The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil

512 Pages·2016·47.27 MB·English

by  Paul Carus

THE
HISTORY OF THE DEVIL
AND THE
IDEA OF EVIL
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY
BY
DR. PAUL CARUS
"Ich kann mich nicht bereden lassen,
Macht mir den Teufel nur nicht klein;
Ein Kerl den alle Menschen hassen.
Der muss was sein ! "
—GOETHE
CHICAGO
THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY
334 DEARBORN STREET
LONDON
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.(Ltd.), PaternosterHouse
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chicagOi, i".s. A.-
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Allrightsreser-jed.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Good and Evil as Religious Ideas I
Devil Worship 6
Ancient Egypt 15
Accad and the Early Semites 29
Persian Dualism 5°
Israel 65
Brahmanism and Hinduism 74
Buddhism i°4
The Dawn of a New Era 137
Early Christianity 157
The Idea of Salvation in Greece and Italy 193
The Demonology of Northern Europe 241
The Devil's Prime 262
The Inquisition 3°°
The Age of the Reformation 33^
The Abolition of Witch-Prosecution 37°
In Verse and Fable 4°7
The Philosophical Problem of Good and Evil 439
I
_ J
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Frontispiece.
Demonolatrous Ceremonies of the Old Inhabitants of Haiti.
After Picart 11
Human Sacrifices Among the Greeks. Afteran ancient cameo
in Berlin 12
A Hind Substituted for Iphigenia. After a Pompeian fresco 13
Apapi (Apophis) and Atmu. After Rawlinson 16
Forms of Taourt. After Rawlinson 16
Seth. After Brugsch 16
The Soul Visiting the Mummy. From the Ani Papyrus . . 16
Set Teaching the King the Art of War. After Erman ... 18
The Weighing of the Heart in the Hall of Truth. After
Lepsius's reproduction of the Turin papyrus .... 21
The Abode of Bliss. After Lepsius's reproduction of the
Turin papyrus 25
Xisuthrus (the Babylonian Noah) in the Ark. After an an
cient Babylonian cylinder. Reproduced from Smith . 32
Wall Decorations of the Royal Palace at Nineveh in Their
Present State. After Place, reproduced from Lenormant 33
Sacred Tree and Serpent. From an ancient Babylonian cyl
inder. After Smith 35
The Tree of Life. Decorations on the embroidery of a royal
mantle. British Museum 36
Merodach Delivering the Moon-God from the Evil Spirits.
From a Babylonian cylinder. Smith 37
The Chaldean Trinity Blessing the Tree of Life. British
Museum 40
VI THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL.
PAGE
The Goddess Anna. Bas-relief in the British Museum . . 40
Fight Between Bel-Merodach and Tiamat. British Museum 41
Evil Demons. British Museum 43
Demon of the Southwest Wind. Statue in the Louvre. After
Lenormant 44
Nirgalli. British Museum. After Lenormant 45
An Ancient Assyrian Bronze Tablet Representing the World
in the Clutches of an Evil Demon. Collection of M. de
Clercq. After Lenormant 46
An Assyrian Cameo 59
A Persian Cameo 59
Assyrian Cylinder 59
Sculptures on a Royal Tomb. Lenormant 60
Bas-Relief of Persepolis. Lenormant . 61
The King Slaying a Unicorn. Bas-relief of Persepolis . . 63
Saul and the Witch of Endor. After Schnorr von Carolsfeld 68
Assyrian Goat Demons. Carvings on a boulder. After Le
normant 69
The Brahman Trimurti. After Coleman 75
Brahma. Fragment of a car. Musee Guimet 76
Brahma and Suraswati. Reproduced from Hermann Goll . 77
Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Brahma. After a native illustration,
