“LUCIFER, to the legions of demons and damned people of hell,
unhappiness, despair, eternal pains. In order to the due execution of
justice and vengeance entrusted to our hands, _we will_, _ordain_, and
_command_, under the severest penalties:
“First, that our demons be always present at the tribunals of the world,
whether secular or canonical; that they take care of the account books of
merchants; prevent soldiers from thinking of death; trouble the
imagination of fanatics; inspire mundane sentiments in those who wish to
enter holy orders, benefices, and monasteries; that they be the
confidants of intrigues; that they repeat every day, to wives and
daughters, what a lovely young man has said to them once only: in fine,
let nothing be done in the world; let nothing be transacted in the shops,
bureaus, academies, places of commerce, etc. at which they shall not be
present; and we charge them to render an account to ourselves once a
year.
“Secondly, we ordain them reporters, flatterers, go-betweens, authors of
discord, divisions and lawsuits, under pain of disobedience.
“Thirdly, we order, also, in the matter which concerns those condemned to
hell, that the judgments we have pronounced against them in their causes
be put into immediate execution; that all those who have been condemned,
whether individually or collectively, return to their cells, resume their
irons, and there remain to all eternity, without hope of solace, or
change in their sufferings. Such is our will, and we make no distinction
in favour of pagan gods and goddesses, whom we regard in the same light
as other subjects of our empire.”
* * * * *
When Lucifer had spoken, his visage entirely changed; his eyes became
sparkling like two flambeaus; his nostrils cast out smoke mixed with
fire; his mouth exhaled an infectious odour; his hands and feet changed
to claws; from behind him issued a long tail, upon the end of which was a
great button of iron; his ears were horns like those of the rhinoceros:
he spoke again, and his voice sounded like the crash of thunder. This is
the substance of what he uttered: “Let these places return to their
former state; let darkness pervade the whole region; let the prisons shut
with horrid sound upon all this infernal race; let rage and despair seize
upon the damned; let a violent fire devour them; let the worm of remorse
knaw without consuming, and let the habitude of torment afford no solace.
Go, miserable wretches! obey! precipitate yourselves into these black
retreats! suffer without expiation! and let my ears be sweetly flattered
by the sound of your cries and chains!”
When Lucifer had pronounced this terrible sentence my demon transported
me out of the hall, and at the same instant I heard it and the whole
palace sink with a horrid crash. Those crushed among the ruins uttered
the most lamentable cries: I then perceived an immense volume of smoke;
after that I found myself in the midst of the field which is at the
extremity of my garden, from whence I returned to my house, totally
absorbed in the contemplation of this vision.—If the things here related
did not actually pass in hell as I have supposed, the probability is,
that the fact does not widely differ from the representation. The
judgments of Lucifer are there promptly executed, without notice to the
culprit: cases are decided without advocates: no person is absolved, for
innocence never enters places destined to eternal punishment. The fire
of hell exposes their perfidious designs, their passions and crimes; it
reveals all secrets, and sets forth the reasons for which the guilty have
been condemned. The sight of suffering companions affords no relief; it
rather augments their grief; contrary to which, in the world, egotism and
corruption render them insensible to the sufferings of another. The
_reformation_ made by Lucifer operates invisibly in the commerce of men;
the demons and our passions are the causes of the disorder and injustice
that prevail in society. Oh! if it was possible for each one really to
behold what is here only imagined, how soon would they abandon their
careless manner of life! But ought we to be more wicked because we have
less fear? Let us think, let us think upon the other world; let us
seriously reflect upon our latter end; if that offers us happiness and
rapture, let us, by perseverance, endeavour to attain it; but if, on the
contrary, we anticipate unhappiness and anguish, let us spare no pains to
escape so direful a doom; let the aspect of hell contribute to the
reformation of our manners, and be so impressed upon our minds as to be
the means of our salvation from the greatest of all evils.
* * * * *