913 _Of the extraordinary Appearance of the_ Devil, _and particularly of the Cloven-Foot._
914 Some People would fain have us treat this Tale of the _Devil_'s appearing with a Cloven-Foot with more Solemnity than I believe the _Devil_ himself does; for Satan, who knows how much of a Cheat it is, must certainly ridicule it, in his own Thoughts, to the last Degree; but as he is glad of any Way to hoodwink the Understandings, and bubble the weak Part of the World; so if he sees Men willing to take every Scarecrow for a Devil, it is not his Business to undeceive them; on the other Hand, he finds it his Interest to foster the Cheat, and serve himself of the Consequence: Nor could I doubt but the Devil, if any Mirth be allow'd him, often laughs at the many frightful Shapes and Figures we dress him up in, and especially to see how willing we are first to paint him as black, and make him appear as ugly as we can, and then stare and start at the Spectrum of our own making.
915 The Truth is, that among all the Horribles that we dress up Satan in, I cannot but think we shew the least of Invention in this of a Goat, or a Thing with a Goat's Foot, of all the rest; for tho' a Goat is a Creature made use of by our Saviour in the Allegory of the Day of Judgment, and is said there to represent the wicked rejected Party, yet it seems to be only on Account of their Similitude to the Sheep, and so to represent the just Fate of Hypocrisy and Hypocrites, and in particular to form the necessary Antithesis in the Story; for else, _our whimsical Fancies excepted_, a Sheep or a Lamb has a Cloven-Foot as well as a Goat; nay, if the Scripture be of any Value in the Case, 'tis to the _Devil_'s Advantage, for the dividing the Hoof was the distinguishing Character or Mark of a clean Beast, and how the Devil can be brought into that Number is pretty hard to say.
916 One would have thought if we had intended to have given a just Figure of the _Devil_, it would have been more apposite to have rank'd him among the Cat-kind, and given him a Foot (if he is to be known by his Foot) like a Lion, or like a _red Dragon_, being the same Creatures which he is represented by in the Text, and so his Claws would have had some Terror in them as well as his Teeth.
917 But neither is the _Goat_ a true Representative of the Devil at all, for we do not rank the Goats among the Subtle or cunning Part of the Brutes; he is counted a fierce Creature indeed of his Kind, tho' nothing like those other abovemention'd; and he is emblematically used to represent a lustful Temper, but even that Part does not fully serve to describe the Devil, whose Operation lies principally another Way.
918 Besides it is not the _Goat_ himself that is made use of, 'tis the Cloven-Hoof only, and that so particularly, that the _Cloven Foot_ of a Ram or a Swine, or any other Creature, may serve as well as that of a _Goat_, only that History gives us some Cause to call it the _Goat_'s _Foot_.
919 In the next Place 'tis understood by us not as a bare Token to know _Satan_ by, but as if it were a Brand upon him, and that like the Mark God put upon _Cain_, it was given him for a Punishment, so that he cannot get leave to appear without it, nay cannot conceal it whatever other Dress or Disguise he may put on; and as if it was to make him as ridiculous as possible, they will have it be, that whenever _Satan_ has Occasion to dress himself in any humane Shape, be it of what Degree soever, from the King to the Beggar, be it of a fine Lady or of an _old Woman_, (the Latter it seems he oftenest assumes) yet still he not only must have this _Cloven-Foot_ about him, but he is oblig'd to shew it too; nay, they will not allow him any Dress, whether it be a Prince's Robes, a Lord Cha---r's Gown, or a Lady's Hoop and long Petticoats, but the Cloven-Foot must be shew'd from under them; they will not so much as allow him an artificial _Shoe_ or a _Jack-Boot_, as we often see contriv'd to conceal a _Club-Foot_ or a _Wooden-Leg_; but that the _Devil_ may be known wherever he goes, he is bound to shew his Foot; they might as well oblige him to set a Bill upon his Cap, as Folks do upon a House to be let, and have it written in capital Letters, _I am the_ DEVIL.
