s he is a man, nor
on his own account simply, nor for any advantage he (the Devil) can
make by the ruin and destruction of man; but in meer envy at the
felicity he is supposed to enjoy as Satan's rival; and as he is
appointed to succeed Satan and his Angels in the possession of
those glories from which they are fallen.

And here I must take upon me to say, Mr. _Milton_ makes a wrong judgment
of the reason of _Satan_'s resolution to disturb the felicity of man; He
tells us it was meerly to affront God his Maker, rob him of the glory
design'd in his new work of creations and to disappoint him in his main
design, namely, the creating a new species of creatures in a perfect
rectitude of soul, and after his own image, from whom he might expect a
new Fund of glory should be rais'd, and who was to appear as the triumph
of the Messiah's victory over the Devil. In all which Satan could not be
fool enough not to know that he should be disappointed by the same
Power which had so eminently counter-acted his rage before.

But, I believe, the Devil went upon a much more probable design; and
tho' he may be said to act upon a meaner principle than that of pointing
his rage at the personal glory of his Creator; yet I own, that in my
opinion, it was by much the more rational undertaking, and more likely
to succeed; and that was, that whereas he perceived this new species of
creatures had a sublime as well as a human part, and were made capable
of possessing the mansions of eternal Beatitude, from whence, he
(_Satan_) and his Angels were expell'd and irretrievably banish'd; envy
at such a rival mov'd him by all possible artifice, _for he saw him
deprived of capacity to do it by force_, to render him unworthy like
himself; that bringing him to fall into rebellion and disobedience, he
might see his Rival damn'd with him; and those who were intended to fill
up the empty spaces in Heaven, made so by the absence of so many
millions of fallen Angels, be cast out into the same darkness with them.

How he came to know that this new species of creatures were liable to
such imperfection, is best explain'd by the _Devil_'s prying, vigilant
disposition, judging or leading him to judge by himself; (for he was as
near being infallible as any of God's creatures had been) and then
inclining him to try whether it was so or no.

Modern Naturalists, especially some who have not so large a charity for
the fair sex, as I have, te