The History of the Devil Part 10

_Cain._ But has not G.o.d rejected me, and refused to converse any more with me, while he daily Favours and Countenances my younger Brother _Abel_, as if he resolv'd to set him up to rule over me?

_D._ No, Sir, that cannot be, you cannot be disturb'd at such a thing; is not the Right of Sovereignty yours by Primogeniture? can G.o.d himself take that away, when 'tis once given? are not you Lord _Adam_'s eldest Son? are you not the firstborn Glory of the Creation? and does not the Government descend to you by the divine Right of Birth and Blood?

_Cain._ But what does all that signify to me, while G.o.d appears to favour and caress my younger Brother, and to s.h.i.+ne upon him, while a black Dejection and token of Displeasure surrounds me every Day, and he does not appear to me as he used to do?

_D._ And what need your Majesty be concern'd at that, if it be so? if he does not appear pleased, you have the whole World to enjoy your self in, and all your numerous and rising Posterity Adore and Honour you; what need those remote Things be any disturbance to you?

_Cain._ How! my Children, not the Favour of G.o.d be valued! yes, yes, in his favour is Life; what can all the World avail without the Smiles and Countenance of him that made it?

_D._ Doubtless, Sir, he that made the World and plac'd you at the Head of it all, to govern and direct it, has made it agreeable, and it is able to give you a full Satisfaction and Enjoyment, if you please to consider it well, tho' you were never to converse with him all the while you live in't.

_Cain._ You are _quite wrong_ there, my Children, _quite wrong_.

_D._ But do you not, great Sir, see all your Children as well as us rejoicing in the Plenty of all Things, and are they not compleatly happy, and yet they know little of this great G.o.d? He seldom converses among us, we hear of him indeed by your sage Advices, and we bring our Offerings to you for him, as you direct, and when that's done, we enjoy whatever our Hearts desire; and so doubtless may you in an abundant manner, if you please.

_Cain._ But your Felicity is wrong plac'd then, or you suppose that G.o.d is pleased and satisfied in that your Offerings are brought to me; but what would you say, if you knew that G.o.d is displeased? that he does not accept your Offerings? that when I sacrific'd to him in behalf of you all, he rejected my Offerings, tho' I brought a princely Gift, being of the finest of the Wheat, the choicest and earliest Fruits, and the sweetest of the Oil, an Offering suited to the Giver of them all?

_D._ But if you offered them, Sir, how are you sure they were not accepted?

_Cain._ Yes, yes, I am sure; did not my Brother _Abel_ offer at the same Time a Lamb of his Flock, for he, you know, delights in Cattle, and covers the Mountains with his Herds? over him, all the while he was sacrificing, a bright Emanation shone chearing and enlivening; a Pledge of Favour, and light ambient Flames play'd hovering in the lower Air, as if attending his Sacrifice; and when ready prepar'd, immediately descended and burnt up the Flesh, a Sweet odoriferous Savour ascending to him, who thus testified his Acceptance; whereas, over my Head a black Cloud, misty, and distilling Vapour, hung dripping upon the humble Altar I had raised, and wetting the finest and choicest Things I had prepar'd, spoil'd and defac'd them; the Wood unapt to burn by the Moisture which fell, scarce receiv'd the Fire I brought to kindle it, and even then, rather smother'd and choaked, than kindled into a Flame; in a Word, it went quite out, without consuming what was brought to be offer'd up.

_D._ Let not our truly reverenc'd Lord and Father be disquieted at all this; if he accepts not what you bring, you are discharg'd of the Debt, and need bring no more; nor have the Trouble of such labour'd Collections of Rarities any more; when he thinks fit to require it again, you will have Notice, no Question, and then it being call'd for, will be accepted or else why should it be requir'd?

_Cain._ That may indeed be the Case, nor do I think of attempting any more to bring an Offering, for I rather take it, that I am forbidden for the present; but then, what is it that my younger Brother Triumphs in?

and how am I insulted, in that he and his House are all Joy and Triumph, as if they had some great Advantage over me, in that their Offering was accepted when mine was not?

