CHAPTER VI

ON THE SPIRITS CALLED DEMONS

§ 1.

We have explained in another place how the notion of spirits came to be introduced among men, and proved that they were merely phantoms which existed only in their disordered imagination.

The first instructors of mankind were not very explicit in their "lessons to the million" as to the nature of these phantoms, but they could not help saying what they thought of them. One class, reflecting that these shadows melted into thin air and had no consistence, described them as immaterial or incorporeal, having shapes without matter, but coloured and defined. At the same time however, they denied that they were corporeal existences, or that they were coloured or figured; adding that they could clothe themselves with air as with a garment, when they wished to become visible to the eye of men. A second class assert that they were animated bodies, but that they were composed of air, or some still more subtle matter, which they could thicken at their pleasure, when they chose to make their appearance.

§ 2.

If the two sorts of philosophers were opposed to each other in their opinion as to those shadows, they agreed as to their name, viz., Demons; in which respect they were as those who, when dreaming, believe that they see the souls of people departed, and that it is their own soul which they behold when they look into a mirror--or, in short, those who can believe that the reflections of the stars which they see in the water are the souls of the stars themselves. Out of this truly ridiculous belief they wandered into an era no less absurd; believing that these phantoms possessed unlimited power--an idea sufficiently devoid of reason, but current among the ignorant, who suppose that these beings, whom they know not, can exert a fearful influence.

§ 3.

This most absurd creed was invented and promulgated by legislators, in order to support their own authority. They established this belief in spirits under the name of religion, hoping that the dread of these invisible powers which the people would entertain, might keep them to their duty. To give the more weight to their dogma, they classified those spirits or demons as good and bad; the one species being intended to stimulate men to the observance of their laws, and the other to act as a check and prevent their breaking them.

To ascertain what these demons really were, it is only necessary to read the works of the Greek poets and historians, and above all, the Theogany of Hesiod, where he dwells at great length on the origin of the gods.

§ 4.

The Greeks invented them. From that people they passed by means of their colonies into Asia, Egypt, and Italy. In this way the Jews, who were dispersed in Alexandria and elsewhere became acquainted with them. They made the same happy use of them as other nations did--with this difference, that, unlike the Greeks, they did not call them demons, or regard them as good and bad spirits indifferently. They considered them all as bad with one single exception, to whom they gave the name of the Spirit, or God; and they termed those men prophets who said that they were inspired by the good Spirit. Farther, they viewed as the operations of this divine Spirit whatever they considered as a great blessing; and on the other hand, they looked upon whatever they thought to be a great evil, as proceeding from some cacodemon or evil spirit.

§ 5.

This distinction between good and evil led them to the use of the appellation demoniacs, which they applied to lunatics, madmen, furious persons, and epileptics, as also to those who made use of "the unknown tongues." A man deformed and somewhat deranged, was said to be possessed of an unclean spirit; and a dumb man by a dumb spirit. These words, spirit and demon, became so familiar to them that they used them on every occasion. It follows that the Jews believed with the Greeks, that these phantoms were neither chimerical nor visionary, but real and substantial agents.

§ 6.

Hence it is that the Bible is filled with tales of spirits, and demons, and demoniacs; but in no place of that book is it said how and when they were created--an omission scarcely pardonable on the part of Moses, who undertakes to give an account of the creation both of the heavens and of the earth. Christ who speaks very frequently of angels and spirits, good and bad, does not inform us whether they are material or immaterial. This makes it evident that both of them were ignorant of the fact that the Greeks had instructed their ancestors in this strange belief. Were the case otherwise, Jesus Christ would be no less culpable for his silence on the subject, than he is for his refusal to grant to the majority of the human race, that grace, that faith, and that piety, which he assures them it is in his power to bestow.

But to return to the subject of Spirits. It is certain these words Demons, Satan, Devil, are only proper names intended to apply to any obnoxious individual of our own species; and that, at no period did any but the most ignorant believe in their existence, either amongst the Greeks who invented, or the Jews who adopted the terms. After the latter became infected with such notions, they applied these words which signify enemy, accuser, and destroyer, at one time to invisible Powers, and at another, to those which are visible. Thus, they declared of the Gentiles, that their dwelling was in the kingdom of Satan; there being none other than themselves (by their own account of the matter) who dwelt in the kingdom of God.

§ 7.

Jesus Christ being a Jew, and consequently imbued with these opinions, we need not be surprised when we meet in the gospels and the writing of his disciples the words Devil, Satan, and Hell, as if they were anything real or substantive. We have showed before that there can be nothing more chimerical; but although what was said might suffice to satisfy rational men, we are not the less necessitated to add a few words, in an attempt to convince the bigotted.

