History of the Devil, ancient and modern (2)

Bad as he is, the Devil may be abus'd,Be falsely charg'd and causelessly accus'd,When Men, unwilling to be blam'd alone,Shift off those Crimes on him who are theirown.

Satan, ſo call him now; his former nameIs heard no more in heaven; he of the firſt,If not the firſt archangel; great in power,In favour and pre-eminence.

—Brighter once amidſt the hoſt,Of angels, then that ſtar the ſtars among.

"———But Satan with his powersAn hoftInnumerable as the ſtars of night,Or ſtars of morning, dew drops, which the ſunImperial on ev'ry leaf, and ev'ry flower."

N. B. This the true original of the famousDr Fauſtus or Foſter, of whom we have be-lieved ſuch ſtrange things, as that it is be-come a proverb, a great as the Devil andDr Fauſtus; whereas poor Fauſtus was nodoctor, and knew no more of the Devil thanany other body.