920 It must be confess'd this is very particular, and would be very hard upon the _Devil_, if it had not another Article in it, which is some Advantage to him, and that is, that _the Fact is not true_; but the Belief of this is so universal, that all the World runs away with it; by which Mistake the good People miss the _Devil_ many times where they look for him, and meet him as often where they did not expect him, and when for want of this Cloven-Foot they do not know him.
921 Upon this very Account I have sometimes thought, not that this has been put upon him by meer Fancy, and the Cheat of a heavy Imagination, propagated by Fable and Chymny-Corner Divinity, but that it has been a Contrivance of his own; and that, in short, the Devil rais'd this Scandal upon himself, that he might keep his Disguise the better, and might go a Visiting among his Friends without being known; for were it really so, that he could go no where without this particular Brand of Infamy, he could not come into Company, could not dine with my Lord Mayor, nor drink Tea with the Ladies, could not go to the Drawing-R---- at ------, could not have gone to _Fountainbleau_ to the King of _France_'s Wedding, or to the Diet of _Poland_, to prevent the Grandees there coming to an Agreement; nay, _which would be still worse than all_, he could not go to the Masquerade, nor to any of our Balls; the Reason is plain, he would be always discover'd, expos'd and forc'd to leave the good Company, or which would be as bad, the Company would all cry out the _Devil_ and run out of the Room as if they were frighted; nor could all the Help of Invention do him any Service, no Dress he could put on would cover him; not all our Friends at _Tavistock Corner_ could furnish him with a Habit that would disguise or conceal him, this unhappy Foot would spoil it all: Now this would be a great a Loss to him, that I question whether he could carry on any of his most important Affairs in the World without it; for tho' he has access to Mankind in his compleat Disguise, I mean that of his Invisibility, yet the Learned very much agree in this, that his corporal Presence in the World is absolutely necessary upon many Occasions, to support his Interest and keep up his Correspondences, and particularly to encourage his Friends when Numbers are requisite to carry on his Affairs; but this Part I shall have Occasion to speak of again, when I come to consider him as a Gentleman of Business in his Locality, and under the Head of visible Apparition; but I return to the _Foot_.
922 As I have thus suggested that the Devil himself has politically spread about this Notion concerning his appearing with _a Cloven-Foot_, so I doubt not that he has thought it for his Purpose to paint this _Cloven-Foot_ so lively in the Imaginations of many of our People, and especially of those clear sighted Folks who see the _Devil_ when he is not to be seen, that they would make no Scruple to say, nay and to make Affidavit too, even before _Satan_ himself, whenever he sat upon the Bench, that they had seen his Worship's Foot at such and such a Time; this I advance the rather because 'tis very much for his Interest to do this, for if we had not many Witnesses, _viva voce_, to testify it, we should have had some obstinate Fellows always among us, who would have denied the Fact, or at least have spoken doubtfully of it, and so have rais'd Disputes and Objections against it, as impossible, or at least as improbable; buzzing one ridiculous Notion or other into our Ears, as if the Devil was not so black as he was painted, that he had no more a _Cloven-Foot_ than a Pope, whose Apostolical Toes have so often been reverentially kiss'd by Kings and Emperors: but now alas this Part is out of the Question, not the Man in the Moon, not the Groaning-Board, not the speaking of Fryar _Bacon_'s Brazen-Head, not the Inspiration of _Mother Shipton_, or the Miracles of Dr. _Faustus_, Things as certain as Death and Taxes, can be more firmly believ'd: The Devil not have a Cloven-Foot! I doubt not but I could, in a short Time, bring you a thousand old Women together, that would as soon believe there was no Devil at all; nay, they will tell you, he could not be a Devil without it, any more than he could come into the Room, and the Candles not burn blue, or go out and not leave a smell of Brimstone behind him.
