And now I have nam'd those People in _America_, I confess it would go a great way in favour of Satan's Generosity, as well as in Testimony of his Power, if we might believe all the Accounts, which indeed Authors are pretty well agreed in the Truth of, namely, of the Mischiefs the _Devil_ does in those Countries, where his Dominion seems to be establish'd; how he uses them when they deny him the Homage he claims of them as his Due; what Havock and Combustion he makes among them; and how Beneficent he is (or at least negative in his Mischiefs) when they Appease him by their hellish Sacrifices.
Likewise we see a Test of his wicked Subtilty in his Management of those dark Nations, when he was more immediately worship'd by them; namely, the making them believe that all their good Weather, Rains, Dews, and kind Influences upon the Earth, to make it fruitful, was from Him; whereas they really were the common Blessings of a higher Hand, and came not from him, the _Devil_, but from him that made the _Devil_, and made him a Devil or fallen Angel by his Curse.
But to go back to the Method the Devil took with the first of Mankind; 'tis plain the Policy of Hell was right, tho' the Execution of the Resolves they took did not fully answer their End neither; For _Satan_ fastening upon poor, proud, ridiculous Mother _Eve_, as I have said before, made presently a true Judgment of her Capacities, and of her Temper; took her by the right Handle, and soothing her Vanity (which is to this Day the softest Place in the Head of all the Sex) wheedl'd her out of her Senses, by praising her Beauty, and promising to make her a Goddess.
The foolish Woman yielded presently, and that we are told is the Reason why the same Method so strangely takes with all her Posterity (_viz._) that you are sure to prevail with them, if you can but once persuade them that you believe they are Witty and Handsome; for the Devil, you may observe, never quits any Hold he gets, and having once found a way into the Heart, always takes care to keep the Door open, that any of his Agents may enter after him without any more Difficulty: Hence the same Argument, especially the last, has so bewitching an Influence on the Sex, that they rarely deny you any thing, after they are but weak enough and vain enough to accept of the Praises you offer them on that Head; on the other hand you are sure they never forgive you the unpardonable Crime of saying they are Ugly or Disagreeable: It is suggested that the first Method the Devil took to insinuate all those fine things into _Eve_'s giddy Head, was by creeping close to her _one Night_, when she was asleep, and laying his Mouth to her _Ear_, whispering all the fine things to her, which he knew would set her Fancy a Tip-toe, and so made her receive them involuntarily into her Mind; knowing well enough that when she had form'd such Ideas in her Soul, however they came there, she would never be quiet till she had work'd them up to some extraordinary thing or other.