DEV 
77 6 DEV 
Satan is perfonified, is indifputable to any one who will 
read Zech. iii. i. In Tobit, vu 7, and in the Book of 
Wifdom, ii. 24, a Devil and the Devil are mentioned by 
name. 
When then it is recollected that there was fcarcely a 
nation in the Eaft, which had not fome tradition of fallen 
angels; and that the Egyptians, among whom the Jews 
fojourned, particularly maintained that dodrine ; when 
moreover it appears, that however the term itfelf may 
be varied, yet .the Thing , the Subflance, the Perfon, is 
plainly intimated in the books of the Old Teftament; to 
fay, either that fuch Thing, Subftance, or Perfon, does 
not occur in the Old Teftament, or does not occur be¬ 
fore the captivity, is contrary to fad:: and to fay that 
when our Lord and his Apoftles fpoke of Satan and the 
Pevil, they fpoke only by way of accommodation, is an 
affertion asgroundlefs as it would be to affirm, that when 
they fpoke of Mofes, Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, they 
were fpeaking only figuratively and allegorically of ficti¬ 
tious character*;. 
We do not cite from the New Teftament any paffages 
which prove the exiftence of the Devil. They occur fo 
continually, that it mult be tinnecelfary to give them in 
this place. But for the proper view in which they are to 
be feen, we refer the reader to Hurd’s Sermon on St. James, 
iv. 7. and Porteus’s Fourth LeCture on St. Matthew. 
“ The Devii. grew fick, and vow’d he a monk would be; 
“The Devil grew well, and the Devil a monk was he.” 
According to an old monkifh rhyme, damon languebat, mo- 
nachus bonus cffe volcbal ; fed cum ionvaluit,mariet et ante fait. 
This proverbial rhyme is applicable to fuch perfons, who 
in times of danger and adverfity are full of pious refolu- 
tions, which, when reftored to fafety and profperity, they 
think no more of. 
As the Devil loves holy water.”—The French fay, 
Comme Ic diable aime l'eau benit . The priefts, in the dark 
ages, perfuaded the vulgar, that their holy water had, 
among other virtues, the property of driving away the 
devil, whence this proverb. The Latins lay, to the 
fame purpofe, Sicutfus amaracinvm. Liter. As the fow loves 
marjoram; to which it is faid they have an averfion. 
“ Talk of the Devil, and he or his imps will appear.” 
The French fay, Quand on park du loup, on en voit la queue: 
Talk of the wolf, and you’ll fee his tail. The Latins, 
Lupus in fabula. The High Germans, Wen man den wolf 
\uennt, fo hammer gerent. This vulgar faying is ufed when 
a perfon whom we have juft been fpeaking of, comes ac¬ 
cidentally into one’s company or fight. 
“ Give the Devil his due or, “ It is a fin to belie 
the Devil.” The meaning of thefe two proverbs is, 
that though people be never fo bad, it is wrong to lay 
more to their charge than they deferve. The French fay, 
ll ne faut pas faire k diable plus noir qu'il n'ef. The Italians, 
Non bifogna fare il diablo piii nero che non e: We muft not 
make the devil blacker than he is. 
“ Seldom lies the Devil dead in a ditch.” The French 
fay, Lc diable ne dort pas. And the Italians, II diavolo non 
dome: The devil never fleeps, but is always upon the 
watch. 
“ The Devil rebukes fin.” The French fay, Le re - 
nard prcche aux poules: The fox preaches to the hens. 
“ Needs muft when the Devil drives.” The French 
fay, It faut marcher quand le diable ejl aux trovjfcs : When 
tlie devil is at our heels. The Italians, Bifogna andare , 
quando il diavolo e alia coda : When the devil is at our 
tail. This proverb is intended as a rebuke to thofe, 
who from indolence or diffipation never look into their 
affairs, till urged by neceflity or impending ruin. 
DE'VIL in a BUSH,/, in botany. See Nigella. 
DE'VIL orc the Neck, a tormenting machine formerly 
ufed by the papifts to torture the proteftants. 
