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RULES FOR RAISING THE DEVIL. TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN OF DANAEUS DE SORTIARIIS, A WRITER COTEMPORARY WITH CALVIN, AND ONE OF THE REFORMERS OF OUR CHURCH.

The person who desires to raise the Devil, is to sacrifice a dog, a cat, and a hen, all of his own property, to Beelzebub. He is to swear an eternal obedience, and then to receive a mark in some unseen place, either under the eye-lid, or in the roof of the mouth, inflicted by the devil himself. Upon this he has power given him over three spirits; one for earth, another for air, and a third for the sea. Upon certain times the devil holds an assembly of magicians, in which each is to give an account of what evil he has done, and what he wishes to do. At this assembly he appears in the shape of an old man, or often like a goat with large horns. They upon this occasion renew their vows of obedience; and then form a grand dance in honour of their false deity. The devil instructs them in every method of injuring mankind, in gathering poisons, and of riding upon occasion through the air. He shews them the whole method, upon examination, of giving evasive answers; his spirits have power to assume the form of angels of light, and there is but one method of detecting them; viz. to ask them in proper form, what method is the most certain to propagate the faith over all the world? To this they are not permitted by the Superior Power to make a false reply, nor are they willing to give they true one, wherefore they continue silent, and are thus detected.

ESSAY III.

WHERE Tauris lifts its head above the storm, and presents nothing to the sight of the distant traveller but a prospect of nodding rocks, falling torrents, and all the variety of tremendous Nature; on the bleak bosom of this frightful mountain, secluded from society, and detesting the ways of men, lived Asem the Man-hater.

Asem had spent his youth with men; had shared in their amusements; and had been taught to love his fellowcreatures with the most ardent affection: but from the tenderness of his disposition he exhausted all his fortune in relieving the wants of the distressed. The petitioner never sued in vain; the weary traveller never passed his door; he only desisted from doing good when he had no longer the power of relieving.

From a fortune thus spent in benevolence he expected a grateful return from those he had formerly relieved; and made his application with confidence of redress: the ungrateful world soon grew weary of his importunity; for pity is but a short-lived passion. He soon therefore began to view mankind in a very different light, from that in which he had before beheld them: he perceived a thousand vices he had never before suspected to exist: wherever he turned, ingratitude, dissimulation, and treachery contributed to increase his detestation of them. Resolved therefore to continue no longer in a world which he hated, and which repaid his detestation with contempt, he retired to this region of sterility, in order to brood over his resentment in solitude, and converse with the only honest heart he knew; namely, with his own.

A cave was his only shelter from the inclemency of the weather; fruits gathered with difficulty from the mountain's side his only food; and his drink was fetched with danger and toil from the headlong torrent. In this manner he lived, sequestered from society, passing the hours in meditation, and sometimes exulting that he was able to live independently of his fellow-creatures.

At the foot of the mountain an extensive lake displayed its glassy bosom; reflecting on its broad surface the impending horrors of the mountain. To this capacious mirror he would sometimes descend, and reclining on its steep bank cast an eager look on the smooth expanse that lay before him. "How beautiful," he often cried, "is Na"ture! how lovely even in her wildest scenes! how fine"ly contrasted is the level plain that lies beneath me, with "yon awful pile that hides its tremendous head in clouds! "but the beauty of these scenes is no way comparable with

their utility, from hence an hundred rivers are supplied "which distribute health and verdure to the various coun"tries through which they flow. Every part of the uni66 verse is beautiful, just, and wise, but man: vile man is 46 a solecism in nature: the only monster in the creation. "Tempests and whirlwinds have their use; but vicious "ungrateful man is a blot in the fair page of universal “beauty. Why was I born of that detested species, whose ❝vices are almost a reproach to the wisdom of the divine "Creator! Were men entirely free from vice, all would "be uniformity, harmony, and order. A world of moral "rectitude should be the result of a perfectly moral agent. "Why, why then, O Alla! must I be thus confined in "darkness, doubt, and despair!"

