The History of the Devil, As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts. Defoe Daniel

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      “Me disobeys, breaks union, and that day

      “Cast out from God, and blessed vision, falls

      “Into utter darkness, deep ingulph’d, his place

      “Ordain’d without redemption, without end.

      Satan, affronted at the appearance of a new Essence or Being in Heaven, call’d the Son of God; for God, says Mr. Milton, (tho’ erroneously) declared himself at that time, saying, This day have I begotten him, and that he should be set up, above all the former Powers of Heaven, of whom Satan (as above) was the Chief and expecting, if any higher post could be granted, it might be his due; I say, affronted at this he resolv’d

      But Mr. Milton is grosly erroneous in ascribing those words, This day have I begotten thee, to that declaration of the Father before Satan fell, and consequently to a time before the creation; whereas, it is by Interpreters agreed to be understood of the Incarnation of the Son of God, or at least of the Resurrection:3 see Pool upon Acts xiii. 33.

      In a word, Satan withdrew with all his followers malecontent and chagrine, resolv’d to disobey this new command, and not yield obedience to the Son.

      But Mr. Milton agrees in that opinion, that the number of Angels which rebel’d with Satan was infinite, and suggests in one place, that they were the greatest half of all the angelick Body or seraphick Host.

      Be their number as it is, numberless millions and legions of millions, that is no part of my present enquiry; Satan the leader, guide and superior, as he was author of the celestial rebellion, is still the great Head and Master-Devil as before; under his authority they still act, not obeying but carrying on the same insurrection against God, which they begun in Heaven; making war still against Heaven, in the person of his Image and Creature man; and tho’ vanquish’d by the thunder of the Son of God, and cast down headlong from Heaven, they have yet reassumed, or rather not lost either the will or the power of doing evil.

      This fall of the Angels, with the war in Heaven which preceded it, is finely describ’d by Ovid, in his war of the Titans against Jupiter; casting mountain upon mountain, and hill upon hill (Pelion upon Ossa) in order to scale the Adamantine walls, and break open the gates of Heaven; till Jupiter struck them with his thunder-bolts and overwhelm’d them in the abyss: Vide Ovid Metam. new translation, lib. i. p. 19.

      Then again speaking of Jupiter, resolving in council to destroy mankind by a deluge, and giving the reasons of it to the heavenly Host, say thus, speaking of the demy-Gods alluding to good men below.

      Since then so much poetic liberty is taken with the Devil, relating to his most early state, and the time before his fall, give me leave to make an excursion of the like kind, relating to his History immediately after the fall, and till the creation of man; an interval which I think much of the Devil’s story is to be seen in, and which Mr. Milton has taken little notice of, at least it does not seem compleatly fill’d up; after which I shall return to honest Prose again, and persue the duty of an Historian.