Demonology and Devil-Lore

Institution lectures on Demonology, I initially thought the best approach would be to simply publish those lectures with some added notes and additions. However, after they were delivered, I found I still had a massive amount of unused material collected from many different countries. The ghostly creatures I had summoned wouldn't let me rest from my labors until I had examined them more thoroughly.

The legend of the god Thor attempting to drink a spring dry—only to fail because it was secretly fed by the entire ocean—seems to describe my own efforts here. However, another side of the case has given me more encouragement. Though these phantom armies seem impossible to count, close examination reveals only a few basic types. Hundreds of them merge into the same categories. While a researcher might initially feel overwhelmed by their numbers, eventually they find themselves searching far and wide original: "beating bushes" just to find a truly unique variety.

Around a few core concepts—perhaps the face original: "physiognomy" of Hunger, Disease, Lust, or Cruelty—the uneducated imagination has shattered nature into countless fragments. Like mirrors with various surfaces, these fragments reflect the same central idea in endless sizes and distortions; yet, they vanish if that central fact is removed.

In my attempt to "conquer" these imaginary monsters, they have sometimes swarmed and chattered around me in a bizarre comedy—one that mocks original: "travestied" the tragic power they once held over those who believed they were real. Gargoyles seemed to extend their grins over the finest architecture, decorative ledges original: "cornices" appeared to coil into serpents, and even the ordinary words of speakers transformed into images that distracted my attention. These "sphinxes" In Greek mythology, the Sphinx killed those who could not solve her riddle; here, Conway uses the term for the mysteries of demonology were only put to rest once I found what I believed to be the correct solutions to their mysteries. Through this psychological experience, it...