An inquiry into the existence of a personal devil / [By John Epps.

Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the existence of a personal devil / [By John Epps. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    faithless generation! how long shall I be with you P How long shall I suffer you P Bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him: and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming. And lie asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him ? And he said, of a child; and ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any- thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead: insomuch that many said, he is dead, Bnt Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up : and he arose/5 The spirit, possessing, is described first as a dumb spirit, afterwards as a “ foul spirit,55 and, finally, as a dumb and deaf spirit. A passage occurs, in which the epileptic is designated as a lunatic: 168 “ And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falletli into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse genera- tion ! how long shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him.55 It is worthy of remark that it is not said, as it is in the common version, that Jesus rebuked the devil; but that he rebuked him, the youth, and then to bcupoviov, to cl aim on ion, the possession departed out of him. A similar epileptic is described by Luke, “169 And as he was yet a coming, the devil (possession) threw him down, and tare liim. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.55 The spirit is here called “ unclean spirit,55 and Jesus is said to have “ healed the child.55 It is further said,170 “ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all man- ner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, (possessions) and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. The ancients, finding that epileptic seizures were influenced by the moon, aeXrjvr), selene in Greek, luna in Latin, called epileptics, lunatics.171 “The possessed with devils55 are daipovL^opevovs, daimonizomenous, “the lunatic,55 o-e\evia£o[xevovs, seleniazomenous. In reference to both these and to the palsied, J esus is said to have healed, iOepcurevatv, etherapeusen, them; so that dispossession was literally a healing. The same again is stated by Matthew, “ When the 172 even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils (possessed); and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.55 168 Matt. xvii. 14—18, 169 Luke ix. 87—42. 170 Matt. iv. 23, 24.