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



DOUBT not but the title 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 a reſolving whether they had beſt look into it or no, leſt they ſhould really raiſe the Devil, by reading his ſtory.

It muſt certainly therefore be a moſt uſeful undertaking, to give the true hiſtory of this tyrant of the air, this god 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

It may perhaps be expected of me in this hiſtory, that ſince I ſeem inclined 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 light you may take it to be; for Satan has ſomething of religion in him. I aſſure you; nor is he ſuch an unprofitable Devil that way as ſome may ſuppoſe him to be; for though 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 profitable to his hearers, it is as much their fault, as it is out of his deſign