Just as he uttered the word despair, he was going to plunge into the lake beneath him, at once to satisfy his doubts, and put a period to his anxiety; when he perceiv ed a most majestic being walking on the surface of the water, and approaching the bank on which he stood. So unexpected an object at once checked his purpose; he stopped, contemplated, and fancied he saw something awful and divine in his aspect.

"Son of Adam," cried the Genius, "stop thy rash pur46 pose; the father of the Faithful has seen thy justice, "thy integrity, thy miseries, and hath sent me to afford "and administer relief. Give me thine hand, and follow "without trembling wherever I shall lead : in me behold "the Genius of conviction, kept by the Great Prophet, to "turn from their errors those who go astray, not from "curiosity, but a rectitude of intention. Follow me, and "be wise."

Asem immediately descended upon the lake, and his guide conducted him along the surface of the water; till coming near the centre of the lake, they both began to sink; the waters closed over their heads; they descended several hundred fathoms, till Asem, just ready to give up his life as inevitably lost, found himself with his celestial guide in another world, at the bottom of the waters, where human foot had never trod before. His astonishment was beyond description, when he saw a sun like that he had left, a serene sky over his head, and blooming verdure under his feet.

"I plainly perceive your amazement," said the Genius; "but suspend it for a while. This "world was form"ed by Alla, at the request, and under the inspection, of ❝our great Prophet; who once entertained the same " doubts which filled your mind when I found you, and "from the consequence of which you were so lately res"cued. The rational inhabitants of this world are form❝ed agreeable to your own ideas; they are absolutely "without vice. In other respects it resembles your earth, "but differs from it in being wholly inhabited by men who never do wrong. If you find this world more agreeable "than that you so lately left, you have free permission to "spend the remainder of your days in it; but permit me "for sometime to attend you, that I may silence your ❝doubts, and make you better acquainted with your com66 pany and your new habitation!"

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"A world without vice! Rational beings without im"mortality!” cried Asem in a rapture: "I thank thee, "O Alla, who hast at length heard my petitions; this, "this indeed will produce happiness, extacy, and ease. " for an immortality to spend it among men who are "incapable of ingratitude, injustice, fraud, violence, and a thousand other crimes, that render society miserable." "Cease thine acclamations," replied the Genius. "Look around thee; reflect on every object and action "before us, and communicate to me the result of thine "observations. Lead wherever you think proper, I shall "be your attendant and instructor." Asem and his companion travelled on in silence for some time, the former

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being entirely lost in astonishment; but at last recovering his former serenity, he could not help observing, that the face of the country bore a near resemblance to that he had left, except that this subterranean world still seemed to retain its primæval wildness.

"Here," cried Asem, "I perceive animals of prey, "and others that seem only designed for their subsist66 ence; it is the very same in the world over our heads. "But had I been permitted to instruct our Prophet, I "would have removed this defect, and formed no vora"cious or destructive animals, which only prey on the "other parts of the creation." "Your tenderness for "inferior animals is, I find, remarkable," said the Genius smiling. "But with regard to meaner creatures this "world exactly resembles the other: and indeed for ob"vious reasons; for the earth can support a more con"siderable number of animals, by their thus becoming "food for each other, than if they had lived entirely on "her vegetable productions. So that animals of different "natures thus formed, instead of lessening their multi“tude, subsist in the greatest number possible. But let 66 us hasten on to the inhabited country before us, and 66 see what that offers for instruction."

They soon gained the utmost verge of the forest, and entered the country inhabited by men without vice; and Asem anticipated in idea the rational delight he hoped to experience in such an innocent society. But they had scarcely left the confines of the wood, when they beheld one of the inhabitants flying with hasty steps, and terror in his countenance, from an army of squirrels that closely pursued him. "Heavens!" cried Asem, " why "does he fly? What can he fear from animals so con

temptible?" He had scarcely spoken when he perceived two dogs pursuing another of the human species, who with equal terror and haste attempted to avoid them. "This," cried Asem to his guide, " is truly surprising; 66 nor can I conceive the reason for so strange an action." "Every species of animals,” replied the Genius, “has "of late grown very powerful in this country; for the “inhabitants at first thinking it unjust to use either fraud

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