The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-05-12

The Prince
Of Darkness
Delivery Of a Dissertation on the
Devil, Showing Scientific
Study Of Subject.
Paper Read Before the Chamouqua Circle.

Study OF Subject.
Paper Read Before the Chd,ttduQua Circle.
Of late years the Prince OF Dark
ness has been having what may be po-
litely termed the devils own time.
Not that it should be inferred from
this statement that humanity is now
approaching perfection. On the con-
trary. there are as many grafters in
business circles and in other circles
(present company always excepted
as there were two weeks ago-or five
centuries ago, for that matter. Prob
ably there are honest men, too, in all
circles (present company always exc
-included.)
But of late years, the sturdy faith
of our ancestors in personal devil
has fallen into the limbo whittier so
many beliefs have preceded it. In
view of this newborn disbelief, any
disrespectful expression which may
creep into this paper-any word or
phrase in any way rejecting on the
character of His Satanic Majesty may,
| trust, be pardoned.
Before the Egyptians copyrighted
love as part of religion, as not only
the late Osiris-Isis myth but the early
worship of Ra, the Sungod, prove
that. they did FEAR was the essential
feature of worship. The savage look
ed around him, found difficulty lin
explaining the phenomena of Nature,
and begged the question by calling in
the aid of malign deity. A thun-
derstorm, a drought, an eclipse were
easily ascribed to an angry god-and
an angry god is, of course, another
name for devil. SO also the saw
ages personal or tribal humiliationi
and affections would be attributed t.
the same source. AS fear antedate
love. it may be assumed that the ide;
of devil antedates the idea of a be
nefcem God.
In the Egyptian and Babylonia1
religions, the evil spirit held prom
inent place; but it was subordinat
place. as indeed is the case III all rell
yions where itexists, with one remark
able exception. This is Zoroastri
anism. the form of worship which tn
Medes followed. According to thei
hypothesis, the universe was rule e
10y two equally powerful deities, Ol
muzd. who was the spirit of light an
virtue, and Ahriman, who was COZ
nected with the Standard Oil.
You are all familiar with b e in
portant part played by the Prince
Darkness in the Bible-how he temp
ed Eve in the form of a snake, whit
has always seemed curious metht
of ingratiating himself with lady
how he received permission to to
ment Job and how he also appears
the New Testament as tempter of t
central figure i'll history. The Hebre
and Christian devil is always subt
dinate to the Almighty, but alwa
rebellious and malignant. In
Greek. as in most pantheistic religio
above the level primitive savagel
there is no devil. There are o.
whose mantle of responsibility |
slipped little and there is he'll
not Hades, as is generally stated,
Tartarus, Pluto or Hades, the ru
of Tartarus, was stern god, but
least to his own SELF was true q
as brother to Zeus came OF &c
family. Supporting him was boz
ofthree members, Minos, Rhadam
thus and Aeacus, who picked out
bad from the good. Those who pie
ed guilty or were convicted BET
this tribunal, were turned over to
Furies, three very unpleasant la
sheriffs, whose duty it was to cond
them to Tartarus In Tartarus DIV
the myths tell us, many gentler
who had formerly held high positi
in the financial and official W r
There, was Sisyphus, formerly OF
Sugar Trust, whose duty it wa
carry large pile of papers to
top of very steep staircase;
every time he imagined the task
=