923 Since then the Certainty of the Thing is so well establish'd, and there are so many good and substantial Witnesses ready to testify that he has a Cloven-Foot, and that they have seen it too; nay, and that we have Antiquity on our Side, for we have this Truth confirm'd by the Testimony of many Ages; why should we doubt it any longer? we can prove that many of our Ancestors have been of this Opinion, and divers learn'd Authors have left it upon Record, as particularly that learned Familiarist Mother _Hazel_, whose Writings are to be found in MS. in the famous Library at _Pye-Corner_; also the admir'd _Joan_ of _Amesbury_, the History of the _Lancashire_ Witches, and the Reverend Exorcist of the _Devil_'s of _London_, whose History is extant among us to this Day; all these and many more may be quoted, and their Writings referr'd to for the Confirmation of the Antiquity of this Truth; but there seems to be no Occasion for farther Evidence, 'tis enough, _Satan_ himself, if he did not raise the Report, yet tacitly owns the Fact, at least he appears willing to have it believ'd, and be receiv'd as a general Truth for the Reasons above.
924 But besides all this, and as much a Jest as some unbelieving People would have this Story pass for, who knows but that if _Satan_ is empower'd to assume any Shape or Body, and to appear to us visibly, as if really so shap'd; I say, who knows but he may, by the same Authority, be allow'd to assume the Addition of the Cloven-Foot, or two or four Cloven-Feet, if he pleased? and why not a _Cloven-Foot_ as well as any other Foot, if he thinks fit? For if the _Devil_ can assume a Shape, and can appear to Mankind in a visible Form, it may, I doubt not, with as good Authority be advanc'd that he is left at Liberty to assume what Shape he pleases, and to choose _what Case of Flesh and Blood he'll please to wear_, whether real or imaginary; and if this Liberty be allow'd him, it is an admirable Disguise for him to come generally with his _Cloven-Foot_, that when he finds it for his Purpose, on special Occasions to come without it, as I said above, he may not be suspected; _but take this with you as you go_, that all this is upon a Supposition that the _Devil_ can assume a visible Shape, and make a real Appearance, which however I do not yet think fit to grant or deny.
925 Certain it is, the first People who bestow'd a _Cloven-Foot_ upon the Devil, were not so despicable as you may imagine, but were real Favourites of Heaven; for did not _Aaron_ set up the _Devil_ of a Calf in the Congregation, and set the People a dancing about it for a God? Upon which Occasion, Expositors tell us, that particular Command was given, _Levit._ xvii. 7. _They shall no more offer their Sacrifices unto_ Devils, _after whom they have gone a Whoring_; likewise King _Jeroboam_ set up the two Calves, one at _Dan_ and the other at _Bethel_, and we find them charg'd afterwards with setting up the Worship of _Devils_ instead of the Worship of _God_.
926 After this we find some Nations actually sacrificed to the _Devil_ in the Form of a Ram, and others of a Goat; from which, and that above of the Calves at _Horeb_, I doubt not the Story of the _Cloven-Foot_ first derived; and it is plain that the Worship of that Calf at _Horeb_ is meant in the Scripture quoted above, _Levit._ xvii. 7. _Thou shalt no more offer Sacrifices unto Devils_: The Original is _Seghnirim_; that is, rough and hairy _Goats_ or _Calves_; and some think also in this Shape the _Devil_ most ordinarily appeared to the _Egyptians_ and _Arabians_, from whence it was derived.
927 Also in the old Writings of the _Egyptians_, I mean their hieroglyphick Writing, before the Use of Letters was known, we are told this was the Mark that he was known by; and the Figure of a _Goat_ was the _Hieroglyphick_ of the _Devil_; some will affirm that the _Devil_ was particularly pleased to be so represented; how they came by their Information, and whether they had it from his own Mouth or not, Authors have not yet determined.
