ever go after them, or come back from them in above three thousand years after.

Nay, that those Countries should be peopled when there was no Navigation in use in these Parts of the World, no Ships made that could carry Provisions enough to support the People that fail'd in them, but that they must have been starved to death before they could reach the Shore of _America_; the Ferry from _Europe_ or _Africa_, in any Part (which we have known Navigation to be practised in) being at least 1000 Miles, and in most Places much more.

But as to the _Americans_, let the _Devil_ and they alone to account for their coming Thither, this we are certain of, that we knew nothing of them for many hundred Years; and when we did, when the Discovery was made, they that went from Hence found _Satan_ in a full and quiet Possession of them, ruling them with an arbitrary Government, particular to himself; He had led them into a blind Subjection to himself, nay, I might call it Devotion, for it was all of Religion that was to be found among them) worshipping horrible Idols in his Name, to whom he directed human Sacrifices continually to be made, till he deluged the Country with Blood, and ripen'd them up for the Destruction that follow'd, from the Invasion of the _Spaniards_, who he knew would hurry them all out of the World as fast as he (_the Devil_) himself could desire of them.

But to go back a little to the Original of Things, It is evident that _Satan_ has made a much better Market of Mankind, by thus subtilly attacking them, and bringing them to break with their Maker as he had done before them, than he could have done by fulminating upon them at first, and sending them all out of the World at once; for now he has peopled his own Dominions with them, and tho' a Remnant are snatch'd as it were out of his Clutches, by the Agency of Invincible Grace, of which I am not to discourse in this Place; yet this may be said of the _Devil_, without Offence, that he has in some Sense carried his Point, and as it were forc'd his Maker to be satisfied with a Part of Mankind, and the least Part too, instead of the great Glory he would have brought to himself by keeping them all in his Service.

Mr. _Milton_, as I have noted above, brings in the _Devil_ and all Hell with him, making a _Feu de Joye_ for the Victory _Satan_ obtain'd over one silly Woman; indeed it was a Piece of Success greater in its Consequence than in the immediate Appearance; nor was the Conquest so compleat as Satan himself imagin'd to make, since the Promise of a Redemption out of his Hands, which was immediately made to the Man, in behalf of himself and his believing Posterity, was a great Disappointment to Satan, and as it were snatch'd the best Part of his Victory out of his Hands.

It is certain the _Devils_ knew what the meaning of that Promise was, and who was to be the _Seed of the Woman_, namely, the incarnate _Son of God_, and that it was a second Blow to the whole infernal Body; but as if they had resolved to let that alone, _Satan_ went on with his Business; and as he had introduc'd Crime into the common Parent of Mankind, and thereby secured the Contamination of Blood, and the Descent or Propagation of the corrupt Seed, he had nothing to do but to assist Nature in time to come, to carry on its own Rebellion, and act it self in the Breasts of _Eve_'s tainted Posterity; and that indeed has been the Devil's Business ever since his first Victory upon the Kind, to this Day.

His Success in this Part has been such, that we see upon innumerable Occasions a general Defection has follow'd; a kind of a Taint upon Nature, _call it what you will_, a Blast upon the Race of Mankind; and were it not for one thing, he had ruined the whole Family; _I say_, were it not for one thing, namely, a selected Company or Number, which his Maker has resolv'd he shall not be able to corrupt, or if he does, the sending the promis'd Seed shall recover back again from him, by the Power of irresistible Grace; which Number thus selected or elected, call it which we will, are still to supply the Vacancies in Heaven, which _Satan_'s Defection left open; and what was before fill'd up with created Seraphs, is now to be restor'd by recover'd Saints, by whom infinite Glory is to accrue to the Kingdom of the Redeemer.

This glorious Establishment has robb'd Satan of all the Joy of his Victory, and left him just where he was, defeated and disappointed; nor does the Possession of all the Myriads of the Sons of Perdition, who yet some are of the Opinion will be snatch'd from him too at last; I say, the Possession of all these makes no amends to him, for he is such a _Devil_ in his Nature, that the Envy at those he cannot seduce, eats out all the Satisfaction of the Mischief he has done in seducing all the rest; but _I must not preach_, so I return to things as much needful to know, tho' less solemn.

CHAP. IX.

_Of the Progress of Satan in carrying on his Conquest over Mankind, from
the Fall of_ Eve _to the Deluge._

I doubt if the Devil was ask'd the Question plainly, he would confess, that after he had conquer'd _Eve_ by his own wicked Contrivance, and then by her Assistance had brought _Adam_ too (like a Fool as he was) into the same Gulph of Misery, he thought he had done his Work, compassed the whole Race, that they were now his own, and that he had put an End to the grand Design of their Creation; namely, of Peopling Heaven with a new Angelic Race of Souls, who when glorify'd, should make up the Defection of the Host of Hell, that had been expung'd by their Crime; in a Word, that he had gotten a better Conquest than if he had destroy'd them all.

