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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Devil</title><script src="https://dtyry4ejybx0.cloudfront.net/js/cmp/cleanmediacmp.js?ver=0104" async="true"></script><script defer data-domain="newadvent.org" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04764a.htm"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="The name commonly given to the fallen angels, who are also known as demons. With the article (ho) it denotes Lucifer, their chief, as in Matthew 25:41, 'the Devil and his angels'"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://feeds.newadvent.org/bestoftheweb?format=xml"><link rel="icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="robots" content="noodp"><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../utility/screen6.css" media="screen"></head> <body class="cathen" id="04764a.htm">  <br/> <div id="capitalcity"><table summary="Logo" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="100%"><tr valign="bottom"><td align="left"><a href="../"><img height=36 width=153 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></td><td align="right"> <form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9"/>  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label> <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel"/>  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label> <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel"/> </form> <table summary="Spacer" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></table> <table summary="Tabs" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../"> Home </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_white_on_color" href="../cathen/index.html"> Encyclopedia </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../summa/index.html"> Summa </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../fathers/index.html"> Fathers </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../bible/gen001.htm"> Bible </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../library/index.html"> Library </a></td> </tr></table> </td> </tr></table><table summary="Alphabetical index" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"> <a href="../cathen/a.htm"> A </a><a href="../cathen/b.htm"> B </a><a href="../cathen/c.htm"> C </a><a href="../cathen/d.htm"> D </a><a href="../cathen/e.htm"> E </a><a href="../cathen/f.htm"> F </a><a href="../cathen/g.htm"> G </a><a href="../cathen/h.htm"> H </a><a href="../cathen/i.htm"> I </a><a href="../cathen/j.htm"> J </a><a href="../cathen/k.htm"> K </a><a href="../cathen/l.htm"> L </a><a href="../cathen/m.htm"> M </a><a href="../cathen/n.htm"> N </a><a href="../cathen/o.htm"> O </a><a href="../cathen/p.htm"> P </a><a href="../cathen/q.htm"> Q </a><a href="../cathen/r.htm"> R </a><a href="../cathen/s.htm"> S </a><a href="../cathen/t.htm"> T </a><a href="../cathen/u.htm"> U </a><a href="../cathen/v.htm"> V </a><a href="../cathen/w.htm"> W </a><a href="../cathen/x.htm"> X </a><a href="../cathen/y.htm"> Y </a><a href="../cathen/z.htm"> Z </a> </td></tr></table></div> <div id="mobilecity" style="text-align: center; "><a href="../"><img height=24 width=102 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></div>  <div id="mi5"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a href="../">Home</a> > <a href="../cathen">Catholic Encyclopedia</a> > <a href="../cathen/d.htm">D</a> > Devil</span></div> <div id="springfield2"> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-top' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <h1>Devil</h1> <p><em><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/na2"><strong>Please help support the mission of New Advent</strong> and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99...</a></em></p> <p>(Greek <em>diabolos</em>; <a href="../cathen/09019a.htm">Latin</a> <em>diabolus</em>).</p> <p>The name commonly given to the fallen <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>, who are also known as <a href="../cathen/04710a.htm">demons</a> (<em>see</em> <a href="../cathen/04713a.htm">DEMONOLOGY</a>). With the article (<em>ho</em>) it denotes <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a>, their chief, as in <a href="../bible/mat025.htm#vrs41">Matthew 25:41</a>, "the <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Devil</a> and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>".</p> <p>It may be said of this name, as <a href="../cathen/06780a.htm">St. Gregory</a> says of the word <em>angel</em>, "nomen est officii, non naturæ"--the designation of an office, not of a <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">nature</a>. For the Greek word (from <em>diaballein</em>, "to traduce") means a <a href="../cathen/14035b.htm">slanderer</a>, or accuser, and in this sense it is applied to him of whom it is written "the accuser [<em>ho kategoros</em>] of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> day and night" (<a href="../bible/rev012.htm#vrs10">Apocalypse 12:10</a>). It thus answers to the <a href="../cathen/07176a.htm">Hebrew</a> name <em>Satan</em> which signifies an adversary, or an accuser.</p> <p>Mention is made of the Devil in many passages of the <a href="../cathen/14526a.htm">Old</a> and <a href="../cathen/14530a.htm">New Testaments</a>, but there is no full account given in any one place, and the <a href="../bible">Scripture</a> teaching on this topic can only be ascertained by combining a number of scattered notices from <a href="../bible/gen000.htm">Genesis</a> to <a href="../bible/rev000.htm">Apocalypse</a>, and reading them in the light of <a href="../cathen/11560a.htm">patristic</a> and <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theological</a> <a href="../cathen/15006b.htm">tradition</a>. The authoritative teaching of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> on this topic is set forth in the <a href="../cathen/04670a.htm">decrees</a> of the <a href="../cathen/09018a.htm">Fourth Lateran Council</a> (cap. i, "Firmiter credimus"), wherein, after saying that <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> in the beginning had <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a> together two creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is to say the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> and the earthly, and lastly <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">man</a>, who was made of both <a href="../cathen/14220b.htm">spirit</a> and body, the council continues:</p> <blockquote><p>"Diabolus enim et alii dæmones a Deo quidem naturâ creati sunt boni, sed ipsi per se facti sunt mali." ("the Devil and the other <a href="../cathen/04710a.htm">demons</a> were <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a> by <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> <a href="../cathen/06636b.htm">good</a> in their <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">nature</a> but they by themselves have made themselves <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a>.")