928 But be this as it will, I do not see that _Satan_ could have been at a Loss for some extraordinary Figure to have banter'd Mankind with, tho' this had not been thought of; but thinking of the _Cloven-Foot_ first, and the Matter being indifferent, this took place, and easily rooted it self in the bewildred Fancy of the People, and now 'tis riveted too fast for the _Devil_ himself to remove it if he was disposed to try; but as I said above, 'tis none of his Business to solve Doubts or remove Difficulties out of our Heads, but to perplex us with more, as much as he can.
929 Some People carry this Matter a great deal higher still, and will have the _Cloven-Foot_ be like the great Stone which the _Brasilian Conjurers_ used to solve all difficult Questions upon, after having used a great many monstrous and barbarous Gestures and Distortions of their Bodies, and cut certain Marks or magical Figures upon the Stone; so, _I say_, they will have this Cloven-Foot be a kind of a Conjuring-Stone, and tell us, that in former Times, when _Satan_ drove a greater Trade with Mankind in publick, than he has done of late, he gave this _Cloven-Foot_ as a Token to his particular Favourites to work Wonders with, and to conjure by, and that Witches, Fairies, Hobgoblins, and such Things, of which the Antients had several Kinds, at least in their Imagination, had all a _Goat's Leg_ with a _Cloven-Foot_ to put on upon extraordinary Occasions; it seems this Method is of late grown out of Practice, and so like the melting of Marble and the painting of Glass, 'tis laid aside among the various useful Arts which History tells us are lost to the World; what may be practised in the Fairy World, if such a Place there be, we can give no particular Account at present.
930 But neither is this all, for other wou'd-be-wise People take upon them to make farther and more considerable Improvements upon this Doctrine of the _Cloven-Foot_, and treat it as a most significant Instrument of Satan's private Operation, and that as _Joseph_ is said to _Divine_, that is to say, to _conjure_ by his Golden Cup which was put into _Benjamin_'s Sack, so the _Devil_ has managed several of his secret Operations, and Possessions, and other hellish Mechanisms upon the Spirits as well as Bodies of Men, by the Medium or Instrumentality of the _Cloven-Foot_; accordingly it had a Kind of an hellish Inspiration in it, and a separate and magical Power by which he wrought his infernal Miracles; that the Cloven-Foot had a superior Signification, and was not only emblematic and significative of the Conduct of Men, but really guided their Conduct in the most important Affairs of Life; and that the Agents the Devil employ'd to influence Mankind, and to delude them and draw them into all the Snares and Traps that he lays continually for their Destruction, were equipp'd with this Foot in Aid of their other Powers for Mischief.
931 Here they read us learn'd Lectures upon the sovereign Operations which the Devil is at present Master of, in the Government of human Affairs; and how the Cloven-Foot is an Emblem of the true _double Entendre_ or divided Aspect, which the great Men of the World generally act with, and by which all their Affairs are directed; from whence it comes to pass that there is no such Thing as a single hearted Integrity, or an upright Meaning to be found in the World; that Mankind, worse than the ravenous Brutes, preys upon his own Kind, and devours them by all the laudable Methods of Flattery, Whyne, Cheat and Treachery; _Crocodile like_, weeping over those it will devour, destroying those it smiles upon, and, in a Word, devours its own Kind, which the very Beasts refuse, and that by all the Ways of Fraud and Allurement that _Hell_ can invent; holding out a cloven divided Hoof, or Hand, pretending to save, when the very Pretence is made use of to ensnare and destroy.
932 Thus the divided Hoof is the Representative of a divided double Tongue, and Heart, an Emblem of the most exquisite Hypocrisy, the most fawning and fatally deceiving Flattery; and here they give us very diverting Histories, tho' tragical in themselves, of the manner which some of the _Devil_'s inspired Agents have manag'd themselves under the especial Influence of the _Cloven-Foot_; how they have made War under the Pretence of Peace, murther'd Garrisons under the most sacred Capitulations, massacred innocent Multitudes after Surrenders to Mercy.