reproduced from Hermann Goll 78
The Matsya Avatar or Fish Incarnation. From Picart . 79
The Kurm Avatar or Tortoise Incarnation From Picart . . 79
The Varaha Avatar or Wild Boar Incarnation. From Picart 79
The Narasinha Avataror Man-Lion Incarnation. From Picart 79
Lakshmi, the Goddess of Beauty. Mus6e Guimet ... 80
Vishnu Narasinha. Fragment of a car. Musee Guimet . . 81
Hanuman, the Monkey King, Building the Bridge Over the
Strait Between India and Lanka. Reproduced from Her
mann Goll 82
The Vamana Avatar or Dwarf Incarnation 83
The Parashura Avatar, or Battle-Ax Incarnation .... 83
The Rama Chandra Avatar 83
The Krishna Avatar 83
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. vii
PAGE
The Monkey King Sugriva Fighting. Reproduced from Cole
man 84
Vishnu and Shri-Lakshmi as Rama Chandra and Sita After
Their Happy Reunion. Reproduced from Coleman . 85
Hanuman Reciting His Adventures to Rama Chandra and
Sita. Reproduced from Coleman 86
Krishna Nursed by Devaki. Reproduced from Moore's Hindu
Pantheon 87
Krishna. Bronze statue, Mus6e Guimet 88
Krishna, the Favorite of the Country Lasses of Gokula. Re
produced from Coleman 89
Krishna's Adventures. Reproduced from Coleman ... go
The Battle Between the Kurus and Pandus on the Field of
Kurukshetra. Reproduced from Wilkins 91
Jagannath with His Two Companions. After Schlagintweit 92
Shiva with Parvati. Mus6e Guimet 93
Shiva-Trimurti. Musee Guimet 93
Shiva Dancing Surrounded by a Halo of Flames. Bronze
Statue, Musee Guimet 94
The Buddha Avatar or Vishnu's Incarnation as the Enlight
ened Teacher of Mankind. Reproduced from Picart 95
The Kalki Avatar or the White-Horse Incarnation. From
Picart 95
Shiva Worship. From Picart 95
Shiva and Parvati. From Goll 96
Kali. After an Indian picture. From Schlagintweit ... 97
Durga. Indian sculpture. From Schlagintweit .... 98
mKha' sGroma, the Tibetan Kali. Musde Guimet .... 99
Kali-Durga in the Hindu Pantheon. From Wilkins 100
Hari Hara. From Wilkins 101
Ganesa. From Wilkins 102
Agni. From Hermann Goll 102
Kama. From Wollheim da Fonceka 102
Shiva Slaying a Demon. From Wilkins 102
The Demon of Lightning. A Japanese temple statue . 106
The Demon of Thunder. A Japanese temple statue . 107
viii THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL.
PAGE
Mara's Army. Gandhara sculptures. Museum of Lahore.
From Grflnwedel no
Buddha, Tempted by Mara's Daughters. Gandhara sculp
tures. Reproduced from Grflnwedel 114
An Indian Wheel of Life. From L. E. Waddell's picture 119
A Tibetan Wheel of Life. From Bastian 121
A Japanese Wheel of Life. From Bastian 123
Meifu, the Dark Tribunal. From Karma 128
Kongo, the Sheriff. From a Japanese art print 130
Emma, the Judge. From a Japanese art print 130
The Devil as a Monk. Japanese wood carving, Mus6e Guimet 131
Oni-no-Nembutzu. After a wood carving in the author's pos
session 132
Hono-Kuruma, the Cart of Hell. After an old Japanese
painting 133
Tibetan Devil's Altar. From Waddell 134
Buddha Extending His Help to a Sufferer in Hell. From
Karma 136
The Christian Trinity, God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Reproduced from Muther 139
Asmodi, an Evil Spirit, Cast Out by Prayer. After Schnorr
von Carolsfeld 141
Heaven and Hell. After H. F., an unknown Old-German
master 144
The Holy Trinity in the Vatican. After Pietro Berrettini 146
The Buddhist Trinity, the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha.
