If we are
possessed by the devil, it cannot be by one, for then we should
live, at least here on earth, quietly, as with
God, in
unity, without
contradiction, without
reflection, always sure of the man behind us. His
face would not frighten us, for as
diabolical beings we would, if somewhat
sensitive to the sight, be clever enough to prefer to sacrifice a hand in
order to keep his face covered with it. If we were possessed by only
a
single devil, one who had a calm untroubled view of our whole nature, and
freedom to dispose of us at any moment, then that devil would also have
enough power to hold us for the length of a human life high above the
spirit of God in us and even swing us to and fro, so that we should never
get a glimmer of it, and therefore should not be troubled from that
quarter.
Only a crowd of devils could account for our
earthly misfortunes.
Why don't they
exterminate one another until only a single one is left, or
why don't they subordinate themselves to one great devil? Either way would
be in accord with the
diabolical principle of deceiving us as completely as
possible. With unity lacking, what good is the
scrupulous attention all the
devils pay us? It simply goes without saying that the
falling of a human
hair must matter to the devil than to God, for the devil really loses that
hair and God does not. But as long as many devils are in us that still does
not help us arrive at any state of well-being.
--
Franz Kafka