</p></blockquote> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>Here it is clearly taught that the Devil and the other <a href="../cathen/04710a.htm">demons</a> are spiritual or <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> creatures <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a> by <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> in a state of innocence, and that they became <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> by their own act. It is added that <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">man</a> <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinned</a> by the suggestion of the Devil, and that in the next world the wicked shall suffer <a href="../cathen/07207a.htm">perpetual punishment</a> with the Devil. The <a href="../cathen/05075b.htm">doctrine</a> which may thus be set forth in a few words has furnished a fruitful theme for <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theological</a> speculation for the Fathers and <a href="../cathen/13548a.htm">Schoolmen</a>, as well as later <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a>, some of whom, <a href="../cathen/14319a.htm">Suarez</a> for example, have treated it very fully. On the other hand it has also been the subject of many <a href="../cathen/07256b.htm">heretical</a> or <a href="../cathen/05525a.htm">erroneous</a> opinions, some of which owe their origin to pre-Christian systems of <a href="../cathen/04713a.htm">demonology</a>. In later years <a href="../cathen/12652a.htm">Rationalist</a> writers have rejected the <a href="../cathen/05075b.htm">doctrine</a> altogether, and seek to show that it has been borrowed by <a href="../cathen/08537a.htm">Judaism</a> and <a href="../cathen/03712a.htm">Christianity</a> from external systems of religion wherein it was a natural development of primitive <a href="../cathen/01526a.htm">Animism</a>.</p> <p>As may be gathered from the language of the Lateran <a href="../cathen/04675b.htm">definition</a>, the Devil and the other <a href="../cathen/04710a.htm">demons</a> are but a part of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic creation</a>, and their <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">natural</a> powers do not differ from those of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> who remained faithful. Like the other <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>, they are pure spiritual beings without any body, and in their original state they are endowed with <a href="../cathen/06701a.htm">supernatural grace</a> and placed in a <a href="../cathen/04211a.htm">condition</a> of probation. It was only by their fall that they became devils. This was before the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> of our <a href="../cathen/01129a.htm">first parents</a>, since this <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> itself is ascribed to the instigation of the Devil: "By the <a href="../cathen/08326b.htm">envy</a> of the Devil, death came into the world" (<a href="../bible/wis002.htm#vrs24">Wisdom 2:24</a>). Yet it is remarkable that for an account of the fall of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> we must turn to the last book of the <a href="../bible">Bible</a>. For as such we may regard the vision in the <a href="../cathen/01594b.htm">Apocalypse</a>, albeit the picture of the past is blended with <a href="../cathen/12473a.htm">prophecies</a> of what shall be in the future:</p> <blockquote><p>And there was a great battle in <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a>, <a href="../cathen/10275b.htm">Michael</a> and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>: and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a>. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> were thrown down with him. (<a href="../bible/rev012.htm#vrs7">Apocalypse 12:7-9</a>)</p></blockquote> <p>To this may be added the words of <a href="../cathen/08542b.htm">St. Jude</a>: "And the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> who kept not their principality, but forsook their own habitation, he hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day" (<a href="../bible/jud001.htm#vrs6">Jude 1:6</a>; cf. <a href="../bible/2pe002.htm#vrs4">2 Peter 2:4</a>).</p> <p>In the <a href="../cathen/14526a.htm">Old Testament</a> we have a brief reference to the Fall in <a href="../bible/job004.htm#vrs18">Job 4:18</a>: "In his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> he found <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">wickedness</a>". But to this must be added the two classic texts in the <a href="../cathen/12477a.htm">prophets</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>How art thou fallen from <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a>, O <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a>, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations? And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the most High. But yet thou shalt be brought down to <a href="../cathen/07207a.htm">hell</a>, into the depth of the pit. (<a href="../bible/isa014.htm#vrs12">Isaiah 14:12-15</a>)</p></blockquote> <p>This <a href="../cathen/11460a.htm">parable</a> of the <a href="../cathen/12477a.htm">prophet</a> is expressly directed against the <a href="../cathen/10666c.htm">King of Babylon</a>, but both the early Fathers and later <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> <a href="../cathen/04157a.htm">commentators</a> agree in understanding it as applying with deeper significance to the fall of the rebel <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angel</a>. And the older commentators generally consider that this interpretation is confirmed by the words of <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Our Lord</a> to his <a href="../cathen/05029a.htm">disciples</a>: "I saw Satan like lightning falling from <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a>" (<a href="../bible/luk010.htm#vrs18">Luke 10:18</a>). For these words were regarded as a rebuke to the <a href="../cathen/05029a.htm">disciples</a>, who were thus warned of the danger of <a href="../cathen/12405a.htm">pride</a> by being reminded of the fall of <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a>. But modern commentators take this text in a different sense, and refer it not to the original fall of Satan, but his overthrow by the <a href="../cathen/05752c.htm">faith</a> of the <a href="../cathen/05029a.htm">disciples</a>, who cast out devils in the name of their <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Master</a>. And this new interpretation, as Schanz observes, is more in keeping with the context.