All Christians agree that God is the source of everything; that he created all things--that he sustains them, and that without his support they would drop into annihilation.--From these principles, it is certain that he created that being whom they call the Devil, or Satan. Whether he were created good or evil is nothing to the argument; he is incontestibly the work of the great Head, and if he continue to exist, all wicked as they represent him to be, it must only be at the good pleasure of God. Now, how is it possible to conceive that God would preserve one of his creatures, who not only hates him mortally, and blasphemes him without end, but who sets himself to seduce the friends of the Almighty for the sole purpose of mortifying him. How is it possible, I repeat, that God can permit this Devil to exist, who turns aside from his worship the favored and the elect, and who would dethrone him were it in his power?

This is what we wish to say in speaking of God, or rather in speaking of the Devil and Hell. If God is almighty, and if nothing can happen without his permission, how comes it that the devil hates him, blasphemes him, and seduces his worshippers? The Deity either consents to this or he does not. If he consents to it, the Devil in blaspheming him is only doing his duty, since he can do nothing but what God wishes, and consequently it is not the Devil, but God himself who blasphemes himself,--a fearfully absurd supposition. If he does not consent to it he cannot be omnipotent, and there must be two principles, the one of good, and the other of evil--the one aiming at one thing, and the other at its direct opposite.

To what then leads our reasoning? To this; that neither God, nor the Devil, nor Paradise, nor Hell, nor the Soul, are such as religion has represented them to be, and as most reverend divines have maintained. These latter sell their fables for truths, being people of bad faith who abuse the credulity of the ignorant by making them believe whatever they please; as if the vulgar were absolutely unfitted to hear the truth and could be nourished by nothing but those absurdities, in which a rational mind can only discover a vast of nothing, and a waste of folly.

The world has been long infected with these most absurd opinions, yet in every age men have been found--truth-loving men--who have striven against the absurdities of their day. This little treatise has been written from like motives, and in it the lovers of truth will doubtless meet with some things satisfactory. It is to them that I appeal, caring little for the opinion of those who substitute their own prejudices in place of infallible oracles.

Happy the man, who, studying Nature's laws, Through known effects can trace the secret cause; His mind possessing in a quiet state, Fearless of Fortune, and resigned to Fate.

Dryden's Translation of Virgil, Georgics, Book II. l. 700.

NOTES

[1] Daniel George Morof, who died suddenly on the 30th of June 1691.

[2] Librum de tribus impostoribus absit ut Papæ tribuam, aut Papæ oppugnatoribus; jam olim inimici Frederici Barbarossæ Imperatoris famam sparserant libri talis, quasi jussu ipsius scripti, sed ab eo tempore, nemo est qui viderit; quare fabulam esse arbitror.

[3] Apud Nevizanum 1. Sylvae nupt. 2. n. 121.

[4] Doubtless Averroes here alludes to that law of Mahomet which wisely prohibits the use of pork in a hot and pestilential climate.--Translator's Note.

[5] Disseminavit iste impius haereticus in Hispania, [such is the language made use of by Alvaro Pelagius], quod tres deceptores fuerunt in mundo, scilicet, Moises, qui decepterat Judaeos, et Christus, qui decepterat Christianos, et Mahometus, qui decepit Sarrazenos.

[6] Et sic falsa est Porphirii sententia, qui dixit tres fuisse garrulatores qui totum mundum ad se converterunt; primus fuit Moises in populo Judaico, secundus Mahometus, tertius Christus.

[7] Qui in quæstionem vertere presumunt, dicentes; quis in hec mundo majorem gentium aut populorum sequelam habuit, an Christus, an Moises, an Mahometus?

[8] Every classical scholar must have heard of the demon of Socrates. The belief in the existence of such agencies was sufficiently prevalent in the East 2000 years ago, and the Jews were in this respect, as credulous as their neighbors. We read in Acts, c. iv. v. 7, that the leaders of the Sanhedrim enquired of the Apostle Peter, "By what power or by what name, have ye done this;" evidently acknowledging their belief that it was possible to work miracles by the invocation of some mysterious power. The Apostle, himself a Jew, seems to understand their creed; but he answers them in a way for which they were not altogether prepared.--Translator's Note.

[9] Ædeficabat sine pecunia, judicabat sine conscientia, scribebat sine scientia.

[10] Non Blandratum, non Alciatum, non Ochinum ad Mahotnetismum impulerunt; non Valleum ad atheismi professionem induxerunt; non alium quemdam ad spargendum libellum de tribus impostoribus, quorum secundus esset Christus Dominus, duo alii Moises et Mahometes, pellexerunt.

[11] Vincentii Panurgii epistola tribus impostoribus, ad clarissimum virum Joannem--Baptistam Morinum Medicum.

