ult to discover this treasonable Correspondence, and that
Difficulty is indeed the _Devil_'s Advantage, and, for ought I see, the
chief Advantage he has over Mankind.

It is also a great Enquiry here, whether the _Devil_ knows our Thoughts
or no? If I may give my Opinion, I am with the negative; I deny that he
knows any thing of our Thoughts, except of those Thoughts which he puts
us upon thinking, for I will not doubt but he has the Art to inject
Thoughts, and to revive dormant Thoughts in us: It is not so wild a
Scheme as some take it to be, that Mr. _Milton_ lays down, to represent
the _Devil_ injecting corrupt Desires and wandring Thoughts into the
Head of _Eve_, by Dreams, and that he brought her to Dream whatever he
put into her Thoughts, by whispering to her vocally when she was asleep;
and to this End, he imagines the DEVIL laying himself close to her Ear,
in the Shape of a Toad, when she was fall asleep; I say, this is not so
wild a Scheme, seeing even now, if you can whisper any thing close to
the Ear of a Person in a deep Sleep, so as to speak distinctly to the
Person, and yet not awaken him, as has been frequently tried, the Person
sleeping shall dream distinctly of what you say to him; nay, shall dream
the very Words you say.

We have then no more to ask, but how the DEVIL can convey himself to the
Ear of a sleeping Person, and it is granted then that he may have Power
to make us dream what he pleases: But this is not all, for if he can so
forcibly, by his invisible Application, cause us to dream, what he
pleases, why can he not with the same Facility prompt our Thoughts,
whether sleeping or waking? To dream, is nothing else but to think
sleeping; and we have abundance of deep-headed Gentlemen among us, who
give us ample Testimony that they dream waking.

But if the DEVIL can prompt us to dream, that is to say, to think, yet
if he does not know our Thoughts, how then can he tell whether the
Whisper had its Effect? The answer is plain, the DEVIL, like the Angler,
baits the Hook, if the Fish bite he lies ready to take the Advantage, he
whispers to the Imagination, and then waits to see how it works; as
_Naomi_ said to _Ruth_, Chap. iii. 5, 18. _Sit still, my Daughter, until
thou know how the Matter will fall, for the Man will not be at rest
until he have finished the thing._ Thus when the DEVIL had whisper'd to
_Eve_ in her Sleep, _according to Milton_, and suggested Mischief to her
Imagination, he only sat