617. About temptations
How deceitful the devil's gang is, can never be expressed in words. During temptations they simulate not only angels, but indeed, even the Lord, feigning them in every way in keeping with the person's fantasies. [The devil] knows these fantasies in an instant, for he impersonates people and then searches out what is in them without their knowing it, and amazingly, remembers it when an opportunity arises.
Moreover, when so disguised, he breathes in suitable feelings that seem either good, or evil, and manipulates them in a remarkable way, skillfully bending them toward evil. He sees clearly how the feeling is developing, constantly striving to bend it toward evil.
Furthermore, he even breathes words into our thought and mouth that harmonize with that feeling, and instantly causes us to think they are our own words. They who are not aware of this, cannot believe otherwise than that they are their own words, when yet they are the devil's - to which I can testify from manifold experience. And so he proceeds from one artifice to another, which he does in an instant by a natural instinct acquired in the life of the body, which may be surprising to anyone. Such [spirits] have the nature of a wild animal, something they actually acquired, making them the more cunning in the other life, because from their nature they now act like wild animals, although with a life as if they were human.
To enumerate their tricks would fill up countless sheets; wherefore, if the Lord Jesus does not keep the devil in bonds, and restrain and reverse his attempts, a person could not but succumb at every moment. m1748, 1 February.n
617. CONCERNING TEMPTATIONS
How deceitful the devil's crew is, can never be expressed in words. In temptations they not only simulate the angels and even the Lord Himself, but counterfeit in every way according to the phantasies of man. [The devil] knows the man's phantasies in a moment, for he clothes himself with his person. Moreover, he searches out what is in the man, whilst the man is unaware of it; [and], what is wonderful, retains things in his memory [to use] when occasion arises. Further, when [the devil] is counterfeiting, he then inspires suitable affections, whether appearing good or evil, and arranges them in a wonderful manner, and by artifice bends them into evil. He sees clearly how an affection revolves itself; he is always intent upon bending it into evil. Moreover, he also inspires words into the man's thought and mouth which are conformable to his affection, and at once causes him to suppose that they are his own, so that he who does not know this can believe no otherwise than that they are his own, when yet they are the devil's - to which I can testify from manifold experience. Thus he proceeds from one artifice to another, which he does in a moment by a natural instinct acquired in the life of the body. One may wonder that their nature is that of wild beasts to whom they are compared, and in the other life they are so much the more crafty, because they then act from their nature like wild beasts, but yet in their life they acted as though they were men. To enumerate their deceits would be to fill innumerable pages. Wherefore unless the Lord Jesus holds the devil in bonds and moderates and completely changes his attempts, man cannot but succumb every moment. 1748, Feb. 1.
617. De tentationibus
Quam dolosa sit turba diaboli, nusquam exprimi verbis potest, in tentationibus non solum simulant angelos, imo Ipsum Dominum, et omni modo secundum phantasias hominis fingunt, phantasias hominis momento novit 1
, nam induit ejus personam, praeterea 2
scrutatur quid in homine est, eo nesciente, quod mirum, [id] memoria retinet, quum occasio: praeterea cum fingit, tunc inspirat affectiones convenientes sive bonas apparentia, sive malas, easque dispensat mirabiliter, flectitque in malum, perspicit, quomodo affectio se volvit, intendit semper eam in malum flectere, praeterea etiam verba inspirat cogitationi orique hominis, conformia ejus affectioni, et illico efficit, ut homo putet esse sua--quod 3
qui nescit, non potest aliter credere ac sua sint, cum tamen sint diaboli, quod ab experientia multiplici contestari possum--et 4
sic procedit ab una arte in alteram, quam naturali instinctu, comparato in vita corporis, momento facit, quod mirari quis potest, quod tales 5
naturae ferae sint, et quidem comparatae 6
7
, quae eo callidiores sunt in altera vita, quia ex natura tunc agunt, sicut ferae, sed usque [in corporis] vita quasi essent homines, dolos eorum enumerare, foret innumeras membranus implere; quare nisi Dominus Jesus tenet diabolum in vinculis, et moderatur ac permutat ejus tentamina 8
, ne-quaquam homo potest, quin 9
omni momento succumbat. m 1748, 1 Febr. n
Footnotes:
1. hoc est novit [turba ea]
2. The Manuscript has praetera
3. The Manuscript has sua, quod
4. The Manuscript has possum, et
5. In the Manuscript talis in tales emendatum esse videtur; in J.F.I. Tafel's edition talis
6. The Manuscript has comparatae in
7. hoc est acquisitae
8. This is how it appears in J.F.I. Tafel's edition; the Manuscript has tentamine
9. In the Manuscript litera n deleta esse videtur