</p> <p>The parallel prophetic passage is Ezekiel's lamentation upon the king of <a href="../cathen/15109a.htm">Tyre</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>You were the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You were in the pleasures of the <a href="../cathen/14519a.htm">paradise</a> of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>; every precious stone was thy covering; the sardius, the topaz, and the jasper, the chrysolite, and the onyx, and the beryl, the sapphire, and the carbuncle, and the emerald; gold the work of your beauty: and your pipes were prepared in the day that you were <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a>. You a <a href="../cathen/03646c.htm">cherub</a> stretched out, and protecting, and I set you in the <a href="../cathen/07386a.htm">holy</a> mountain of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>, you have walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your wave from the day of <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">creation</a>, until iniquity was found in you. (<a href="../bible/eze028.htm#vrs12">Ezekiel 28:12-15</a>)</p></blockquote> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>There is much in the context that can only be understood literally of an earthly king concerning whom the words are professedly spoken, but it is clear that in any case the king is likened to an <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angel</a> in <a href="../cathen/14519a.htm">Paradise</a> who is ruined by his own iniquity.</p> <p>Even for those who in no way <a href="../cathen/05141a.htm">doubt</a> or dispute it, the <a href="../cathen/05075b.htm">doctrine</a> set forth in these texts and <a href="../cathen/11560a.htm">patristic</a> interpretations may well suggest a multitude of questions, and <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> have not been loath to ask and answer them.</p> <p>And in the first place what was the nature of the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> of the rebel <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>? In any case this was a point presenting considerable difficulty, especially for <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a>, who had formed a high estimate of the powers and possibilities of <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">knowledge</a>, a subject which had a peculiar attraction for many of the great masters of <a href="../cathen/13548a.htm">scholastic</a> speculation. For if <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> be, as it surely is, the height of folly, the choice of darkness for light, of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> for <a href="../cathen/06636b.htm">good</a>, it would seem that it can only be accounted for by some <a href="../cathen/07648a.htm">ignorance</a>, or inadvertence, or weakness, or the influence of some overmastering passion. But most of these explanations seem to be precluded by the powers and perfections of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">nature</a>. The <a href="../cathen/04208a.htm">weakness of the flesh</a>, which accounts for such a mass of <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">human</a> wickedness, was altogether absent from the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. There could be no place for carnal <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> without the <em>corpus delicti</em>. And even some <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sins</a> that are purely spiritual or <a href="../cathen/08066a.htm">intellectual</a> seem to present an almost insuperable difficulty in the case of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>.</p> <p>This may certainly be said of the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> which by many of the best authorities is regarded as being actually the great offense of <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a>, to wit, the desire of independence of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> and equality with <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>. It is <a href="../cathen/15073a.htm">true</a> that this seems to be asserted in the passage of <a href="../bible/isa014.htm#vrs13">Isaiah (14:13)</a>. And it is naturally suggested by the <a href="../cathen/07630a.htm">idea</a> of rebellion against an earthly sovereign, wherein the chief of the rebels very commonly <a href="../cathen/04462a.htm">covets</a> the kingly throne. At the same time the high rank which <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a> is generally supposed to have held in the hierarchy of <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> might seem to make this offense more likely in his case, for, as history shows, it is the subject who stands nearest the throne who is most open to <a href="../cathen/14504a.htm">temptations</a> of <a href="../cathen/01381d.htm">ambition</a>. But this <a href="../cathen/01449a.htm">analogy</a> is not a little misleading. For the exaltation of the subject may bring his power so near that of his sovereign that he may well be able to assert his independence or to usurp the throne; and even where this is not actually the case he may at any rate contemplate the possibility of a successful rebellion. Moreover, the powers and dignities of an earthly prince may be compatible with much <a href="../cathen/07648a.htm">ignorance</a> and folly. But it is obviously otherwise in the case of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. For, whatever <a href="../cathen/06553a.htm">gifts</a> and powers may be conferred on the <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">highest of the heavenly princes</a>, he will still be removed by an <a href="../cathen/08004a.htm">infinite</a> distance from the plenitude of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God's</a> power and majesty, so that a successful rebellion against that power or any equality with that majesty would be an absolute impossibility.