Page:Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia) (1651).djvu/422

 like to the most High; who is therefore called Beelzebub, that is, an old god. In the second place follow the spirits of lies, of which sort was he who went forth, and was a lying spirit in the mouth of the Prophets of Achab ; and the Prince of these is the Serpent Pytho; from whence Apollo is called Pythius, and that woman a witch in Samuel, and the other in the Gospel, who had Pytho m their belly. Therefore this kind of Devils joyneth himself to the Oracles, and deludeth men by divinations, and predictions, so that he may deceive. In the third order are the vessels of iniquity, which are also called the vessels of wrath, these are the inventors of evil things and of all wicked arts, as in Plato, that devill Theutus who taught Cards and Dice; for all wickedness, malice and deformity proceedeth from these; of the which in Genesis, in the Benedictions of Simeon and Levi, Jacob saith, vessels of iniquity are in their habitations; into their counsel let not my soul come; whom the Psalmist calleth vessels of death, Esay vessels of fury, and Jeremy vessels of wrath, Ezekiel vessels of destroying and slaying, and their prince is Belial, which is interpreted without a yoak or disobedient, a prevaricator and an Apostate, of whom Paul to the Corinthians saith, what agreement hath Christ with Beliall? Fourthly follow the revengers of evil, and their Prince is Asmodeus, viz. causing judgement; After these in the fifth place come the deluders, who Imitate miracles, and serve wicked conjurers and witches, and seduce the people by their miracles, as the serpent seduced Eve, and their Prince is Satan, of whom is written in the Revelations, that he seduced the whole world, doing great signs, and causing fire to descend from heaven in the sight of men, seducing the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the signs, which are given him to do. Sixthly the Aeriall powers offer themselves; they joyn themselves to thundering and lightnings, corrupting the aire, causing pestilences and other evils; in the number of which, are the four Angels, of whom the Revelation speaketh, to whom it is given to hurt the Earth and Sea, holding the four windes, from the four corners of the earth; and their prince is called Meririm;  he is the Meridian