[12] Isaac de Peyrere published his Pre-Adamite doctrine in 1655. This set of fanatics, who were persuaded by their lenders that the general race of mankind had lost nothing of their innocence by the fall of Adam, made their appearance, (both men and women) in the streets of Munster, and elsewhere, in the same robeless condition as our first parents were, when they wandered in the bowers of Paradise before the eating of that forbidden fruit, which

"Brought death into the world and all our woe."

The magistrates of the city attempted to put them down but failed; and the military had some difficulty in extinguishing this absurdity.--Translator's Note.

[13] Monstrum illud hominis, diis inferis a secretis scelus, nefarii illius tractatus de tribus impostoribus author quantumvis ab omni Religione alienus, adeo ut nec Judaeus, nec Turca, nec Christianus fuerit, plane tamen athoeus non erat.

[14] Consult Bayle's Dictionary on this subject, article, "Trabea."

[15] Quid vel hac sola dubitatione in Christiana schola cogitara potest perniciosius?

[16] Nefarium tillud rium impostorum commentum sen liber contra Christum, Moisem et Mahometan Capomi nuper ab illis qui Evangelo Calvini so adductissimos profitentur typis excussus est.

[17] Hinc Boccaccius in fabellis probare contendit non posse discerni inter legem Christi, Moisis et Mahometis, quia eadem signa habent uti tres annuli consimiles.

[18] F. I. S. D. namely, Fredericus Imperator Salutem Dicit Othoni illustrissimo amico meo carrissimo.

[19] Quod de tribus famosissimis nationum deceptoribus in ordinem jussu meo digessit doctissimus ille vir quorum sermonem de illa re in museo meo habustiæ exscribi curavi; atque Codicem illum stylo aeque vero ac puro scriptum ad te quam primum mitto; etenum, &c.

[20] There is a measure in every thing.

[21] This phrase is frequently employed to express ecclesiastical criticism. Its first application however had a more pungent meaning.--The individual here alluded to having boldly assailed the errors of the Church was attacked one evening by an assassin. Fortunately the blow did not prove fatal; but the weapon (a stylus, or dagger, which is also the Latin name for a pen) having been left in the wound--on his recovery he wore it in his girdle labelled, "The Theological Stylus," or Pen of the Church. The trenchant powers of this instrument have more frequently been employed to repress truth, than to refute argument.

[22] Moses put to death in one day 24,000 men, because they resisted his laws.

[23] We read in the Book of Kings, chap. xxii, v. 6, that Ahab, the King of Israel consulted 400 prophets who were all false, as the result of their vaticinations showed.

[24] Genesis, chap. iv, v. 7.

[25] I. Samuel chap. xv, v. 11.

[26] Jeremiah, chap. xviii, v. 10.

[27] Cætera, quæ fieri in terris, Coeloque tuentur Mortales pavidis cum pendent mentibus sæpe Efficiunt animos humiles formidine Divum, Depressosque premunt ad terram, propterea quod Ignorantia causarum conferre Deorum Cogit ad imperium res, et concedere regnum: et Quorum operum causas nulla ratione videre Possunt hæc fieri Divino numine rentur.

Lucret. de Rer. Nat. Lib. VI. v. 49 et seq.

[28] "What appears to our limited conceptions to be evil or apparently unjust, is entirely owing to our having no commensurate ideas either of the goodness or the justice of the Deity."--Bolingbroke's Works, Vol. iv, p. 117.--Translator's Note.

[29] Acts, chap. xvii, v. 28.

[30] "Qui autem negabit Deum esse corpus, etsi Deus Spiritus?" Tertul adv. Prax. cap. vii.

[31] These four Councils were, First, that of Nice, (325) under Constantine and Pope Sylvester: Second, that of Constantinople, 381, under Gratian, Valentinian, Theodosius, and Pope Damasus: Third, that of Ephesus, 431, under Theodosius II, Valentinian, and Pope Celestin: and Fourth, that of Chalcedon, 451, under Valentinian, Marcianus, and Pope Leo I.

[32] The Talmud informs us that the Rabbis deliberated whether they ought not to strike from the list of Canonical writings the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and that they only spared them because they made favourable mention of Moses and his law. The prophecies of Ezekiel (which the Jews were not permitted to read until they were thirty years of age) would to a certainty have been expunged from the sacred Catalogue, if a learned Rabbi had not undertaken to reconcile them with the same Law.

[33] Consult Hobbes' Leviathan "De Homine," chap. xli, pages 56, 57 and 58.

[34] Philip of Macedon had sent auxiliaries and money to Hannibal in Africa. "Infensos Philippo, ob auxilia cum pecunia nuper in Africam missu Annibale." Levy, Book xxxi. chap. 1.--Translator's Note.

[35] Hobbe's Leviathan, "De Homine," chap. xii, pp. 56 and 57.