</p> <p>And what is more, the highest of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>, by reason of their greater <a href="../cathen/08066a.htm">intellectual</a> illumination, must have the clearest <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">knowledge</a> of this utter impossibility of attaining to equality with <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>. This difficulty is clearly put by the Disciple in St. Anselm's dialogue "De Casu Diaboli" (cap. iv); for the <a href="../cathen/04171a.htm">saint</a> felt that the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> <a href="../cathen/08066a.htm">intellect</a>, at any rate, must see the force of the "ontological argument" (see <a href="../cathen/11258a.htm">ONTOLOGY</a>). "If", he asks, "<a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> cannot be thought of except as sole, and as of such an <a href="../cathen/05543b.htm">essence</a> that nothing can be thought of like to Him [then] how could the Devil have wished for what could not be thought of? — He surely was not so dull of understanding as to be <a href="../cathen/07648a.htm">ignorant</a> of the inconceivability of any other entity like to <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>" (Si Deus cogitari non potest, nisi ita solus, ut nihil illi simile cogitari possit, quomodo diabolus potuit velle quod non potuit cogitari? Non enim ita obtusæ mentis erat, ut nihil aliud simile Deo cogitari posse nesciret). The Devil, that is to say, was not so obtuse as not to <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">know</a> that it was impossible to conceive of anything like (i.e. equal) to <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>. And what he could not think he could not will.</p> <p>St. Anselm's answer is that there need be no question of absolute equality; yet to will anything against the Divine will is to seek to have that independence which belongs to <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> alone, and in this respect to be equal to <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>. In the same sense <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">St. Thomas</a> (<a href="../summa/1063.htm#article3">I:63:3</a>) answers the question, whether the Devil desired to be "as <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>". If by this we mean equality with <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>, then the Devil could not desire it, since he <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">knew</a> this to be impossible, and he was not blinded by <a href="../cathen/11534a.htm">passion</a> or <a href="../cathen/15403c.htm">evil habit</a> so as to choose that which is impossible, as may happen with <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a>. And even if it were possible for a creature to become <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>, an <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angel</a> could not desire this, since, by becoming equal with <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> he would cease to be an <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angel</a>, and no creature can desire its own destruction or an essential change in its being.</p> <p>These arguments are combated by <a href="../cathen/13610b.htm">Scotus</a> (In II lib. Sent., dist. vi, Q. i.), who distinguishes between efficacious volition and the volition of complaisance, and maintains that by the latter act an <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angel</a> could desire that which is impossible. In the same way he urges that, though a creature cannot directly will its own destruction, it can do this <em>consequenter</em>, i.e. it can will something from which this would follow.</p> <p>Although <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">St. Thomas</a> regards the desire of equality with <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> as something impossible, he teaches nevertheless (loc. cit.) that Satan <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinned</a> by desiring to be "as <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>", according to the passage in the <a href="../cathen/12477a.htm">prophet</a> (<a href="../bible/isa014.htm">Isaiah 14</a>), and he understands this to mean likeness, not equality. But here again there is need of a distinction. For <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> and <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> have a certain likeness to <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> in their natural perfections, which are but a reflection of his surpassing beauty, and yet a further likeness is given them by <a href="../cathen/14336b.htm">supernatural</a> grace and <a href="../cathen/06585a.htm">glory</a>. Was it either of these likenesses that the devil desired? And if it be so, how could it be a <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a>? For was not this the end for which <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> and <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> were <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a>? Certainly, as Thomas teaches, not every desire of likeness with <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> would be <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinful</a>, since all may rightly desire that manner of likeness which is appointed them by the will of their <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">Creator</a>. There is <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> only where the desire is inordinate, as in seeking something contrary to the Divine will, or in seeking the appointed likeness in a wrong way. The <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> of Satan in this matter may have consisted in desiring to attain <a href="../cathen/02364a.htm">supernatural beatitude</a> by his <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">natural</a> powers or, what may seem yet stranger, in seeking his <a href="../cathen/02371a.htm">beatitude</a> in the <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">natural</a> perfections and reflecting the <a href="../cathen/14336b.htm">supernatural</a>. In either case, as <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">St. Thomas</a> considers, this first <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> of Satan was the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> of <a href="../cathen/12405a.htm">pride</a>. <a href="../cathen/13610b.htm">Scotus</a>, however (loc. cit., Q. ii), teaches that this <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> was not <a href="../cathen/12405a.htm">pride</a> properly so called, but should rather be described as a <a href="../cathen/14210a.htm">species</a> of spiritual <a href="../cathen/09438a.htm">lust</a>.