_D._ Does he Triumph over your Majesty, our Lord and Sovereign? give us but your Order, and we will go and pull him and all his Generation in pieces; for to triumph over you who are his elder Brother, is a horrid Rebellion and Treason, and he ought to be expell'd the Society of Mankind.

_Cain._ I think so too, indeed; however, my dear Children and faithful Subjects, tho' I accept your Offer of Duty and Service, yet I will consider very well, before I take up Arms against my Brother; besides, our Sovereign Father and patriarchal Lord, _Adam_, being yet alive, it is not in my Right to act offensively without his Command.

_D._ We are ready therefore to carry your Pet.i.tion to him, and doubt not to obtain his Licence and Commission too, to empower you to do your self Justice upon your younger Brother; who being your Va.s.sal, or at least inferior, as he is junior in Birth, insults you upon the fancied Opinion of having a larger Share in the Divine Favour, and receiving a Blessing on his Sacrifices, on Pretence of the same Favour being denied you.

_Cain._ I am content, go then, and give a just Account of the State of our Affairs.

_D._ We shall soon return with the agreeable answer; let not our Lord and Father continue sad and dejected, but depend upon a speedy Relief, by the a.s.sistance of thy numerous Issue, all devoted to thy Interest and Felicity.

_Cain._ My Blessing be with you in your Way, and give you a favourable Reception at the venerable Tent of our universal Lord and Father.

Note, Here the cursed Race being fully given up to the Direction of the Evil-Spirit, which so early possess'd them, and swelling with Rage at the innocent _Abel_ and his whole Family, they resolved upon forming a most wicked and detestable lie, to bring about the Advice which they had already given their Father _Cain_ a touch of; and to pretend that _Adam_ being justly provok'd at the undutiful Behaviour of _Abel_, had given _Cain_ a Commission to chastise him, and by Force to cut him off and all his Family, as guilty of Rebellion and Pride.

Fill'd with this mischievous and b.l.o.o.d.y Resolution, they came back to their Father _Cain_, after staying a few Days, such as were Sufficient to make _Cain_ believe they had been at the s.p.a.cious Plains, where _Adam_ dwelt; the same which are now call'd the blessed Valleys, or the Plains of _Mecca_ in _Arabia Faelix_, near the Banks of the _Red-Sea_.

Note here also, that _Cain_ having received a wicked Hint from these Men, his Children and Subjects, as before, intimating that _Abel_ had broken the Laws of Primogeniture in his Behaviour towards him, (_Cain_) and that he might be justly punish'd for it; Satan, that cunning Manager of all our wayward Pa.s.sions, fan'd the Fire of Envy and Jealousy with his utmost Skill all the while his other Agents were absent; and by the Time they came back had blown it up into such a Heat of Fury and Rage, that it wanted nothing but Air to make it burn out, as it soon afterwards did in a furious Flame of Wrath and Revenge, even to Blood and Destruction.

Just in the very critical Moment, while Things stood thus with _Cain_, Satan brings in his wicked Instruments, as if just arriv'd with the Return of his Message from _Adam_, at whose Court they had been for Orders; and thus they, that is the _Devil_ a.s.suming to speak by them, approach their Father with an Air of solemn but chearful Satisfaction at the Success of their Emba.s.sy.

_D._ Hail Sovereign, Reverend, Patriarchal Lord! we come with Joy to render thee an Account of the Success of our Message.

_Cain._ Have you then seen the venerable Tents where dwell the Heaven-born, the Angelic Pair, to whom all human Reverence highly due, is and ought always to be humbly paid?

_D._ We have.

_Cain._ Did you, together with my grand Request, a just, a humble Homage for me pay, to the great Sire and Mother of Mankind?

_D._ We did.