DF/VIL’s-BIT,/'. in botany. See Scabiosa. 
PE'V 1 L’s-GUTS ,/1 in botany. See Cuscuta. 
PE'VIL’s ISLAND, an iiland of North America, on 
the eaft fide of Chefapeak bay, in Somerfet county, Ma. 
ryland, between Filhing bay and Nanokin. river. 
DE'VIL’s ISLE, one of the fmaller Molucca iflands. 
DE'VIL’s MOUTH, a name given by failors to a 
frightful volcano, near Leon Nicaraguay, in New Spain, 
feated near the lake. Lat. 13.10. N. Ion. 65, 10. W. 
DF/VIL’s NOSE, a promontory on the fouth fide of 
lake Ontario, fixteen miles eaft of Fiftiing bay, and twen¬ 
ty-three north-weft of the mouth of Geneliee river, in 
North America. 
DE'VIL’s RACE, rocks on the fouth fide of the 
ifland of Jamaica,.on the coaft of Callabafti bay. 
DE'VILISH, adj. Partaking of the qualities of the 
devil ; diabolical; mifehievous; malicious; deftrudive: 
For grief thereof, and devilifh defpight. 
From his infernal furnace forth he threw 
Huge flames, that dimmed all the heaven’s light, 
Enroll’d in dufkilh fmoke and brimftone blue. " Spenf. 
Having communication with the devil ; 
The duchefs, by his fubornation, 
Upon my life began her devilf pradices. Shahrfpcarc. 
An epithet of abhorrence or contempt.—A devilifh knave 1 
befides, the knave is handfome, young, and blythe, 
Shakefpeare. —Excelfive: in a ludicrous fenfe : 
Thy hair and beard are of a different dye. 
Short of a foot, diftorted of an eye; 
With all thefe tokens of a knave complete, 
It thou art honeft, thou’rt a devilifi cheat. Addifon. 
DE'VILISHLY, adv. In a manner fuiting the devil ; 
diabolically.—Thofe trumpeters threatened them with 
continual alarms of damnation, if they did not venture 
life, fortune, and all, in that which wickedly and dcvilijhly 
thofe impoftors called the caufe of God. South. 
DE'VII.KIN, J'. A little devil. Clariffa. 
DEVI'NCTION, f. [dcvinElio, Lat.] In antiquity, was 
ufed to fignify a love-charm or incantation to gain the 
affedion of a perfon beloved. It was done by tying 
knots; and is thus deferibed by Virgil in his eighth 
Eclogue : 
NeEle tribus nodis ternos, Amarylli, colores : 
Nettc, Amarylli , modo ; et Veneris, die , vincula ncElo. 
DE'VIOUS, adj. \_devius, Lat.] Out of the common 
track t 
Creufa kept behind : by choice we ftray 
Through ev’ry dark and ev’ry devious way. Dryden, 
Wandering; roving; rambling: 
Every mufe 
And every blooming pleafure, wait without 
To blefs the wildly devious morning walk. Thomfon. 
Erring; going aftray from reditude : 
Some lower mufe, perhaps, who lightly treads 
The devious paths where wanton fancy leads. Rowe. 
It is ufed likewife of perfons. Roving; idly vagrant 
erring.from the way. 
DE'VIOUSNESS, f. Aptnefs to go out of the way ; 
the quality of being devious. Scott. 
To DEVIR'GINATE, v.n. Idevirginare, Lat.] To 
deflower a virgin. 
DEVI'SABLE, adj. Capable of being devifed.—It 
feems fufficiently clear, that before the conqueft, lands 
were devifable by will. Blachfone. 
To DEVIS'CERATE, v.n. [de, Lat. from, and vifee. 
ra, the bowels.] To difbowel, to take out the bowels. 
Scott. Not ufed. 
To DEVI'SE, v. a. \_devifer, Fr. as of devifare, to look 
about. Skinner. ] To contrive ; to form by art; to in¬ 
vent; to excogitate ; to ftrike out by thought.—Whe¬ 
ther they, at their firft coming into the land, or after¬ 
wards, by trading with other nations which had letters, 
learned 