[36] Hobbes, ubi supra "De Homine," chap. xii. pages 58 and 59.

[37] This word must not be taken in its usual acceptation. What rational men understand by the term is a dexterous man, an able cheat, and a master of jugglery, which requires great readiness and address; and not by any means a person in compact with the Devil as the vulgar suppose.

[38] "And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; for as much as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes."--Num. chap. x, v. 31.

[39] Exodus iv. 16.

[40] When Romulus was reviewing his forces in the plain of Caprae, here suddenly arose a thunder-storm, during which he was enveloped in so thick a cloud that he was lost to the view of his army; nor thereafter on this earth was Romulus seen.--Liv. 1. I. c. 16.--Translator's note.

[41] Hobbes' Leviathan; de homine, chap. xii. pp. 59 and 60.

[42] It is recorded by Livy, that "there is a grove, through which flowed a perennial stream, taking its origin in a dark cave, in which Numa was accustomed to meet the goddess, and receive instructions as to his political and religions institutions."--Liv. 1. I. c. 21.

[43] Qu'un beau Pigeon a tire d'aile Vienne obom brer une Purcelle, Rien n'est sur prenant en cela; L'on en vit autant en Lydie. Et le beau Cygne de Leda Vaut bien le Pigeon de Marie.

[44] I. Samuel, chap. viii. vs. 5 and 6.

[45] The Gospel according to John, chap. viii. v. 7.

[46] Matthew's Gospel, chap. xxii. v. 21.

[47] Matthew's Gospel, chap. xxi. v. 27.

[48] Saint Paul, Hebrews, chap. viii. v. 13 speaks in these terms: "In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."--Translator's note.

[49] This was the opinion of Pope Leo X. as appears from an expression of his, which, considering that it was made use of at a time when the philosophical spirit of inquiry had made little progress, was remarkably bold. "It has been well known in all ages," he observed to Cardinal Beinbo, "how much this fable of Jesus Christ has been profitable to us and ours." Quantum nobis nostrisque sa de Christo fabula profuerit, satis est omnibus saeculis notum.

[50] Confessions, 1. VII. c. ix. v. 28.

[51] See the discourse of Aristophanes, in the "Banquet of Plato."

[52] Luke's Gospel, chap. xvi. v. 24.

[53] "The City of God," book I. chap. xiv.

[54] Orig. adv. Cels. 1. VIII. chap. iv. Compare with, Matthew, chap. xix. v. 24.

[55] Op. adv. Jorin. 1. II. chap. viii.--"In indication of their refusal to take an oath, the Society of Friends quote the words of Christ, "Swear not at all;" unaware, or overlooking, that this expression is descriptive of a state of social perfection, when the word of a man will be as good as his oath. Many others of Christ's precepts besides this are unobserved by Christians, such as 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth,' 'Give to every one that asketh, and from him that would borrow of you turn not thou away.' The morality of Christ is a beau ideal so far from being realized, that there is not even a similitude of it in the Christian world. The Quakers who vauntingly obey this precept regarding oaths, has no hesitation in breaking the other precepts respecting the hoarding of money, and refusing to give it away."--Translator's Note.

[56] St. Paul.

[57] "I can believe," observes the Count de Boulainvilliers, "that Mahomet was ignorant of the common elements of education. But assuredly he was not ignorant in respect to that vast knowledge which a far travelled man of great natural powers may acquire. He was not ignorant of his native tongue, although he could not read it, being master of all its subtleness and all its beauties. He was thoroughly qualified to render hateful whatever was truly blameworthy, and to paint truth in colours so simple and vivid, that it was impossible to misunderstand it. All that he has said is true, as regards the essential dogmas of Religion; but he has not said all that is true, and in this respect alone does our religion differ from his." Farther on he adds, that "Mahomet was neither ignorant nor a barbarian; he conducted his enterprise with all the skill, delicacy, perseverance, and intrepidity, which was necessary to ensure its success. His views were as lofty as any which Alexander the Great, or Julius Cæsar, were capable of entertaining, had they been in his position."--Life of Mahomet by Count de Boulainvilliers, book II. pp. 266-8. Amsterdam edit. 1731.

[58] Genesis chap. xxviii. v. 18.

[59] Omnis enim per se divum natura necesse est Immortali aevo summa cum pace fruatur, Semota ab nostris rebus, sejunctaque longe; Nam privata dolore omni, privata periclis Ipsa suis pollens opibus: nihil indiga nostri, Nec bene promeritis capitur, nec tangitur ira.

Lucretius de Rerum Nat. Book I. v. 57, and following.

[60] If a work be translated, it always receives a colouring, which is more or less faint or vivid according to the opinions and ability of the Translator.--Volney's Lectures on History.