Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-11-21
The Devil.

livered his lecture on the Devil" a
Chicago, and in the Tribune of that city
we find the following synoptical repor
of it:
Mr.. Conway said he did not know o
any reason why children should not bow
their heads respectfully when the name
OF the devil was mentioned. Probing
beneath the surface Of philOlogy, they
would discover that demon and deity
were originally Synonymous. The LatiI
word Deds was corrupted in the English
deuce, and the Egyptian devil was re
garded as God. In some copies OF the
old bible they found the curious in
junction, "ThOu shalt not be afraid Of
any bugs by night" This was simply {
contraction of the word bugsboo, with
which all children were familiar
Beelzebub related to Bosl, and, il
short, all such words and names
when investigated, showed a regular
affinity. Iu the early ages the alleged
fall of angels from heaven was taken IN
literal sense. Jupiter, it was held
took nine days in falling, and was
naturally, rather hurt by the fall. Lu'
cifer coming down, fell upon his feet
which, no doubt, was the cause OF his
cloven hoof. Laughter. Primitive
man found himself encounteriDg in ma
ture will antagonistic TO his own. He
thought himself surrounded by strange
influences, which he classed as spirits
Man had lived to learn better. The
crowd of gods and goddesses of the
Pagan ages were now regarded as the
mythology Of nature, They had out
lived their day, and were now but the
records by which philosophers studio
the history Of the progressive mind OF
man. In none OF the earlier sacred
books could they find devil-a being
specially and solely malignant-a crea-
ture of unalloyed wickedness. Every
thing then in religion was figurative.
Clouds were described as flocks of swans,
and the lightning was classed as a
fiery serpent. Those shapes were con-
ceived Of simply as powers and
forces. Each was half god, and the other
half the reveFse-sOmetimes affecting
and sometimes benefiting man. The
reason why there was no devil in the
early books was because none was need
ed then. The gods considered them
selves as being equal to any emergency
that might arise IN the way of wicked
ness. Laughter. But when the hap
py family Of gods and gOddesses was
broken up, they split into two factions
the deities and the demons-both being
then regarded as forces of alternate good
and evil. 1t was held that the demons
fallen angels-were not wicked in their
natures, but were impelled to do evil
from an unappeasable hunger, even IS
the shark follows its prey to satisfy what
naturalists call an Unsuitable appetite.
The superstitious, to appease them, Of
fered gifts, which led to the early sacri-
fees, such as whole burnt offerings and
matters OF that description. To the an
clients the deities expressed all that was
pleasant, the demons all that was I'M
pleasant. The former represented SUM-
shine, the latter sunsJOke. The first
mentioned represented serene skies, the
demons represented the thunder and the
the sirocco and the tornado.
Primitive man found himself begirt by
the obstacles of nature, and it was only
when his mind became more de-
and when he armed himself to
cOpa with such difficulties, that his
mind became clearer on the subject of
the supernatural. Finally, after many
ages, he succeeded in reducing all those
obstacles which crowded on his infancy
into one grand whole of unpleasantness,
namely, the devil. This was the sum
and substance of mans early idea of
natural obstacles. For generations man
won a precarious livelihood from the
hard bosom OF nature. He looked
around and cav all creation about him
hungry. There seemed to be a spirit Of
hunger abroad. The birds and fishes
to be so scanty, man came TO
no OnnnlnGinn fhof fhoro inTyi5ihla
and voracious beings abroad, who want
I'd everything for themselves, and de-
VOured everything within their reach.
Thus the dragon and the ghoul-the
arIiest painted forms of the demons
mad both immensely-developed mouths,
showing the idea of intense voracity.
The vampire was chiefly Slavonic su-
0erstitiOn, but it extended into Ger
many, and in some districts OF Prussia a
corpse is never buried without plenty OF
tOod in the coffin so that it may not
arise to prey upon the living. This idea
1ad even reached the enlightened
sources of America. Not long ago a
Mr.. William Rose, living in Rhode
Island, had the body OF his daughter
lug up and her heart cut out, so that
he might drink the blood of the living
members of the family. This was con-
idered specific in family consumption.
10 fact, the homely name hobgoblin-of
British origin-simply signified ghost
hat gobbled. Laughter. When the
British officers went to India to view
he solar eclipse, the natives kindled
fires for the purpose of blot
ing out the sun, so that the foreigners
night not steal it. The officers, how
'ver, trampled out the fire and renewed
heir work. So might enlightenment
'ver trample upon error and superstition
n every land, SO that science might
prosper. Loud applause The natives
leo threw out into the streets every par
icle Of food in their houses, in order to
'ribe the devil not to steal their sun!
Laughter, A strange thing about the
Whole matter was that devils were al
Ways described IS lean. Whoever heard |
4 fat devil? Shakespeare put into the |
Mouth OF Caesar his comment on clean |
'assius," and added, "such men are |
Marc Antony attempted |
0 defend Cassius, but the great conquer
r replied: "Wouid he were fatterw |
Great laughter. Argan fables made
evils out as being fair to look at in the |
-ont, but hollow in the back. Some of |
lem were so thin and 80 hollow that |
ley cast no shadow. The lecturer went
q to enumerate the diverse supersti-
ons of many countries, and said that
l the east, the plague was considered q
emon. SO terrible was the fear created
= it that the natives lay down
die in AFFECT coward
e An eastern paper tells how a
ayeler met woman on the wayside,
. route to Damascus. He asked her
hence she came, and she replied:
From yODder city. am the plague.
en- thousand people lie dead in the
reefs of Damascus. OF these l have
ain one thousand, and fear killed all
lie rest" The idea of the present devil
rst originated in Persia, where the phil
opheTs considered that the universe
as divided into two hostile camps by q
eat wall, one camp held by a God and
10 other by devil. Once invented,
e devil made rapid strides. laugh
r. He could not be laid. 1t relieved
e Deity Of all that was bad in nature,
I'd it gave man an excuse for his mis-
'eds. Laughter. In the latter point
view, the devil might be considered
markable success. Laughter In
G book of Job there was not one word
evil against the moral character of
e devil. Laughter.] He is always
entioned with great respect, and il
" lawyers that were present would ex-
sc him, he might say that the devil
,ured In the Old Testament as kind of
osecuting attorney. Rosrs OF laugh
+. The lecturer at this point showed
any sketches OF the devil, which were