And yet, before I have done, I shall make it very plain, that however my information may be secret and difficult, that yet I came very honestly by it, and shall make a very good use of it; for 'tis a great mistake in those who think that an acquaintance with the affairs of _the Devil_ may not be made very useful to us all: They that know no evil can know no good; and, as the learned tell us, that a stone taken out of the head of a Toad is a good antidote against poison; so a competent knowledge of _the Devil_, and all his ways, may be the best help to make us defie _the Devil_ and all his _works_.
_Of the word_ DEVIL, _as it is a proper name to the Devil, and any or all his host, Angels,_ &c.
It is a question, not yet determined by the learned, whether the word _Devil_ be a _singular_, that is to say, the _name_ of a person standing by himself, or a _noun of multitude_; if it be a singular, and so must be used personally only as _a proper name_, it consequently implies one imperial _Devil_, Monarch or King of the whole clan of Hell; justly distinguish'd by the term THE DEVIL, or as the _Scots_ call him, _the muckle horn'd Dee'l_, or as others in a wilder dialect, _the Devil of Hell_, that is to say, the _Devil_ of a _Devil_; or (better still) as the Scripture expresses it, by way of emphasis, the _great red Dragon_, the _Devil_ and _Satan_.
But if we take this word to be, as above, _a noun of multitude_, and so to be used _ambo-dexter_, as occasion presents, singular or plural; then _the Devil_ signifies _Satan_ by himself, or _Satan with all his Legions_ at his heels, as you please, more or less; and this way of understanding the word, as it may be very convenient for my purpose, in the account I am now to give of the infernal Powers, so it is not altogether improper in the nature of the thing: It is thus express'd in Scripture, where the person possess'd _Matt._ iv. 24. is first said to be possess'd of _the Devil_ (singular) and our Saviour asks him, as speaking to a single person, _what is thy name?_ and is answer'd in the plural and singular together, my name is LEGION, for _we are many_.
Nor will it be any wrong to _the Devil_, supposing him a single person, seeing entitling him to the conduct of all his inferior Agents, is what he will take rather for an addition to his infernal glory, than a diminution or lessening of him in the extent of his Fame.