_Cain._ Did you in humble Language represent the Griefs and Anguish which oppress my Soul?

_D._ We did, and back their Blessing to thee bring.

_Cain._ I hope with humblest Signs of filial Duty you took it for me on your bending Knees?

_D._ We did, and had our Share; the Patriarch lifting his Hands to Heaven express'd his Joy to see his spreading Race, and bless'd us all.

_Cain._ Did you my solemn Message too deliver, my Injuries impartially lay down, and due a.s.sistance and Direction crave?

_D._ We did.

_Cain._ What spoke the Oracle? he's G.o.d to me; what just Command d'ye bring, what's to be done? am I to bear the insulting Junior's Rage? and meekly suffer what unjustly he, affronting Primogeniture and Laws of G.o.d and Man, imposes by his Pride unsufferable! Am I to be crush'd, and be no more the firstborn Son on Earth, but bow and kneel to him?

_D._ Forbid it Heaven! as _Adam_ too forbids, who with a justice G.o.d-like and peculiar to injur'd Parents, _Abel_'s Pride resents, and gives his high Command to thee to punish.

_Cain._ To punish? say you, did he use the Word, the very Word? am I commission'd then to punish _Abel_?

_D._ Not _Abel_ only, but his rebel Race, as they alike in Crime alike are join'd in Punishment.

_Cain._ The Race indeed have shar'd the Merit with him; how did they all insult, and with a Shout of Triumph mock my Sorrow, when they saw me from my Sacrifice dejected come, as if my Disappointment was their Joy?

_D._ This too the venerable Prince resents, and to preserve the Race in Bounds of Laws subordinate and limited to Duty, Commands that this first Breach be not pa.s.s'd by, lest the Precedent upon Record stand to future Times to encourage like Rebellion.

_Cain._ And is it then my Sovereign Parent's Will?

_D._ It is his Will, that thou his eldest Son, his Image, his belov'd, should be maintain'd in all the Rights of Sovereignty deriv'd to thee from him; and not be left expos'd to injury and Power usurped, but should do thy self Justice on the rebel Race.

_Cain._ And so I will; _Abel_ shall quickly know what 'tis to trample on his elder Brother; shall know that he's thus sentenc'd by his Father, and I'm commission'd but to execute his high Command, his Sentence, which is G.o.d's, and that he falls by the Hand of Heavenly Justice.

So now Satan had done his Work, he had deluded the Mother to a Breach against the first and only Command, he had drawn _Adam_ to the same Snare, and now he brings in _Cain_ prompted by his own Rage, and deluded by his, (Satan's,) Craft, to commit Murder, nay a Fratricide, an aggravated Murther.

Upon this he sends out _Cain_, while the b.l.o.o.d.y Rage was in its Ferment, and wickedly at the same Time bringing _Abel_, innocent and fearing no ill, just in his Way, he suggests to his Thoughts such Words as these.

Look you _Cain_, see how Divine Justice concurs with your Father's righteous Sentence, see there's thy Brother _Abel_ directed by Heaven to fall into thy Hands unarm'd, unguarded, that thou may'st do thy self Justice upon him without Fear; see thou may'st kill him, and if thou hast a Mind to conceal it, no Eyes can see, or will the World ever know it, so that no Resentment or Revenge upon thee, or thy Posterity, can be apprehended, but it may be said some wild Beast had rent him; nor will any one suggest that thou, his Brother, and Superior, could possibly be the Person.

_Cain_ prepar'd for the Fact, by his former avow'd Rage and Resolution of Revenge, was so much the less prepar'd to avoid the Snare thus artfully contriv'd by the Master of all Subtilty, the _Devil_; so he immediately runs upon his Brother _Abel_, and after a little unarm'd Resistance, the innocent poor Man expecting no such Mischief, was conquer'd and murther'd; after which, as is to be supposed, the exasperated Crew of _Cain_'s outrageous Race, over-run all his Family and Houshold, killing Man, Woman and Child.