John Milton - 3 books to know The Devil

Again, it is evident in this case, they were not only acting contrary to the nature of things, but contrary to the design and to the command of heaven; for God’s command was, that they should replenish the earth, that is, that they should spread their habitations over it, and people the whole globe; whereas they were pitching in one place, as if they were not to multiply sufficient to take up any more.

But what cared the Devil for that? or, to put it a little handsomer, that was what Satan aimed at; for it was enough to him, to bring mankind to act just contrary to what heaven had directed or commanded them in anything, and if possible, in everything.

But God himself put a stop ‘to this foolish piece of work; and it was time indeed to do so, for a madder thing the Devil himself never proposed to them; I say, God himself put a stop to this new undertaking, and disappointed the Devil; and how was it done? Not in judgment and anger, as perhaps the Devil expected, and hoped for, but as pitying the simplicity of that dreaming creature man, he confused their speech, or as some say, divided and confused their counsels, so that they could not agree with one another; which would be the same thing as not to understand one another; or he put a new Shibboleth upon their tongues, thereby separating them into tribes or families, for by this every family found themselves under a necessity of keeping together; and this naturally in creased that different jargon of language, for at first it might be no more.

What a confusion this was to them we all know, by their being obliged to leave off their building, and im mediately separating one from another; but what a surprise it was to the old serpent, that remains to be considered of, for indeed it belongs to his history.

Satan had never met with any disappointment in all his wicked attempts till now; for first, he succeeded even to triumph upon Eve, he did the like upon Cain, and, in short, upon the whole world, one man (Noah) excepted; when he blended the sons of God, and the daughters of hell, for so the word is understood, together, in promiscuous voluptuous living as well as generation.

As to the deluge, authors are not agreed whether it was a disappointment to the Devil or no; it might he indeed a surprise to him; for though Noah had preached of it for an hundred years together; yet, as he (Satan) daily prompted the people not to heed or believe what that old fellow Noah said to them, and to ridicule his whimsical building a monstrous tub to swim or float in, when the said deluge should come; so I am of the opinion he did not believe it himself, and am positive he could not foresee it, by any insight into futurity that he was master of.

It is true the astronomers tell us, there was a very terrible comet seen in the air; that it appeared for one hundred and eighty days before the flood continually; and that as it approached nearer and nearer every day all the while, so that at last it burst and fell down in a continual spout or stream of water, being of a watery substance, and the quantity so great, that it was forty days a falling; so that this comet not only foretold thedeluge or drowning of the earth, but actually performed it, and drowned it from itself.

But to Cleave this tale to them that told it, let us consider the Devil, surprised, and a little amazed, at the absorption or inundation, or whatever we are to call it, of the earth in the deluge; not, I say, that he was much concerned at it, perhaps just the contrary; and if God would drown it again, and as often as he thought fit, I do not see by anything I meet with in Satan’s history, or in the nature of him, that he would be at all disturbed at it; all that I can see in it, that could give Satan any concern, would be, that all his favorites were gone, and he had his work to do over again, to lay a foundation for a new conquest in the generation that was to come. But in this his prospect was fair enough; for why should he be discouraged, when he had now eight people to work upon, who met with such success when he had but two? And why should he question breaking in now, where nature was already vitiated and corrupted, when he had before conquered the same nature, when in its primitive rectitude and purity, just come out of the hands of its maker, and fortified with the awe of his high and solemn command just given them, and the threatening of death also annexed to it, if broken?

But I go back to the affair of Babel, this confusion of language, or of counsels, take it which way you will, as the first disappointment that I find the Devil met with, in all his attempts and practices upon mankind, or upon the new creature, which I mentioned above; for now he foresaw what would follow; namely, that the people would separate and spread themselves over the whole surface of the earth, and a thousand new scenes of actions would appear, in which he therefore prepares himself to behave as he should see occasion.

How the Devil learned to speak all the languages that were now to be used, and how many languages they were, the several ancient writers of the Devil’s story have not yet determined; some tell us they were divided only into fifteen, some into seventy-two, others into one hundred and eighty, and others again into several thousands.

It also remains a doubt with me, and, I suppose, will be so with others also, whether Satan has yet found out a method to converse with mankind, without the help of language and words, or not; seeing man has no other medium of conversing, no not with himself. This I have not time to enter upon here; however, this seems plain to me; namely, that the Devil soon learned to make mankind understand him, whatever language he spoke; and no doubt but he found ways and means to understand them, whatever language they spoke.

After the confusion of languages, the people necessarily sorted themselves into families and tribes, every family understanding their own particular speech, and that only; and these families multiplying grew into nations; and those nations, wanting room, and seeking out habitations, wandered some this way, some that, till they found out countries respectively proper for their settling; and there they became a kingdom, spreading and possessing still more and more land as their people increased, till at last the whole earth was scarce big enough for them. This presented Satan with an opportunity to break in upon their morals at another door, namely, their pride; for men being naturally proud and envious, nations and tribes began to jostle with one another for room; either one nation enjoyed better accommodation, or “had a better soil, or a more favorable climate, than another; and these, being numerous and strong, thrust the other out, and encroached upon their land; the other, liking their situation, prepare for their defence; and so began oppression, invasion, war, battle and blood; Satan all the while beating the drums, and his attendants clapping their hands as men do when they set dogs upon one another.

The bringing mankind thus to war and confusion, as it was the first game the Devil played after the confounding of languages, and divisions at Babel, so it was a conquest upon mankind, purely devilish, born from hell, and so exactly tinctured with Satan’s original sin, ambition, that it really transformed men into mere devils; for when is man transformed into the very image of Satan himself, when is he turned into a mere devil, if it is not when he is fighting with his fellow creatures, and dipping his hands in the blood of his own kind? Let his picture be considered, the fire of hell flames or sparkles in his eyes; a voracious grin sits upon his countenance; rage and fury distort the muscles of his face; his passions agitate his whole body; and he is metamorphosed from a comely beauteous angelic creature, into a fury, a satyr, a terrible and frightful monster, nay, into a devil; for Satan himself is described by the same word which on his very account is changed into a substantive, and the devils are called furies.