933 Again, they tell us the _Cloven-Foot_ has been made use of in all Treasons, Plots, Assassinations, and secret as well as open Murthers and Rebellions. Thus _Joab_ under the Treason of an Embrace, shew'd how dexterously he could manage the _Cloven-Foot_, and struck _Abner_ under the fifth Rib: Thus _David_ play'd the Cloven-Foot upon poor _Uriah_, when he had a Mind to lie with his Wife: Thus _Brutus_ play'd it upon _Cæsar_; and to come nearer home, we have had a great many retrograde Motions in this Country by this magical Implement the _Foot_; Such as that of the Earl of _Essex_'s Fate, beheading the Queen of _Scots_, and diverse others in Queen _Elizabeth_'s Time: That of the Earl of _Shrewsbury_ and Sir _Thomas Overbury_, _Gondamor_ and Sir _Walter Raleigh_, and many others in King _James_ the I.'s Time; in all which, if the Cloven-Foot had not been dexterously manag'd, those Murthers had not been so dexterously manag'd, or the Murtherers have so well been skreen'd from Justice; for which and the imprecated Justice of Heaven unappeased, some have thought the innocent Branches of the Royal House of _Stuart_ did not fare the better in the Ages which follow'd.
934 It must be confess'd, the Cloven-Foot was in its full Exercise in the next Reign, and the Generation that rose up immediately after them, arrived to the most exquisite Skill for Management of it; here they fasted and pray'd, there they plunder'd and murther'd; here they rais'd War for the King, and there they fought against him, cutting Throats for _God's Sake_, and deposing both King and kingly Government according to Law.
935 Nor was the _Cloven-Foot_ unemployed on all Sides, for 'tis the main Excellency of this Instrument of Hell, that it acts on every Side, it is its denominating Quality, and is for that Reason call'd a cloven or divided Hoof.
936 This mutilated Apparition has been so publick in other Countries too, that it seems to convince us the Devil is not confin'd to _England_ only, but that as his Empire extended to all the sublunary World, so he gives them all Room to see he is qualified to manage them his own Way.
937 What abundant Use did that Prince of Dissemblers, _Charles_ V. make of this Foot? 'twas by the Help of this Apparition of the Foot that he baited his Hook with the City of _Milan_, and tickled _Francis_ I. of _France_ so well with it, that when he pass'd thro' _France_, and was in that King's Power, he let him go, and never get the Bait off of the Hook neither; it Seems the _Foot_ was not on King _Francis_'s Side at that Time.
938 How cruelly did _Philip_ II. of _Spain_ manage this Foot in the Murther of the Nobility of the _Spanish Netherlands_, the Assassination of the Prince of _Orange_, and at last: in that of his own Son _Don Carlos_ Infant of _Spain_? and yet such was the _Devil_'s Craft, and so nicely did he bestir his _Cloven-Hoof_, that this Monarch died consolated (tho' impenitent) in the Arms of the Church, and with the Benediction of the Clergy too, _those second best Managers of the said Hoof in the World_.
939 I must acknowledge, I agree with this Opinion thus far; namely, that the Devil acting by this Cloven-Foot, as a Machine, has done great Things in the World for the propagating his dark Empire among us; and History is full of Examples, besides the little low priz'd Things done among us; for we are come to such a Kind of Degeneracy in Folly, that we have even dishonour'd the _Devil_, and put this glorious Engine the Cloven-Foot to such mean Uses, that the _Devil_ himself seems to be asham'd of us.
940 But to return a little to foreign History, besides what has been mention'd above, we find flaming Examples of most glorious Mischief done by this Weapon, when put into the Hands of Kings and Men of Fame in the World: How many Games have the Kings of _France_ play'd with this _Cloven-Foot_, and that within a few Years of one another? First, _Charles_ IX. play'd the _Cloven-Foot_ upon _Gaspar Coligni_ Admiral of _France_, when he caress'd him, complimented him, invited him to _Paris_, to the Wedding of the King of _Navarre_, call'd him Father, kiss'd him, and when he was wounded sent his own Surgeons to take Care of him, and yet three Days after order'd him to be assassinated and murther'd, used with a thousand Indignities, and at last thrown out of the Window into the Street to be insulted by the Rabble?
