An inquiry into the existence of a personal devil / [By John Epps.

Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the existence of a personal devil / [By John Epps. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    his mind as well as his body, and too deeply was that mind engaged; the whole legion of evil spirits seemed to be his constant and familiar companions, or rather his incessant enemies. He knew all their names and propensities, how they visited and afflicted men, and his great study was how to prevent their malice taking place upon himself or any one else. He would converse with them, and parley with them; he would seem to suffer when anyone of them took him by surprise and found him off his guard. The loss of any one of his charms was sure to occasion the visit of that demon from whom it was supposed to defend him.. He has often been tried by intelligent persons to disclose if he really invented a new tale for each spirit; notes were kept of the name and the temper he attributed to each, and months afterwards he was questioned again upon the same points, but he never faltered—never attributed a wrong direction to any one—but was as accurate and as certain as on the first day that he spoke of them. The whole purport of these attacks was to persuade Robinson to do some wicked deed, at which his mind re- volted, and when they could not prevail against him, they used to seem to his suffering mind to torment him, sometimes to pinch him, to burn him, pull his hair, etc., and under all these attacks the old man’s countenance would exhibit the species of suffering, resembling the agonies of one really under such torture. No one could persuade him that it was imaginative; he would shake his head and say, I see them plainly, take care they do not visit you. He was a very kind friend to many that were afflicted; and never saw a person in distress, whilst he had a fish in his boat, or a penny in his pocket, and refused to help him. Trom the great encouragement he met with, and the friends who were always kind to him, it is supposed that he might have laid by a sufficiency for his latter days; for at one time he had amassed enough to have pur- chased a new vessel, but in an evil hour lie was induced to lend the whole to an artful villain, who represented himself as in great distress, but who ran off with the whole. It was curious to see the old man whilst repairing his boat, which was, when given to him by Mr. Seekamp, but a wreck, as it lay on the mud near Hog Island. It was curious to see him, whilst plying his hatchet, suddenly stop, seat himself on a piece of timber, and hold parley with one of the demons, who, in his frenzy, he imagined attacked him. After searching about his person, he would suddenly catch up the talisman, which shown to the enraged spirit would send him off, and leave the tormented in peace. His delight was visible in the chuckling joy of his speech, as he returned tri- umphantly and speedily to his accustomed work. Query—Without the belief in the existence of a devil, would any of these absurdities have existed P SOME PHRASES IN CONNEXION WITH THE DEVIL EXPLAINED. The mere mention of a thing, in the Scriptures, as a being, does not at all prove the existence of the being or thing mentioned. Many people have argued, because the phrase “ Serving the devil” occurs, that therefore there is a being called the devil, to serve; but this does not follow : for it might as well be argued, that there is such a being as the belly, for we read (Romans xvi. 28) of “ serving the belly ; ” but no one deduces from this passage that there is such a person as the belly: why then should they infer from the previous passage that there is such a person as the devil’?