The Devil

The Devil is a fascinating and well-informed discussion on the origins and subsequent development of this iconic figure in Western culture and society. The author traces this evolution by looking at various writings and portrayals of the devil down through the ages. A series of fascinating insights throw light on the concepts and understandings underpinning popular belief and superstition.

The Devil is grounded in solid research undertaken by a qualified academic. The author, R. S. Brinton, read Classics at Oxford University and originally presented The Devil, an essay of over 6000 words, as an address before audiences of the Essay Society, New College, Oxford, and the Kidderminster Literary Society.


Excerpts from The Devil:

'Milton adopts the conception of Satan.... combining doctrine with narrative, and orthodoxy with poetry in a truly wonderful way... at the end of Paradise Lost, we leave Satan... with a character yet unformed; at the beginning of Faust we encounter him again... smaller, meaner or ignoble, but a thousand times sharper or cleverer—and, one might add, more interesting.'
'Nixas, or Nicksa, a river god once worshiped on the shores of the Baltic assumed possession of the attributes of Neptune, though without any of the redeeming features of the old Roman god, and became a hostile deity. Hence came the Nixa, or water fairy of German legend, and hence the English Old Nick, along with a large portion of his powers and terrors, so much feared by the British sailor, who, of course, fears nothing else.'
'The Devil was the patron of witchcraft, he was responsible for somnambulism, for all sorts of mental deception, for sadness and melancholy, he sent insanity and diseases.'
'When other means were unavailing, Luther found that the Devil could not resist his humour, which, indeed, seems poisonous enough. When he had failed to drive away his opponent by quoting texts or by prayer, he would ask the Devil, if he would not himself pray for him? At this grim jest, the Tempter invariably fled away.'