But in the midst of his Conquest, he found a Check put to the Advantages he expected to reap from his Victory, by the immediate Promise of Grace to a Part of the Posterity of _Adam_, who, notwithstanding the Fall, were to be purchased by the _Messiah_, and snatch'd out of his (_Satan_'s) Hands, and over whom he could make no final Conquest; so that his Power met with a new Limitation, and that such, as indeed fully disappointed him in the main thing he aim'd at, (_viz._) preventing the Beatitudes of Mankind, which were thus secur'd; (And what if the Numbers of Mankind were upon this account encreased in such a manner, that the selected Number should, by Length of Time, amount to just as many as the whole Race, had they not fallen, would have amounted to in all?) And thus, indeed, the World may be said to be upheld and continued for the Sake of those few, since till their Number can be compleated, the Creation cannot fall, any more than, that without them, or but for them it would not have stood.

But leaving this Speculation, and not having enquir'd of Satan what he has to say on that Subject, let us go back to the Antediluvian World: The _Devil_ to be sure, gain'd his Point upon _Eve_, and in her upon all her Race: He drew her into Sin; got her turn'd out of _Paradise_, and the Man with her: The next Thing was to go to work with her Posterity, and particularly with her two Sons _Cain_ and _Abel_.

_Adam_ having, notwithstanding his Fall, repented very sincerely of his Sin; receiv'd the Promise of Redemption and Pardon, with an humble but believing Heart; Charity bids us suppose that he led a very religious and sober Life ever after; and especially in the first Part of his Time, That he brought up his Children very soberly, and gave them all the necessary Advantages of a Religious Education, and a good Introduction into the World, that he was capable of; and that _Eve_ likewise assisted to both in her Place and Degree.

Their two eldest Sons _Cain_ and _Abel_; The one Heir apparent to the Patriarchal Empire, and the other Heir presumptive, I suppose also, lived very sober and religious Lives; and as the Principles of natural Religion dictated a Homage and Subjection due to the Almighty Maker, as an Acknowledgment of his Mercies, and a Recognition of their Obedience; so the receiv'd Usage of Religion dictating at that Time that this Homage was to be paid by a Sacrifice, they either of them brought a Free-will-offering to be dedicated to God respectively for themselves and Families.

How it was, and for what Reason that God had respect to the Offering of _Abel_, which the Learn'd say, was _a Lamb_ of the Firstlings of the Flock, and did not give any Testimony of the like Respect to _Cain_ and his Offering, which was of the first Fruits of the Earth, the Offerings being equally suited to the respective Employment of the Men, that is not my present Business; but this we find made Heart-burnings, and raised Envy and Jealousy in the Mind of _Cain_; and at that Door the _Devil_ immediately entred; for he, who from the Beginning, was very diligent in his way, never slip'd any Opportunity, or miss'd any Advantages that the Circumstances of Mankind offered him to do Mischief.

What Shape or Appearance the Devil took up to enter into a Conversation with _Cain_ upon the Subject, that Authors do not take upon them to determine; but 'tis generally supposed he personated some of _Cain_'s Sons or Grandsons to begin the Discourse, who attack'd their Father, or perhaps Grandfather, upon this Occasion, in the following manner, or to that Purpose.

* * * * *

_D._ Sir, I perceive _your Majesty_ (for the first Race were certainly all Monarchs as great as Kings, to their immediate Posterity) to be greatly disturb'd of late, your Countenance is chang'd, your noble Chearfulness (the Glories of your Face) are strangely sunk and gone, and you are not the Man you used to be; please your Majesty to communicate your Griefs to us your Children, you may be sure, that if it be possible, we would procure you Relief, and restore your Delights, the Loss of which, if thus you go on to subject yourself to too much Melancholy, will be very hurtful to you, and in the End destroy you.

_Cain._ It is very kind, my dear Children, to shew your Respect thus to your true Progenitor, and to offer your Assistance: I confess, as you say, my Mind is oppress'd and displeased; but tho' 'tis very heavy, yet I know not which way to look for Relief, for the Distemper is above our Reach, no Cure can be found for it on Earth.