</p> <p>Although nothing definite can be known as to the precise nature of the probation of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> and the manner in which many of them fell, many <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> have conjectured, with some show of probability, that the <a href="../cathen/10662a.htm">mystery</a> of the <a href="../cathen/07706b.htm">Divine Incarnation</a> was revealed to them, that they saw that a <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">nature</a> lower than their own was to be <a href="../cathen/07610b.htm">hypostatically united</a> to the <a href="../cathen/11726a.htm">Person</a> of <a href="../cathen/14142b.htm">God the Son</a>, and that all the hierarchy of <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a> must bow in <a href="../cathen/01151a.htm">adoration</a> before the majesty of the <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Incarnate Word</a>; and this, it is supposed, was the occasion of the <a href="../cathen/12405a.htm">pride</a> of <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a> (cf. <a href="../cathen/14319a.htm">Suarez</a>, De Angelis, lib. VII, xiii). As might be expected, the advocates of this view seek support in certain passages of <a href="../cathen/13635b.htm">Scripture</a>, notably in the words of the <a href="../cathen/04642b.htm">Psalmist</a> as they are cited in the <a href="../cathen/07181a.htm">Epistle to the Hebrews</a>: "And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith: And let all the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels of God</a> <a href="../cathen/01151a.htm">adore</a> Him" (<a href="../bible/heb001.htm#vrs6">Hebrews 1:6</a>; <a href="../bible/psa096.htm#vrs7">Psalm 96:7</a>). And if the <a href="../bible/rev012.htm">twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse</a> may be taken to refer, at least in a secondary sense, to the original fall of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>, it may seem somewhat significant that it opens with the vision of the <a href="../cathen/15464b.htm">Woman</a> and her <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Child</a>. But this interpretation is by no means <a href="../cathen/03539b.htm">certain</a>, for the text in <a href="../bible/heb000.htm">Hebrews 1</a>, may be referred to the second coming of <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ</a>, and much the same may be said of the passage in the <a href="../cathen/01594b.htm">Apocalypse</a>.</p> <p>It would seem that this account of the trial of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> is more in accordance with what is known as the <a href="../cathen/13610b.htm">Scotist</a> <a href="../cathen/05075b.htm">doctrine</a> on the motives of the <a href="../cathen/07706b.htm">Incarnation</a> than with the <a href="../cathen/14698b.htm">Thomist</a> view, that the <a href="../cathen/07706b.htm">Incarnation</a> was occasioned by the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> of our <a href="../cathen/01129a.htm">first parents</a>. For since the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> itself was committed at the instigation of Satan, it presupposes the fall of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. How, then, could Satan's probation consist in the fore-knowledge of that which would, <em>ex hypothesi</em>, only come to pass in the event of his fall? In the same way it would seem that the aforesaid theory is incompatible with another opinion held by some old <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a>, to wit, that <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> were <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a> to fill up the gaps in the ranks of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. For this again supposes that if no <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> had <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinned</a> no <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> would have been made, and in consequence there would have been no <a href="../cathen/07610b.htm">union</a> of the <a href="../cathen/14142b.htm">Divine Person</a> with a <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">nature</a> lower than the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>As might be expected from the attention they had bestowed on the question of the <a href="../cathen/08066a.htm">intellectual</a> powers of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>, the <a href="../cathen/10285c.htm">medieval</a> <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> had much to say on the <a href="../cathen/14726a.htm">time</a> of their probation. The <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> <a href="../cathen/10321a.htm">mind</a> was conceived of as acting instantaneously, not, like the <a href="../cathen/10321a.htm">mind</a> of <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">man</a>, passing by discursive reasoning from premises to conclusions. It was pure <a href="../cathen/08066a.htm">intelligence</a> as distinguished from <a href="../cathen/12673b.htm">reason</a>. Hence it would seem that there was no need of any extended trial. And in fact we find <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">St. Thomas</a> and <a href="../cathen/13610b.htm">Scotus</a> discussing the question whether the whole course might not have been accomplished in the first instant in which the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> were <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">created</a>. The <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">Angelic Doctor</a> argues that the Fall could not have taken place in the first instant. And it certainly seems that if the creature came into being in the very act of <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinning</a> the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> itself might be said to come from the <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">Creator</a>. But this argument, together with many others, is answered with his accustomed acuteness by <a href="../cathen/13610b.htm">Scotus</a>, who maintains the abstract possibility of <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> in the first instant. But whether possible or not, it is agreed that this is not what actually happened. For the authority of the passages in Isaiah and <a href="../cathen/05737b.htm">Ezekiel</a>, which were generally accepted as referring to the fall of <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a>, might well suffice to show that for at least one instant he had existed in a state of innocence and brightness. To modern readers the notion that the <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sin</a> was committed in the second instant of <a href="../cathen/04470a.htm">creation</a> may seem scarcely less incredible than the possibility of a fall in the very first. But this may be partly due to the fact that we are really thinking of <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">human</a> modes of <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">knowledge</a>, and fail to take into account the <a href="../cathen/13548a.htm">Scholastic</a> conception of <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> cognition. For a being who was capable of seeing many things at once, a single instant might be equivalent to the longer period needed by slowly-moving mortals.