Page:History of the Devil, ancient and modern (2).pdf/3

 to his hearers, it is as much their fault as it is out

of his deſign.

It is ſaid alſo, and I am very apt to belive it,

that he was very familiar with that holy Father

Pope Silveſter II. and ſome charge him with per-

ſonating Pope Hildebrand on an extraordinary

occaſion, and himſelf ſitting in the chair apoſtolic,

in a full congregation; and you may hear the

more of this hereafter: but as I do not meet

with Pope Diabolus among the liſt, in all Fa-

ther 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 all ambiguous; for I love to ſpeak poſi-

tively and with undoubted evidence.

1. He is a believer. I think none of my readers

will doubt but he has more religion that is to be

found in all the preſent French Convention, that

even ſome of our own countrymen ſhow them-

ſelves Devils enough to admire; for beſides ab-

juring God and all religion, they even refuſed the

reſpect that Satan thinks he has a right to, as

they have decreed, that all the people of France

ſhall believe death is eternal ſleep; thus putting

even the Devil out of the queſtion: but as he

wiſhes to be ſupreme in that reſpect, he ſoon

brought part of them to the guillotine, and the

reſt taking the hint, ſet up Paganiſm, and worſhip

even at preſent his infernal majeſty under the

title of the God of Reaſon, only inſtead of allow-

ing every ſeventh day to him, as they uſed to do

to God, they give him every tenth. Thus have

they and their Britiſh admirers far out deviled

Satan: for I can aſſure them their prototype the

Devil is no infidel.