s it
were, opens the Door to him, beckons him with his very Hand to come in,
and the Devil has nothing to do but enter and take Possession: Now if it
be so, and Man is so frank to him; you know the _Devil_ is no Fool not
to take the Advantage when 'tis offer'd him, and therefore 'tis no
wonder if the Consequences which I have been just now naming follow.

But let no Man be discourag'd by this, from reaffirming his natural and
religious Powers, and venturing to shut the _Devil_ out; for the Case is
plain he may be shut out; the Soul is a strong Castle, and has a good
Garrison plac'd within to defend it; if the Garrison behave well, and do
their Duty, it is impregnable, and the cowardly _Devil_ must raise his
Siege and be gone; nay, he must fly, or, as we call it, make his Escape,
lest he be laid by the Heels, that is, lest his Weakness be exposed, and
all his Lurking, lying in Wait, ambuscade-Tricks; this Part would bear a
great Enlargement, but I have not room to be witty upon him, so you must
take it in the Gross, the DEVIL lies at _Blye Bush_, as our Country
People call it, to watch your coming out of your Hold; and if you happen
to go abroad unarm'd he seizes upon and masters you with ease.

Unarm'd, you'll say, what Arms should I take? what Fence against a
Flail? What Weapons can a Man take to fight the _Devil_? I could tell
you what to fight him with, and what you might fright him with, for the
_Devil_ is to be frighted with several Things besides _Holy Water_; but
'tis too serious for you, and you'll tell me I am a preaching and a
canting, and the like; so I must let the _Devil_ manage you rather than
displease you with talking Scripture and Religion.

Well, but may not the _Devil_ be fought with some of his own Weapons? Is
there no dealing with him in a Way of human Nature? This would require a
long answer, and some Philosophy might be acted, or at least imitated,
and some Magic, perhaps; for they tells us there are Spells to draw away
even the Devil himself; as in some Places they nail Horse-Shoes upon the
Threshold of the Door, to keep him out; in other Places old pieces of
Flint, with so many Holes and so many Corners, and the like: But I must
answer in the Negative, I don't know what _Satan_ might be scar'd at in
those Days, but he is either grown cunninger since or bolder, for he
values none of those Things now; I question much whether he would value
St. _Dunstan_ and his red hot Tongs, if he was to meet hi