The Anti-universalist, or history of the fallen angels of the Scriptures; proofs of the being of Satan and of evil spirits: intended as a refutation of the three main points of universalism, namely, that there is no hell after death; no devil or Satan as a being; and no future day of final judgment / by Josiah Priest ; embellished with twenty-two engravings. Part I.

  • Priest, Josiah, 1788-1851.
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Anti-universalist, or history of the fallen angels of the Scriptures; proofs of the being of Satan and of evil spirits: intended as a refutation of the three main points of universalism, namely, that there is no hell after death; no devil or Satan as a being; and no future day of final judgment / by Josiah Priest ; embellished with twenty-two engravings. Part I. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    sea, as if he knew that water could kill them,—but was prevented by the sailors; this he did^—it was supposed—because he had noticed that food was given them,—which he desired himself. This Orang-outang remained in England nearly two years, when it fell sick and died: during which, it mourned and seemed afflicted, nearly as much as a human creature could have been, and seemed to implore assistance, and relief from pain, of such as stood near him. This animal was but a small one of the species, being but about two and a half feet high; while some have been seen in their native woods, as large as men; but invariably go on all fours, except under particular circumstances. What animal of the earth, can compete with this, in giving evidence of intellectual subtilty, and approach to Uian.,—as ap¬ pears from the foregoing accounts ? None, we may Tearlessly state; proving, as we deem, that this is the creature pointed out in the text. This is the species of animal, one of which Satan, the fallen angel, an invisible spirit, made use of to hide him¬ self in, to deceive the woman,—by inspiring it with the gift of speech, and faculty of more than human reasoning, for the. time being. In its upright form, which no doubt, was its original position, well agreeing, in th is particular, with the purpose of the evil one; we see the animal, earnestly soliciting, and reasoning with the woman:—heaping argument on argument, with ad¬ dress, volubility, and eloquence ; 7nore vehement and ravishing, than ever echoed in the halls of Greek or Roman eloquence ; attended with attitudes and tact of persuasion, beyond all mortal power; with blandishments infinite, to allure the woman, in pursuit of knowledge, to pluck the fruit of that tree. [Sec the Plate.) The mind educated to believe the animal was 7iot a creature of the Ape genus, but a serpent, would do well to recollect, that the terms^ as found in Genesis, on tliy belly shalt thou go,” are far from saying,—on thy belly shalt thou creep : as going, or walking, is very difierent fi om the creeping^ or crawling mo¬ tions of the snake ; plainly showing, that to go on four feet oi hands, is to go as pointed out in the text. Is it possible to con¬ ceive an idea more preposterous, than that a long tissue of a creature, such as the snake is, could ever have walked or gone upright, on the sharp end of its tail. If it is said, that it might originally, have had legs and feet: yet we cannot perceive, ivhere they could have been placed, to any advantage to the creature, as the) evidently must have been in its way. But, if to this, it is replied, that God, when he cursed the animal, took its legs off, and laid the creature out straight on its belly; we in our turn, reply, by asking the authority for such a notion,—as there is no allusion in the text, to any dismemberment of the animal. We have another argument, to advance against the animaPs having