_D._ Do not say so, Sir; there can be no Disease sure on Earth but may be cur'd on Earth; if it be a mental Evil, we have heard that your great Ancestor, the first Father of us all, who lives still on the great western Plains towards the Sea, is the Oracle to which all his Children fly for Direction in such Cases as are out of the Reach of the ordinary understanding of Mankind; please you to give leave, we will take a Journey to him, and representing your Case to him, we will hear his Advice, and bring it to you with all Speed, for the Ease of your Mind.

_Cain._ I know not whether he can reach my Case or no.

_D._ Doubtless he may, and if not, the Labour of our Journey is nothing when plac'd in Competition with the Ease of your Mind; 'tis but a few Days travel lost, and you will not be the worse if we fail of the desired Success.

_Cain._ The offer is filial, and I accept your affectionate Concern for me, with a just Sense of an oblig'd Parent; go then, and my Blessing be upon you; but alas! why do I bless? can he bless whom God has not bless'd!

_D._ O! Sir, do not say so, has not God bless'd you? are you not the second Sovereign of the Earth? and does he not converse with you Face to Face? are not you the Oracle to all your growing Posterity, and next after his Sovereign Imperial Majesty Lord _Adam_, Patriarch of the World?

_Cain._ But has not God rejected me, and refused to converse any more with me, while he daily Favours and Countenances my younger Brother _Abel_, as if he resolv'd to set him up to rule over me?

_D._ No, Sir, that cannot be, you cannot be disturb'd at such a thing; is not the Right of Sovereignty yours by Primogeniture? can God himself take that away, when 'tis once given? are not you Lord _Adam_'s eldest Son? are you not the firstborn Glory of the Creation? and does not the Government descend to you by the divine Right of Birth and Blood?

_Cain._ But what does all that signify to me, while God appears to favour and caress my younger Brother, and to shine upon him, while a black Dejection and token of Displeasure surrounds me every Day, and he does not appear to me as he used to do?

_D._ And what need your Majesty be concern'd at that, if it be so? if he does not appear pleased, you have the whole World to enjoy your self in, and all your numerous and rising Posterity Adore and Honour you; what need those remote Things be any disturbance to you?

_Cain._ How! my Children, not the Favour of God be valued! yes, yes, in his favour is Life; what can all the World avail without the Smiles and Countenance of him that made it?

_D._ Doubtless, Sir, he that made the World and plac'd you at the Head of it all, to govern and direct it, has made it agreeable, and it is able to give you a full Satisfaction and Enjoyment, if you please to consider it well, tho' you were never to converse with him all the while you live in't.

_Cain._ You are _quite wrong_ there, my Children, _quite wrong_.

_D._ But do you not, great Sir, see all your Children as well as us rejoicing in the Plenty of all Things, and are they not compleatly happy, and yet they know little of this great GOD? He seldom converses among us, we hear of him indeed by your sage Advices, and we bring our Offerings to you for him, as you direct, and when that's done, we enjoy whatever our Hearts desire; and so doubtless may you in an abundant manner, if you please.

_Cain._ But your Felicity is wrong plac'd then, or you suppose that God is pleased and satisfied in that your Offerings are brought to me; but what would you say, if you knew that God is displeased? that he does not accept your Offerings? that when I sacrific'd to him in behalf of you all, he rejected my Offerings, tho' I brought a princely Gift, being of the finest of the Wheat, the choicest and earliest Fruits, and the sweetest of the Oil, an Offering suited to the Giver of them all?

_D._ But if you offered them, Sir, how are you sure they were not accepted?

_Cain._ Yes, yes, I am sure; did not my Brother _Abel_ offer at the same Time a Lamb of his Flock, for he, you know, delights in Cattle, and covers the Mountains with his Herds? over him, all the while he was sacrificing, a bright Emanation shone chearing and enlivening; a Pledge of Favour, and light ambient Flames play'd hovering in the lower Air, as if attending his Sacrifice; and when ready prepar'd, immediately descended and burnt up the Flesh, a Sweet odoriferous Savour ascending to him, who thus testified his Acceptance; whereas, over my Head a black Cloud, misty, and distilling Vapour, hung dripping upon the humble Altar I had raised, and wetting the finest and choicest Things I had prepar'd, spoil'd and defac'd them; the Wood unapt to burn by the Moisture which fell, scarce receiv'd the Fire I brought to kindle it, and even then, rather smother'd and choaked, than kindled into a Flame; in a Word, it went quite out, without consuming what was brought to be offer'd up.

_D._ Let not our truly reverenc'd Lord and Father be disquieted at all this; if he accepts not what you bring, you are discharg'd of the Debt, and need bring no more; nor have the Trouble of such labour'd Collections of Rarities any more; when he thinks fit to require it again, you will have Notice, no Question, and then it being call'd for, will be accepted or else why should it be requir'd?