CHAPTER VI.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE BEAST.

Once, when men were obsessed by a feeling within, like the spirit of a beast, whether wolf, snake, dog or pig, such an obsession was ascribed to "Satan" and his dark horde of devils.

"Satan' was the name given to that particular kind of demon which made man bestial, and for convenience we may still refer to that INFLUENCE as Satanic.

When our ancestors became obsessed with degrading thoughts, through no fault of their own, but by this terrible INFLUENCE, they felt that they had fallen into the power of Satan.

(a) Now, a dog may be, and frequently is, a respectable member of the animal kingdom.

But a man, so possessed of this INFLUENCE, and so cast down from his estate as a man, that he is a dog, is a mongrel cur, unfit for the society of young people, full of foul nastiness. His spiritual manhood is attacked by this INFLUENCE, and if he succumbs, it will be lost; then his spiritual condition will be gradually made manifest in his body, and the work of the INFLUENCE will be complete.

It is not necessary to elaborate an unpleasant subject, except to say that this is the greatest disaster the ordinary mind can imagine. The mind despises that condition, with such a repulsion, that to be called a son of a dog, male or female, has always been felt the bitterest epithet possible.

Certainly to a man, no worse fate can be thought of, than to lose his manhood, spiritually, mentally, integrally, determinately or physically.

(b) This INFLUENCE is also felt by those who become imbued with a wolfish or snarling habit, or who meet such expressions in others. Lycanthropia still exists, more sub

tle and secret than ever, but still snarling and growling at us through those who are possessed with a lust to take from us all that we have and to even take the right to live at all.

(c) The mule is a symbol, not only of stubbornness, but also of sterility. Not every one feels this INFLUENCE as sterility, but over some its power is supreme. One who feels that life's object is lost if she has no child, is sometimes so entangled by this INFLUENCE that her hope becomes hopeless and her desire turns to despair. Then, when life is void to her, the INFLUENCE whispers that it is her own fault, and that she is worthless and should commit suicide. Dear Sister, do not believe it. Satan was a liar from the beginning. All will be well when you are relieved from his power!

Again, when we find the world unaccountably stubborn around us, it is this INFLUENCE of the beast, injecting that mulish spirit, like poison, into the air.

(d) The loyalty of those we love or who smile upon us to our faces, could be forever

depended upon in a world free of the treacherous INFLUENCE, symbolized by the snake. But that is not this world, as everyone knows. We were constituted for that world, more than for this one, or we would not again and again, believe and believe still again what people say to us-or that they are working in our interests, even after we find out by bitter experience, over and over, that we so make ourselves liable to disappointment.

Do not blame your friend who turns against you. He is possessed of this INFLUENCE and cannot help it. Nor can you, in your own strength, help him. Only the CHRISTPOWER can make him free, when he will be your own loving friend again. In such a case, as far only as his treachery toward you is concerned, you can accept the CHRISTPOWER for him, as we shall see on another page. The folk lores of many different races show that a snakish INFLUENCE has been almost universally felt, and primitive hymns voice the belief caused by that feeling, for instance:

"Ol' Satan, he's a snake in the grass,
"Yes, my Lord!"

This snake spirit is the most insidious form of this INFLUENCE. Entering into a husband or wife it disturbs the oneness of that relationship, by first diverging the thoughts, then creating aims in the breasts of each, which the other does not share, and finally creating a positive disloyalty, which, if not cast out, inevitably ends in a dissolution of the marriage, whether made physical by divorce or annulment, or not.

The INFLUENCES which come with bestial suggestions are many, and bring a man to the precipice, over which, if not saved, he will be thrust. There lie broken friendships, ruined lives, and blighted hopes!

(e) The spirit of swine, or the INFLUENCE of hoggishness is a terribly alive force in the world. You may feel that your work is good and useful, but you are surrounded by hogs who "swill everything."

Dear Brother, beware of this INFLUENCE, for it will deny you the right to exist. It will monopolize everything you should have. It