Page:History of the devil, ancient and modern (1).pdf/18

18 with terrors that do not really belong to him; as if the power of good and evil was wholly vested in him, and that he was placed in the throne of his Maker, to destribute both punishments and rewards: in this they are much wrong, terrifying and deluding fanciful people about him, till they turn their heads, and fright them into a belief that the Devil will let them alone, if they do such and such things; or carry them away with him they know not whether, if they do not; as if the Devil, whose proper business is mischief, seducing and deluding mankind, and drawing them in to be rebels like himself, should threaten to seize upon them, carry them away, and in a word, fall upon them to hurt them, if they did evil: and on the contrary, be favourable and civil to them, if they did well.

Thus a poor deluded country fellow in our town, that had lived a wicked, abominable, debauch'd life, was frighted with an apparition, as he called it, of the Devil: He fancied that he spoke to him, and telling his tale to a good honest Christian gentleman his neighbour, that had a little more sense than himself: the gentleman asked him if he was sure he really saw the Devil? Yes, yes, Sir, says he. I saw him very plain. And so they began the following discourse:

Gent. See him! see the Devil! art thou sure of it Thomas?

Thos. Yes, yes, I am sure enough of it master: to be sure 'twas the Devil.

Gent. And how do you know it was the Devil, Thomas Had you ever seen the Devil before?

Tho. No, no, I had never seen him before,