(6) Our Divines set themselves Hand and Foot with Might and Main, with their utmost Endeavour, by Persecution and Reproach, against this, [and say,] that Men must not [dare to] search into the deep Grounds what God is; Men must not search nor curiously pry into the Deity. But if I should speak plainly what this Trick of theirs is, it is the Dung and Filth wherewith they cover and hide the Devil, and cloak the injected Malice and Wickedness of the Devil in Man, so that neither the Devil, nor the Anger of God, nor the evil Beast in Man, can be discerned.

(100) This now the Devil did not understand; because God spoke of the Serpent, and cursed it to [be] a horrible Worm, and he supposed that it did not concern him; neither does he yet know his own Judgment, he knows only what he learns from Men, that declare [Things] in the Spirit of God; yet the Spirit of God does not wholly intimate his Judgment to him, but all in the Depth, afar off, so that he cannot wholly understand it. For to the enlightened Men all Prophesies (even concerning the Wickness of Men) are thus given, and they dare not set them down clearer, that the Devil may not wholly learn the Counsel of God, and strow his Sugar upon it; though in this Place there are very excellent Things, that ought not to be revealed to the World, for they remain till the Judgment of God; that the Devil may bring no new Sects into it, and lead Men into Doubt; and therefore they shall be passed over till the Time of the Lily.

(30) O no: But the Devil, who is a Cause of the Wrathfulness. Adam was made good out of the pure Element, but the Longing [Desire or Lust] of the Devil deceived him, so that he went into the Spirit of this World. 3 1. And now it cannot be otherwise, the two Kingdoms wrestle one with another in the Children of Men; the one is the Kingdom of Christ, [generated] through the new Birth into Paradise; that (in this World) is miserable and contemned, there are not many that desire it, for it has mere Scorn and Contempt from the Devil and his Followers; it consists in Righteousness and Truth, and that is not valued in this World, and therefore it must lie at the rich Man's Door with poor Lazarus, and at his Feet. If any do but let it appear that they are the Children of God, then the Devil will away with them presently, or else will put them to such Scorn and Disgrace, that they cannot be known; that so the Devil may continue to be the great Prince upon Earth, and that the World may not learn to know him.

(13) When we consider with ourselves the many Sects and Controversies in Religion, and from whence they come and take their Original, it is clear as the Sun, and it manifests itself indeed, and in Truth; for there are great Wars and Insurrections stirred up for the Cause of [Religion or] Faith; and there arise great Hatred and Envy about it, and they persecute one another for Opinions Sake; because another is not of his Opinion, he sticks not to say, he is of the Devil; and this is yet the greatest Misery of all, that this is done by the Learned in the high Schools [or Universities] of this World.

(23) And though there be such Seeking in the Mystery by the Instigation and Driving of the Spirit of God, yet every one seeks in his own Manner) in his Field wherein he stands, and there he also finds, and so brings his Invention to Light, that it may appear, and this is the Purpose of the Great God, that he may so be manifested in his Wonders. And it is not all from the Devil, as the World in Babel (in its great Folly) teaches; where they cast all down to the Ground, and will make a Bon-fire of it, and set Epicurism in its Place.

(2) And though it is not very good for us to know the austere, earnest, [strong, fierce, severe,] and original Birth, into the Knowledge, Feeling and Comprehensibility of which our first Parents have brought us, through the Infection [Instigation] and Deceit of the Devil, yet we have very great Need of this Knowledge, that thereby we may learn to know the Devil, who dwells in the most strong [severe or cruel] Birth of all, and [that we may learn to know] our own enemy Self, which our first Parents awakened and purchased for us, which we carry within us, and which we ourselves now are.

(84) Now the Devil cannot endure that a holy Church should grow up in his Dominions, he will murder Abel still, as he did then; because Cain feared not God, therefore the Devil got an Access to him, and stirred up the inbred Wrath in Cain against Abel, that he slew him. Here surely all the Devils danced at it, and thought, now is the Kingdom ours again; whereat Adam and Eve were much amazed and affrighted, when they saw that he whom they accounted for a Prince, became a Murderer; and they copulated [or knew one another] no more in seventy Years after.