</p> <p>This dispute, as to the <a href="../cathen/14726a.htm">time</a> taken by the probation and fall of Satan, has a purely speculative interest. But the corresponding question as to the rapidity of the sentence and punishment is in some ways a more important matter. There can indeed be no <a href="../cathen/05141a.htm">doubt</a> that Satan and his rebel <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> were very speedily punished for their rebellion. This would seem to be sufficiently indicated in some of the texts which are understood to refer to the fall of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. It might be inferred, moreover, from the swiftness with which punishment followed on the offense in the case of our <a href="../cathen/01129a.htm">first parents</a>, although <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">man's</a> <a href="../cathen/10321a.htm">mind</a> moves more slowly than that of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>, and he had more excuse in his own weakness and in the power of his tempter. It was partly for this reason, indeed, that <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">man</a> found mercy, whereas there was no <a href="../cathen/12677d.htm">redemption</a> for the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. For, as St. Peter says, "<a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> spared not the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> that <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinned</a>" (<a href="../bible/2pe002.htm#vrs4">2 Peter 2:4</a>). This, it may be observed, is asserted universally, indicating that all who fell suffered punishment. For these and other reasons <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> very commonly teach that the doom and punishment followed in the next instant after the offense, and many go so far as to say there was no possibility of repentance. But here it will be well to bear in mind the distinction drawn between revealed <a href="../cathen/05075b.htm">doctrine</a>, which comes with authority, and <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theological</a> speculation, which to a great extent rests on <a href="../cathen/12673b.htm">reasoning</a>. No one who is really familiar with the <a href="../cathen/10285c.htm">medieval</a> masters, with their wide differences, their independence, their bold speculation, is likely to confuse the two together. But in these days there is some danger that we may lose sight of the distinction.</p> <p>It is <a href="../cathen/15073a.htm">true</a> that, when it fulfils certain definite <a href="../cathen/04211a.htm">conditions</a>, the agreement of <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> may serve as a sure testimony to revealed <a href="../cathen/05075b.htm">doctrine</a>, and some of their thoughts and even their very words have been adopted by the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> in her definitions of <a href="../cathen/05089a.htm">dogma</a>. But at the same <a href="../cathen/14726a.htm">time</a> these masters of <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theological</a> thought freely put forward many more or less plausible opinions, which come to us with reasoning rather than authority, and must needs stand or fall with the arguments by which they are supported. In this way we may find that many of them may agree in holding that the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> who <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinned</a> had no possibility of repentance. But it may be that it is a matter of argument, that each one holds it for a reason of his own and denies the validity of the arguments adduced by others.</p> <p>Some argue that from the <a href="../cathen/10715a.htm">nature</a> of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angelic</a> <a href="../cathen/10321a.htm">mind</a> and will there was an intrinsic impossibility of repentance. But it may be observed that in any case the basis of this argument is not revealed teaching, but <a href="../cathen/12025c.htm">philosophical</a> speculation. And it is scarcely surprising to find that its sufficiency is denied by equally <a href="../cathen/11330a.htm">orthodox</a> <a href="../cathen/05072b.htm">doctors</a> who hold that if the <a href="../cathen/04710a.htm">fallen angels</a> could not repent this was either because the doom was instantaneous, and left no space for repentance, or because the needful grace was denied them. Others, again, possibly with better reason, are neither satisfied that sufficient grace and room for repentance were in fact refused, nor can they see any good ground for thinking this likely, or for regarding it as in harmony with all that we know of the Divine mercy and <a href="../cathen/06636b.htm">goodness</a>.</p> <p>In the absence of any <a href="../cathen/03539b.htm">certain</a> decision on this subject, we may be allowed to hold, with <a href="../cathen/14319a.htm">Suarez</a>, that, however brief it may have been, there was enough delay to leave an opportunity for repentance, and that the <a href="../cathen/10733a.htm">necessary</a> grace was not wholly withheld. If none actually repented, this may be explained in some measure by saying that their strength of will and fixity of purpose made repentance exceedingly difficult, though not impossible; that the <a href="../cathen/14726a.htm">time</a>, though sufficient, was short; and that grace was not given in such abundance as to overcome these difficulties.