"he would sift them as wheat;" [1] in fine, his audacity was not deterred from aggression on the person of our Lord himself! His insatiable desire, his unwearied perseverance, are thus expressed by St. Peter; "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour." [2] Nor are we tempted by one demon only; sometimes a host of infernal spirits combine in the assault. This was avowed by the evil spirit, who, when asked his name by Christ our Lord, replied; "My name is legion," [3] that is a host of demons, which tormented their unhappy victim; and of another it is written, that " he took with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in they dwelt there." [4]
There are many who, because they feel not the impetuous assaults of the devil, may imagine that this picture of his power is more fanciful than true. No wonder that such persons are not attacked by the devil, whereas they surrender to him at discretion. They possess neither piety, nor charity, nor any other Christian virtue; they are entirely subject to the dominion of the devil; and becoming, as they do, the willing abodes of the infernal tyrant, there needs no temptation to ensure their ruin. But those who have dedicated themselves to God, leading a heavenly life upon earth, are the chief objects of the assaults of Satan; against them he harbours the most malignant hatred; for them he is continually laying snares.
The Sacred Scriptures abound in examples of holy men, who, although firm and resolute, fell victims to his open violence or his covert artifice. Adam, David, Solomon, and others, whom it were tedious to enumerate, have experienced the furious assaults and crafty cunning of the spirits of darkness, which human wisdom and human strength are unable to elude or combat. Who then can deem himself sufficiently secure, when abandoned to his own weakness? Hence the necessity of offering up pure and pious prayer to God, imploring him " not to suffer us to be tempted above our strength, but to make issue with temptation, that we may be able to bear it." [5]
But should any of the faithful, through weakness or ignorance, dread the power of the devil, they are to be exhorted to take refuge in the harbour of prayer, whenever they are overtaken by the storm of temptation. The power and pertinacity of Satan, however great, are not, in his unquenchable hatred of mankind, such as to enable him to tempt and torment as much, and as long, as he pleases; all his power is subject to the control and permission of God. Of this we have a conspicuous example in Job; the devil could have touched nothing belong ing to him, if God had not said, " Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand;" whilst, on the other hand, he and his children, and all that he possessed, should have been entirely and at once destroyed by the devil, if God had not said, " Only put not
