He is sure of us, though no graves gape, no stars
fall, no comets rush out, like young colts from their stables,
flinging their tails into the faces of the more sober and pacific
brotherhood of lights. But, denied the satisfaction of chuckling
at such sights as these, his satanic majesty chuckles not the less
at the human vanity which looks for them. Nay, he himself is very
likely to suggest this vanity. It is one of his forms of temptation
--one of his manoeuvres; and we take leave, by way of warning, to
hint to those worthy people, who judge of to-morrow's providence
by the corns of their great toe, or their periodical lumbago, or
the shooting of their warts, or the pricking of their palms, that
it is in truth the devil which is at the bottom of all this, and
that the Deity has nothing to do in the business. It is the devil
instilling his vanities into the human heart, in that form which
he thinks least likely to prove offensive, or rouse suspicion. The
devil is most active in your affairs, Mrs. Thompson, the moment
you imagine that there must be a revolution on your account in the
universal laws of nature.
Pages:
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146