</p> <p>The language of the <a href="../cathen/12477a.htm">prophets</a> (<a href="../bible/isa014.htm">Isaiah 14</a>; <a href="../bible/eze028.htm">Ezekiel 28</a>) would seem to show that <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a> held a very high rank in the <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heavenly</a> hierarchy. And, accordingly, we find many <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> maintaining that before his fall he was the foremost of all the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. <a href="../cathen/14319a.htm">Suarez</a> is disposed to admit that he was the highest negatively, i.e. that no one was higher, though many may have been his equals. But here again we are in the region of pious opinions, for some divines maintain that, far from being first of all, he did not belong to one of the highest choirs--<a href="../cathen/13725b.htm">Seraphim</a>, <a href="../cathen/03646c.htm">Cherubim</a>, and Thrones--but to one of the lower orders of <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>. In any case it appears that he holds a certain sovereignty over those who followed him in his rebellion. For we read of "the Devil and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>" (<a href="../bible/mat025.htm#vrs41">Matthew 25:41</a>), "the dragon and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>" (<a href="../bible/rev012.htm#vrs7">Apocalypse 12:7</a>), "<a href="../cathen/02388c.htm">Beelzebub</a>, the prince of devils"--which, whatever be the interpretation of the name, clearly refers to Satan, as appears from the context: "And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say that through <a href="../cathen/02388c.htm">Beelzebub</a> I <a href="../cathen/05709a.htm">cast out</a> devils" (<a href="../bible/luk011.htm#vrs15">Luke 11:15, 18</a>), and "the prince of the Powers of this air" (<a href="../bible/eph002.htm#vrs2">Ephesians 2:2</a>). At first sight it may seem strange that there should be any order or subordination amongst those rebellious <a href="../cathen/14220b.htm">spirits</a>, and that those who rose against their <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">Maker</a> should <a href="../cathen/11181c.htm">obey</a> one of their own fellows who had led them to destruction. And the <a href="../cathen/01449a.htm">analogy</a> of similar movements among <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> might suggest that the rebellion would be likely to issue in <a href="../cathen/01452a.htm">anarchy</a> and division. But it must be remembered that the fall of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> did not impair their natural powers, that <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a> still retained the <a href="../cathen/06553a.htm">gifts</a> that enabled him to influence his brethren before their fall, and that their superior <a href="../cathen/08066a.htm">intelligence</a> would show them that they could achieve more success and do more harm to others by unity and organization than by independence and division.</p> <p>Besides exercising this authority over those who were called "his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a>", Satan has extended his empire over the <a href="../cathen/10321a.htm">minds</a> of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a>. Thus, in the passage just cited from <a href="../cathen/11567b.htm">St. Paul</a>, we read, "And you, when you were dead in your offenses and <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sins</a>, wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the <a href="../cathen/14220b.htm">spirit</a> that now worketh on the children of unbelief" (<a href="../bible/eph002.htm#vrs1">Ephesians 2:1-2</a>). In the same way <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ</a> in the Gospel calls him "the prince of this world". For when His enemies are coming to take Him, He looks beyond the instruments of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> to the master who moves them, and says: "I will not now speak many things to you, for the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not anything" (<a href="../bible/joh014.htm#vrs30">John 14:30</a>).</p> <p>There is no need to discuss the view of some <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a> who surmise that <a href="../cathen/09410a.htm">Lucifer</a> was one of the <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> who ruled and administered the heavenly bodies, and that this planet was committed to his care. For in any case the sovereignty with which these texts are primarily concerned is but the rude <a href="../cathen/13055c.htm">right</a> of conquest and the power of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> influence. His sway began by his victory over our <a href="../cathen/01129a.htm">first parents</a>, who, yielding to his <a href="../cathen/14504b.htm">suggestions</a>, were brought under his bondage. All <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinners</a> who do his will become in so far his servants. For, as <a href="../cathen/06780a.htm">St. Gregory</a> says, he is the head of all the wicked--"Surely the Devil is the head of all the wicked; and of this head all the wicked are members" (Certe iniquorum omnium caput diabolus est; et hujus capitis membra sunt omnes iniqui.--Hom. 16, in Evangel.). This headship over the wicked, as <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">St. Thomas</a> is careful to explain, differs widely from <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ's</a> headship over the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>, inasmuch as Satan is only head by outward government and not also, as <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ</a> is, by inward, life-giving influence (<a href="../summa/4008.htm#article7">Summa III:8:7</a>).</p> <p>With the growing wickedness of the world and the spreading of <a href="../cathen/11388a.htm">paganism</a> and <a href="../cathen/05781a.htm">false</a> <a href="../cathen/12738a.htm">religions</a> and <a href="../cathen/11197b.htm">magic rites</a>, the rule of Satan was extended and strengthened till his power was broken by the victory of <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ</a>, who for this reason said, on the eve of <a href="../cathen/11527b.htm">His Passion</a>: "Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (<a href="../bible/joh012.htm#vrs31">John 12:31</a>). By the victory of the Cross <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ</a> delivered <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> from the bondage of Satan and at the same time <a href="../cathen/12677d.htm">paid the debt</a> due to Divine <a href="../cathen/08571c.htm">justice</a> by shedding His blood in <a href="../cathen/02055a.htm">atonement</a> for our <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sins</a>.</p> <p>In their endeavours to explain this great <a href="../cathen/10662a.htm">mystery</a>, some old <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologians</a>, misled by the metaphor of a ransom for captives made in <a href="../cathen/15546c.htm">war</a>, came to the strange conclusion that the price of <a href="../cathen/12677d.htm">Redemption</a> was paid to Satan. But this <a href="../cathen/05525a.htm">error</a> was effectively refuted by <a href="../cathen/01546a.htm">St. Anselm</a>, who showed that Satan had no <a href="../cathen/13055c.htm">rights</a> over his captives and that the great price wherewith we were bought was paid to <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> alone (cf. <a href="../cathen/02055a.htm">ATONEMENT</a>).