941 Did not _Henry_ III. in the same Country, play the Cloven-Foot upon the Duke of _Guise_, when he call'd him to his Council, and caus'd him to be murther'd as he went in at the Door? The _Guises_ again plaid the same Game back upon the King, when they sent out a _Jacobin_ Friar to assassinate him in his Tent as he lay at the Siege of _Paris_.
942 In a Word, this Opera of the _Cloven-Foot_ has been acted all over the Christian World, ever since _Judas_ betray'd the Son of God with a Kiss; nay, our Saviour says expresly of him, _One of you is a Devil_; and the sacred Text says in another Place, _The Devil enter'd into Judas_.
943 It would take up a great deal of Time and Paper too, to give you a full Account of the Travels of this _Cloven-Foot_; its Progress into all the Courts of _Europe_, and with what most accurate Hypocrisy _Satan_ has made use of it upon many Occasions, and with what Success; but as in the elaborate Work of which I just now gave you a Specimen I design one whole Volume upon this Subject, and which I shall call, _The compleat History_ of the _Cloven-Foot_; I say, for that Reason, and diverse others, I shall say but very little more to it in this Place.
944 It remains to tell you, that this merry Story of the _Cloven-Foot_ is very essential to the History which I am now writing, as it has been all along the great Emblem of the _Devil_'s Government in the World, and by which all his most considerable Engagements have been answer'd and executed; for as he is said not to be able to conceal this Foot, but that he carries it always with him, it imports most plainly, that the _Devil_ would be no _Devil_ if he was not a Dissembler, a Deceiver, and carried a _double Entendre_ in all he does or says; that he cannot but say one Thing and mean another, promise one Thing and do another, engage and not perform, declare and not intend, and act like a true _Devil_ as he is, with a Countenance that is no Index of his Heart.
945 I might indeed go back to Originals, and derive this _Cloven-Foot_ from Satan's primitive State as a Cherubim or a celestial Being, which Cherubims, as _Moses_ is said to have seen them about the Throne of God in Mount _Sinai_, and as the same _Moses_, from the Original represented them afterwards covering the Ark, had the Head and Face of a Man, Wings of an Eagle, Body of a Lion, and Legs and Feet of a Calf; but this is not so much to our present Purpose, for as we are to allow that whatever _Satan_ had of heavenly Beauty before the Fall, he lost it all when he commenc'd _Devil_, so to fetch his Original so far up would be only to say, that he retain'd nothing but the _Cloven-Foot_, and that all the rest of him was alter'd and deform'd, become frightful and horrible as the DEVIL; but his Cloven-Foot, as we now understand it, is rather mystical and emblematick, and describes him only as the Fountain of Mischief and Treason, and the Prince of Hypocrites, and as such we are now to speak of him.
946 'Tis from this Original all the hypocritic World copy, he wears the Foot on their Account, and from this Model they act: This made our blessed Lord tell them, _the Works of your Father ye will do_, meaning the _Devil_, as he had express'd it just before.
947 Nor does he deny the Use of the _Foot_ to the meaner Class of his Disciples in the World, but decently equips them all upon every Occasion with a needful Proportion of Hypocrisy and Deceit; that they may hand on the Power of promiscuous Fraud thro' all his temporal Dominions, and wear _the Foot_ always about them as a Badge of their profess'd Share in whatever is done by that Means.
948 Thus every Dissembler, every false Friend, every secret Cheat, every Bearskin-Jobber has a _Cloven-Foot_, and so far hands on the Devil's Interest by the same powerful Agency of Art, as the _Devil_ himself uses to act when he appears in Person, or would act if he was just now upon the Spot; for this _Foot_ is a Machine which is to be wound up and wound down, as the Cause it appears for requires; and there are Agents and Engineers to act in it by Directions of _Satan_ (the grand Engineer) who lies still in his Retirement, only issuing out his Orders as he sees convenient.
