XV. Dt malo Diaboli

XV. Dt malo Diaboli

The devil is an empty vessel, for as soon as he beheld his own brightness, he lost it through pride and buried himself in hell, where he will remain without glory and without any honor of praise. And he shook the wheel of human birth, deceiving him through many evils, and for this reason he gathers the greatest confusions for himself, because he even rejoices in the destruction of souls. And he struck the wheel of human birth, and through many evils deceived him, and for this reason he gathers to himself great confusions, because he even rejoices in the destruction of souls. Therefore, he himself will always be in his own torments, like an exile without consolation, because his deception will return to him with great confusion, in which he will also be greatly afflicted with shame, since the faithful are rescued from him both through repentance and through purification. xvr. About the Devil and the serpent. He had deceived the first man in Paradise through the serpent, because he found no other creature among all the animals that could deceive man more quickly than the serpent, since the Devil was openly afraid to approach man at that time; therefore, he chose the serpent as the means of this deception. For the serpent is divided into two parts: sometimes it is in the water, and sometimes it rests on the ground. The serpent has two parts: one that is slippery and the other that is treacherous. From the water, indeed, it draws treachery, and from the earth. From this, it slithers through the watery air and begs from the earth as if in supplication. Indeed, his nature is such that he deceives a person cunningly; and he kills him with a deadly poison. But if a person conquers him, he hides himself and deceitfully moves toward him. And through such cunning arts, the Devil persuaded man not to have either joy or confidence in God. For this reason, humanity gained knowledge of evil through the taste of the fruit, and felt the presence of sin in its very essence. Thus, the Devil has inflicted all evils upon humanity, which later were suffocated by water.