</p> <p>What has been said so far may suffice to show the part played by the Devil in human history, whether in regard to the <a href="../cathen/07762a.htm">individual</a> <a href="../cathen/14153a.htm">soul</a> or the whole <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">race of Adam</a>. It is indicated, indeed, in his name of Satan, the adversary, the opposer, the accuser, as well as by his headship of the wicked ranged under his banner in continual <a href="../cathen/15546c.htm">warfare</a> with the <a href="../cathen/08646a.htm">kingdom of Christ</a>.</p> <p>The two cities whose struggle is described by <a href="../cathen/02084a.htm">St. Augustine</a> are already indicated in the words of the <a href="../cathen/01626c.htm">Apostle</a>, "In this the children of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> are manifest and the children of the devil: for the devil <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sinneth</a> from the beginning. For this purpose the <a href="../cathen/14142b.htm">Son of God</a> appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (<a href="../bible/1jo003.htm#vrs8">1 John 3:8</a>).</p> <p>Whether or not the foreknowledge of the <a href="../cathen/07706b.htm">Incarnation</a> was the occasion of his own fall, his subsequent course has certainly shown him the relentless enemy of <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">mankind</a> and the determined opponent of the Divine economy of <a href="../cathen/12677d.htm">redemption</a>. And since he lured our <a href="../cathen/01129a.htm">first parents</a> to their fall he has ceased not to <a href="../cathen/14504a.htm">tempt</a> their children in order to involve them in his own ruin. There is no reason, indeed, for thinking that all <a href="../cathen/14004b.htm">sins</a> and all <a href="../cathen/14504a.htm">temptations</a> must needs come directly from the Devil or one of his ministers of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a>. For it is <a href="../cathen/03539b.htm">certain</a> that if, after the first fall of <a href="../cathen/01129a.htm">Adam</a>, or at the time of the coming of <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ</a>, Satan and his <a href="../cathen/01476d.htm">angels</a> had been bound so fast that they might <a href="../cathen/14504a.htm">tempt</a> no more, the world would still have been filled with <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evils</a>. For <a href="../cathen/09580c.htm">men</a> would have had enough of <a href="../cathen/14504a.htm">temptation</a> in the <a href="../cathen/04208a.htm">weakness and waywardness</a> of their hearts. But in that case the <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> would clearly have been far less than it is now, for the activity of Satan does much more than merely add a further source of <a href="../cathen/14504a.htm">temptation</a> to the weakness of the world and the flesh; it means a combination and an intelligent direction of all the elements of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a>.</p><p>The whole <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> and each one of her children are beset by dangers, the fire of <a href="../cathen/11703a.htm">persecution</a>, the enervation of ease, the dangers of <a href="../cathen/15571a.htm">wealth</a> and of poverty, <a href="../cathen/07256b.htm">heresies</a> and <a href="../cathen/05525a.htm">errors</a> of opposite characters, <a href="../cathen/12652a.htm">rationalism</a> and <a href="../cathen/14339a.htm">superstition</a>, fanaticism and indifference. It would be bad enough if all these forces were acting apart and without any definite purpose, but the perils of the situation are incalculably increased when all may be organized and directed by vigilant and hostile intelligences.</p> <p>It is this that makes the <a href="../cathen/01626c.htm">Apostle</a>, though he well <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">knew</a> the perils of the world and the <a href="../cathen/04208a.htm">weakness of the flesh</a>, lay special stress on the greater dangers that come from the assaults of those mighty <a href="../cathen/14220b.htm">spirits</a> of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> in whom he recognized our real and most formidable foes--"Put you on the armour of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the <a href="../cathen/14220b.htm">spirits</a> of wickedness in the high places . . . Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with <a href="../cathen/15073a.htm">truth</a>, having on the breastplate of <a href="../cathen/08571c.htm">justice</a>, and your feet shod with the preparation of the <a href="../cathen/06655b.htm">gospel</a> of peace; in all things taking the shield of <a href="../cathen/05752c.htm">faith</a>, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one" (<a href="../bible/eph006.htm#vrs11">Ephesians 6:11, 16</a>).</p> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-bottom' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <div class="pub"><h2>About this page</h2><p id="apa"><strong>APA citation.</strong> <span id="apaauthor">Kent, W.</span> <span id="apayear">(1908).</span> <span id="apaarticle">Devil.</span> In <span id="apawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="apapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company.</span> <span id="apaurl">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04764a.htm</span></p><p id="mla"><strong>MLA citation.</strong> <span id="mlaauthor">Kent, William.</span> <span id="mlaarticle">"Devil."</span> <span id="mlawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="mlavolume">Vol. 4.</span> <span id="mlapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company,</span> <span id="mlayear">1908.</span> <span id="mlaurl"><http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04764a.htm>.</span></p><p id="transcription"><strong>Transcription.</strong> <span id="transcriber">This article was transcribed for New Advent by Rick McCarty.</span> <span id="dedication"></span></p><p id="approbation"><strong>Ecclesiastical approbation.</strong> <span id="nihil"><em>Nihil Obstat.</em> Remy Lafort, Censor.</span> <span id="imprimatur"><em>Imprimatur.</em> +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.</span></p><p id="contactus"><strong>Contact information.</strong> The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster <em>at</em> newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.</p></div> </div> <div id="ogdenville"><table summary="Bottom bar" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"><center><strong>Copyright © 2023 by <a href="../utility/contactus.htm">New Advent LLC</a>. 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