949 Again, every Class, every Trade, every Shopkeeper, every Pedlar, nay, that meanest of Tradesmen, that Church Pedlar the Pope, has a Cloven-Foot, with which he _Paw wa's_ upon the World, wishes them all well, and at the same time cheats them; wishes them all fed, and at the same time starves them; wishes them all in Heaven, and at the same time marches before them directly to the Devil, _alamode de Cloven-Foot_.
950 Nay, the very Bench, the everliving Foundation of Justice in the World; how often has it been made the Tool of Violence, the Refuge of Oppression, the Seat of Bribery and Corruption, by this Monster in Masquerade, and that every where (our own Country always excepted)? They had much better wipe out the Picture of justice blinded, and having the Sword and Scales in her Hand, which in foreign Countries is generally painted over the Seat of those who sit to do Justice, and place instead thereof a naked unarm'd Cloven-Hoof, a proper Emblem of that Spirit that Influences the World, and of the Justice we often see administred among them; human Imagination cannot form an Idea more suitable, nor the _Devil_ propose an Engine more or better qualified for an Operation of Justice, by the Influence of Bribery and Corruption; it is this magnipotent Instrument in the Hands of the Devil, which under the closest Disguise agitates every Passion, bribes every Affection, blackens every Virtue, gives a double Face to Words and Actions, and to all Persons who have any Concern in them, and in a Word, makes us all Devils to one another.
951 Indeed the Devil has taken but a dark Emblem to be distinguish'd by, for this of a Goat was said to be a Creature hated by Mankind from the beginning, and that there is a natural Antipathy in Mankind against them: Hence the Scape Goat was to bear the Sins of the People, and to go into the Wilderness with all that Burthen upon him.
952 But we have a Saying among us, in Defence of which we must enquire into the proper Sphere of Action which may be assigned to this Cloven-Foot, as hitherto described: The Proverb is this; _Every_ Devil _has not a Cloven-Foot_. This Proverb, instead of giving us some more favourable Thoughts of the _Devil_, confirms what I have said already, that the _Devil_ rais'd this Scandal upon himself; I mean, the Report that he cannot conceal or disguise his Devil's Foot, or Hoof, but that it must appear, under whatever Habit he shews himself; and the Reason I gave holds good still, _namely_, that he may be more effectually conceal'd when he goes abroad without it: For if the People were fully persuaded that the _Devil_ could not appear without this Badge of his Honour, or Mark of his Infamy, _take it as you will_; and that he was bound also to shew it upon all Occasions, it would be natural to conclude, that whatever frightful Appearances might be seen in the World, if the Cloven-Foot did not also appear, we had no Occasion to look for the _Devil_, or so much as to think of him, much less to apprehend he was near us; and as this might be a Mistake, and that the _Devil_ might be there while we thought our selves so secure, it might on many Occasions be a Mistake of very ill Consequence, and in particular, as it would give the _Devil_ room to act in the Dark, and not be discover'd, where it might be most needful to know him.
953 From this short Hint, thus repeated, I draw a new Thesis, namely, That _Devil_ is most dangerous that has no Cloven-Foot; or, if you will have it in Words more to the common Understanding, the _Devil_ seems to be most dangerous when he goes without his Cloven-Foot.
954 And here a learned Speculation offers it self to our Debate, and which indeed I ought to call a Council of Casuists, and Men learned in the _Devil_'s Politicks, to determine:
955 Whether is most hurtful to the World, the _Devil_ walking about without his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without the _Devil_?
956 It is indeed a nice and difficult Question, and merits to be well enquir'd into; for which Reason, and diverse others, I have referr'd it to be treated with some Decency, and as a Dispute of Dignity sufficient to take up a Chapter by itself.
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