We shall now treat briefly as to whether devils exist or not, in this wise: If a devil is a thing that is opposed to God and has nothing of God, it corresponds exactly with the 'nothing' of which we have previously spoken.

If, as some do, we assume him to be a thinking being, that neither wills or nor accomplishes good, but puts himself in opposition to God, he is surely very wretched, and if prayers can avail they should be offered for his conversion.

But let us see whether such a miserable being could exist for a moment, and we will find out at once that it could not; for from the perfection of the thing arises all its endurance, and the more existence and divinity it has in itself the more permanent it is. Since a devil has not the slightest perfection, how should he be able to exist? To which we add that constancy or duration in the mode of the thinking thing arises only through the union that such a mode has with God which springs from love. Since exactly the opposite of this union has been stated of devils they cannot exist.

Since there is no necessity to assume the existence of devils why assume it? For it is not necessary for us (as for some others) to assume devils in order to find the cause of hate, envy, anger and similar passions, because we have found them satisfactorily without such fancies.