(11) Instil many vain fancies into men's minds. But, on the contrary, 'tis his perverseness and want of faith The philosopher denies the existence of the Devil; At the same time he is the Devil's laughing-stock. If thou hast not seen the Devil, look at thyself, Without demon's aid how came that blue turban on thy brow? Whosoever has a doubt or disquietude in his heart Now and then he displays firm belief, Beware, O believers! That lurks in you too; All the seventy and two heresies lurk in you;

(24) But because the Souls of Adam and of Eve, and of all the Children of Men, were too rough, wild, and too hard kindled from the first Principle, so that they had the Source of Hell in them, being inclined to all Evil, [Malice, or Mischief,] therefore the Word and the Treader upon the Serpent did not so instantly image [or imprint] itself in the Soul of Adam, but stood opposite to the Kingdom of the Devil and of Hell, and [against] their poisonous Darts, in the Mind; and in the Mind of those Men which incline and yield themselves to the Treader upon the Serpent, it breaks the Head of the Serpent, the Devil.

(45) Reason saith, how might that come to pass, that the first Man born of a Woman was [so evil] a malicious Murderer? Behold, thou immodest vile whorish World, here thou shalt find the great Secrets meet us in the Light of Nature, very clearly and plainly to be understood. For Adam and Eve were entered into the Spirit of this World, and the Region of the four Stars, with the Infection of the Devil, had miserably possessed them. And although they did somewhat stick to the Word of the Promise, yet the true Longing and Love towards God was very much extinguished; and on the contrary, the Longing and Desire after this World was kindled in them; and besides, they got (from the Region of the Stars) a bestial Lust [or wanton Desire] towards one another, so that their Tincture thus became a fierce bestial [Lust or] Longing; for they had no Law but the Light of Nature, which they suppressed, and kindled themselves in wanton [Lust,] to which the Devil helped them.

(12) Therefore all Objections, which fall into Reason, are nothing else but the subtle Contradictions [or Fallacies] of the Devil, who would very fain maintain, that God did will the Fall of Man, There are also Men that dare to say, that God did will it; [and say] that he fitted the Tongue of the Serpent to seduce Eve; whose Judgment is very justly upon themselves, because they [offer to] confirm the Devil's Word with Lying, and [go about to] make God a Lyar,

(3) For he took not one Lump after another, or many Lumps together, and made Beasts of them, that is not likely; and it is much more a bestial than a human Thought. But, as is mentioned before, after that the Devil was fallen with his Legions, (who had his Throne in the Place of this World, standing bodily after the Manner of a Spirit, in the first Principle, and thoroughly enlightened all over with the second Principle, truly dwelling in Paradise, and in the divine Virtue, [or Power,] and yet with Pride fell from the Light of God, and catched at his own Mother, the Root of the Fire, thinking to domineer over the Meekness of the Heart of God) then his Dwelling continued to be the first Principle in the fiery dark Matrix; and God created the Out-Birth of the Matrix, for a Principle; and in the eternal Matrix, in the longing Will, he opened the Center or Birth of Life; and there (after the manner of the Deity, as the Eternal Deity from Eternity has always generated,) arose [and sprung up] the third Principle, in which the Deity stands as it were hid, yet forming, imagining, or imprinting itself powerfully in all Things; which is incomprehensible and unprofitable for the Devil.

(7) And this is the very Reason, because the Devil smells the Matter, and therefore he hinders it, that his Kingdom might not be revealed, but that he might continue to be the Great Prince [of the World still.] For otherwise, if his Kingdom was known, Men might fly from him. Where is it more needful for him to oppose, than on that Part where his Enemy may break in? He therefore covers the Hearts, Minds, Thoughts, and Senses of the Divines; he leads them into Covetousness, Pride, and Wantonness, so that they stand amazed with Fear and Horror at the Light of God, and therefore they shut it up, for they are naked, nay they grudge the Light to those that see it; this is rightly called the Service and Worship of the Devil.

(30) But when we consider [or mean] the Original of the first Principle, then we find the [Nature, Property, or] Species of the Tree, and also the Will to the Tree. We find there the Abyss of Hell and of Anger [and Wrath;] and moreover we find the Will of all the Devils, we find the envious Will of all the Creatures of this World, why they all are the Enemies one of another, and do hate, bite, worry, kill and devour one another. My beloved Reason, here I will show you the Tree of the Temptation, and you shall look Moses in the Face: Keep your Mind stedfast, that you may apprehend it. 31.1 have often given you to understand in this Book already, what the Essence of all Essences is; but because it is most of all highly necessary in this Place to know the Ground [thereof,] therefore I will a set it you down all at large, and very fundamentally, so that you shall know it in yourself; yea you shall understand it in all Creatures, and in all Things that are, or that you look upon, or at any Time may possibly think on; all these shall be Witnesses. I can bring Heaven and Earth, also the Sun, Stars, and Elements for a Witness, and that not in bare Words and Promises only, but it shall be set before you [very convincingly and] very powerfully in their Virtue and Essence; and you have no Virtue [or Power, or Faculty] in your Body, that shall not [convince you and] witness against you; do but not suffer the lying Spirit, the old Serpent, to darken your Mind, who is the Inventor of a Thousand Tricks.

