2656. About Satan
There are those who not only exercise cruelty, spoken of before [2615-2619, 2638-2645], but also, as said, delight in adulteries so much that nothing is more enjoyable to them. Such a one appeared to me, whose upper lip only was displayed to my sight. It was large, ugly, and scaly. What the rest of their body was like was not displayed to my sight. It was reported to me that their leader is David and that he was of this character. They want to obsess people, and even their bodies, and thus dwell in them if it would be permitted. They employ various tricks to get possession of someone, for they want to return to the world. They are utterly against marriage love, delighting in adulteries, and consequently against love toward the neighbor - for the one follows from the other, so they are cruel.
The one displayed to me was sharp-witted in his action, able to corrupt the most upright, if possible, for he forces his poisons into the marrows, as they say, meaning into the inward parts of the mental imagery, and bends good feelings into evil ones by deep deception.
2656. CONCERNING SATAN
There are those who not only practice cruelty, whereof [I have treated] previously, but also, as was said, delight in adulteries, so that nothing is more pleasant to them. Such a one has appeared to me whose upper lip only was displayed to my sight: it was big, unsightly and scaly; of what sort was the rest of their body was not displayed to my sight; it was represented to me that their leader is David, and is such a person. Such wish to possess men, yea, their bodies, and so inhabit them were it permitted: and they employ various artifices to possess [men's bodies], for they desire to return into the world. They are wholly contrary to conjugial love, for they delight in adulteries, and hence are contrary to love of the neighbor, for one follows from the other: wherefore they are cruel - he who was displayed to me acted in a subtle manner, so that he could pervert the most righteous if possible, for he inserts [ingerit] his venom into the marrows, as they say, that is, into the interiors of ideas, and bends good affections into evil with interior deceit. - 1748, July 20.
2656. De Satana
Sunt qui non solum crudelitatem, de quo prius [2615-2619, 2638-2645], exercent, sed etiam, ut dictum [ibid.], oblectantur adulteriis, sic ut nihil iis jucundius, talis mihi apparuit, cujus solum labium superius mihi videndum offerebatur, erat grande, deforme, et squamosum; quale eorum reliquum corpus, non offerebatur visui meo; quod eorum antesignanus David et {a} talis, mihi referebatur, tales volunt possidere homines, et quidem eorum corpora, et sic ea habitare, si permitteretur; et variis artificiis utuntur ad possidenda, nam in mundum redire cupiunt; contrarii prorsus sunt amori conjugiali, nam delectantur adulteriis, et contrarii inde amori erga proximum, nam unum sequitur ab altero, quare crudeles; qui offerebatur mihi, acute agebat, sic ut pervertere posset probissimum, si possibile, nam sua venena ingerit in medullas, ut ajunt, hoc est, in interiora idearum, et flectit bonas affectiones in malum, dolo interiori. 1748, 20 Julius.