Musee Guimet 147
The Trinity and Mary. After Lflbke 148
The Christian Trinity. From Bastian 149
The Trinity of Salerno. Sketched by the artist of the Garten-
laube 150
Jacob Bflhme 151
Vignette of Jacob Bohme's Book on the Threefold Life of
Man 152
The Three Principles. Frontispiece of Jacob Bohme's book 153
Jesus Casting Out Devils. After Schnorr von Carolsfeld 158
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. IX
PAGE
The Fiend, Sowing Tares Among the Wheat. From a Ger
man Picture-Bible 158
Dives Enjoying Life, and Lazarus Suffering. From a Ger
man Picture-Bible 160
DivesTormented in Hell. From a German Picture-Bible 160
Cast Into Outer Darkness Where There Shall be Weeping
and Gnashing of Teeth. From a German Picture-Bible 161
The Day of the Lord. After Michelangelo 162
The Last Judgment. A fresco in the Campo Santo, Pisa 164
The Christian World-Dispensation According to St. John the
Divine. After Schnorr von Carolsfeld 169
The Four Riders of the Apocalypse. Wall-painting on the
Campo Santo, Berlin 170
The Woman of Abominations. By Albrecht Diirer . 172
Christ's Descent Into Hell. By Sasha Schneider . . 176
Christian Representation of the Last Judgment. From Klas-
sischer Skulpturenschatz 180
Christian Representation of Hell. From Klassischer Skulp
turenschatz 181
The Typical Conception of Hell. German woodcut of the
age of the Reformation 185
Weighing the Evil and the Good of the Soul. From the ca
thedral in Autun, France 188
The Doom of the Damned. After Luca Signorelli . . 189
The Trinity Ideal of Mediaeval Christianity. Reproduced
from Muther 190
Hades. From Mon. Inst 194
Human Sacrifices at the Funeral Pyre of Patroclus. From
Michaelis, Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte 195
Christ's Death on the Cross and its Prototypes. Biblia Pau-
perum. Woodcut of the fifteenth century 196
Tuchulcha, the Demon of Infernal Tortures According to the
Belief of the Etruscans. Part of a wall-picture of a tomb
in Corneto 197
Charun, the Etruscan Demon of Death, Waiting for aVictim.
From an Etruscan vase 197
X THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL.
PAGE
Oknos and the Daughters of Danaos in Hades. Frieze of a
Roman wall decoration 197
Ixion on the Fiery Wheel 198
Gigantomachy; the Giants Storming Heaven. Vatican Mu
seum 199
Zeus Conquering Typhosus. Baumeister 199
Gigantomachy; the Giants Storming Heaven. Greek frieze 200
War in Heaven. By Albrecht Diirer 201
Chimaera of Arezzo. Now at Florence 202
Theseus and Pirithous. Baumeister 203
Perseus with the Head of the Decapitated Medusa. BauT
meister 204
Perseus and Andromeda. Baumeister 205
Sicilian Coin with Medusa Head 206
The Gorgoneion on the Shield of Phidias's Athene . . . 206
Gorgoneion, Ancient Face of the Gorgon Medusa. Glypto-
thek, Munich 207
Medusa Rondanini. Glyptothek, Munich 207
Bellerophon Slaying the Chimaera. British Museum . . . 208
The Lion-Killing Hero of Khorsabad 209
Prometheus Tied by Zeus to the Stake (or Cross) and Ex
posed to the Eagle ; Rescued by Hercules. Vase now
at Berlin, Baumeister 210
The Myth of Prometheus on a Sarcophagus 212
The Temptations of Christ. Mosaic in the cathedral of
Monreale, Sicily 213
Christian Gem 218
Mithras Monument of Ostburken 220
Mithraic Symbols. From C. W. King 220
Mithras the Saviour. Borghesi monument, the Louvre . 221
Mon of Zrvan Akarana. From Layard 225
Abraxas Gem 227
Agathodaemon. From C. W. King 227
Iao Gem 227
Serapis 228
Serapis Gem 229