(2) Many unordained and unseemly practices follow on this error, whoso might perceive all. Nevertheless some there be that be so curious that they can refrain them in great part when they come before men. But might these men be seen in place where they be homely, then I trow they should not be hid. And nevertheless yet I trow that whoso would straitly gainsay their opinion, that they should soon see them burst out in some point; and yet them think that all that ever they do, it is for the love of God and for to maintain the truth. Now truly I hope that unless God shew His merciful miracle to make them soon leave off, they shall love God so long on this manner, that they shall go staring mad to the devil. I say not that the devil hath so perfect a servant in this life, that is deceived and infect with all these fantasies that I set here: and nevertheless yet it may be that one, yea, and many one, be infect with them all. But I say that he hath no perfect hypocrite nor heretic in earth that he is not guilty in some that I have said, or peradventure shall say if God vouchsafeth.

(43) On the other hand, the life of the natural man, where he hath a lively, subtle, cunning nature, is so manifold and complex, and seeketh and inventeth so many turnings and windings and falsehoods for its own ends, and that so continually, that this also is neither to be uttered nor set forth. Now, since all falsehood is deceived, and all deception beginneth in self-deception, so is it also with this false Light and Life, for he who deceiveth is also deceived, as we have said before. And in this false Light and Life is found everything that belongeth to the Evil Spirit and is his, insomuch that they cannot be discerned apart; for the false Light is the Evil Spirit, and the Evil Spirit is this false Light. Hereby we may know this. For even as the Evil Spirit thinketh himself to be God, or would fain be God, or be thought to be God, and in all this is so utterly deceived that he doth not think himself to be deceived, so is it also with this false Light, and the Love and Life that is thereof. And as the Devil would fain deceive all men, and draw them to himself and his works, and make them like himself, and useth much art and cunning to this end, so is it also with this false Light; and as no one may turn the Evil Spirit from his own way, so no one can turn this deceived and deceitful Light from its errors. And the cause thereof is, that both these two, the Devil and Nature, vainly think that they are not deceived, and that it standeth quite well with them. And this is the very worst and most mischievous delusion. Thus the Devil and Nature are one, and where nature is conquered the Devil is also conquered, and, in like manner, where nature is not conquered the Devil is not conquered. Whether as touching the outward life in the world, or the inward life of the spirit, this false Light continueth in its state of blindness and falsehood, so that it is both deceived itself and deceiveth others with it, wheresoever it may. From what hath here been said, ye may understand and perceive more than hath been expressly set forth. For whenever we speak of the Adam, and disobedience, and of the old man, of self-seeking, self-will, and self-serving, of the I, the Me, and the Mine, nature, falsehood, the Devil, sin; it is all one and the same thing. These are all contrary to God, and remain without God.

(3) For it is lamentable, that since the fall of Adam, we should be so continually cheated and befooled by the Devil, to think that we are not the Children of God, nor of his Essence. He continually puts the monstrous Shape or Form into our Thoughts, as he did into our Mother Eve, which she gazed too much upon, and by her representing it in her Imagination, she became a Child of this World, wholly naked and vain, and void of Understanding: And so he does to us also still continually; he would bring us into another Image, as he did Eve, that we might be ashamed to appear in the Presence of the Light and Power of God, as Adam and Eve were, when they hid themselves behind the Trees, (that is, behind the monstrous Shape or Form,) when the Lord appeared in the Center of the Birth of their Lives, and said, Where art thou, Adam? And he said, I am naked, and am afraid; which was nothing else, but that his Belief [or Faith] and Knowledge of the Holy God was put out; for he beheld the monstrous Shape which he had made to himself by his Imagination and Lust, by the Devil's [Instigation,] Representation, and false Persuading, to eat of the third Principle wherein Corruption was.