The Semites furnish an admirable example of the course of development of demonology. in the earliest records of Babylonia and Assyria the antithesis between beneficent and maleficent deities is clearly marked. The conflict in the Babylonian creation myth of \lardnk. the god of light, with Tiamat• the demon of darkness, a conflict which is indicated by Gen. i. 2-S, and more clearly in Pev. xii. 7-9, is an instance of enmity between two nature godlings. On the other hand, Lilith. according to Talmudic tradi tion. seems to have been originally a malignant ghost changed into a vampire or ghoul. The infer ence that ghosts were sometimes metamorphosed into demons seem: justified from the account of the beneficent ghost of Samuel in the story of Saul and the witch of Endo•. I. Sam. xxviii.' 7-20. The Old Testament eolltains allusions to such as the 'familiar spirits' of Loy. xx. 27, the 'devils' of Lev. xvii. 7, Pout. xxxii. 17, 11. Citron. xi. 15. Psa. evi. 37, the creature, that haunt the desert. Isa. xiii. 21, 22; xxxiv. 14, IS. as well as the 'terror by night' and the 'pes tilence' of Psa. xci. 5-6. On the other hand. the strongly Yahwistie tendency of the Old Testa ment was most unfavorable to any development of demonology in the Bible. Even the one demon who retained any real personality, Satan (see DEVIL), play, but a small part in the Old Testa ment. lie is a servant (oven, in Job, i. 6, ii. reckoned among the sons) of Yahweh, and com pletely under his control, so that he is sharply rebuked by Yahweh in Zech. iii. 1-2, and is obit:411 to ask to Job, III .11. p I. ii. 1-7. That .1, NN N% as fat more det eloped than the ext curio \ aim ism of the 11111 Testament would lead one to fur -coral reasons. In the New Testament the power of demons is mentioned. Insanity and disease are laid to demoniacal possession, and Christ is tempted by who is represented a- an independent :went of the utmost enmity to God.
, of distinctly implied in the a. connt of the stilling of the tempest in \ltutt. viii. 26 27, \lark it :39. 41. and Christ is mis taken for it spirit, either a storm demon or a maliTu-ant ghost, iu \ !att. xiv. I. The Talmudie demonology, like the of other •hInSII 11:1' the Koran and the vast Arable literature, of which the .1 ollai.ro iyhtg furnishes familiar example with its of the jinn•. wl.o are probably ghosts of benig,nant, ur nmre frequently of malignant, dead. is another proof. Alost of all. perhaps, is the rich de of modern Semitic peoples. with its superhuman and po-thuman fiends.
In India the development of demonology is still mire instructive. Beside the primitive nature god, there existed nature demon- no less ancient. the storm god. cleaves the dragon .11.i. who has confined the cows repre -. ming the raimelonds, illere, too. can be seen the process of syncretism more clearly than in any other religious system. For instance. Indra is the god of the and beneficent. Nubile the fearful liudra typifies the ruin caused by the storm. Vet the beni,onant Indra and the alignant Itudra become blended into one deity. Indra, who is almost altogether beneficent.
\VItile nature demons are ancient. new ghost demons may be, and are, created constantly. There is an instructive -tory current in India of an irascible Englishman much dreaded by the natives. \ fter his death his tomb was r•Tzularly visited and propitiatory offerings of brandy and cigars to allp(•11,• Lis un the other hand, the ghost of Rama Krishna. a Hindu ascetic of recent date. has be come a benetieent golfing about NS hom the logo poPt it" tendency universal in r,tsgten ha- already t reated monerons myth-.
Beside the superhuman and 1m-dolman gods and demons there is a third class of nitwit later Thu are abstract deities. They in nearly all the great religions, as in India, and espeeially in Nome. Thus in India I.y the time of tla• later !Zig V edie period, ap proximat, ly ',nth:1111y about MC. 3111). Pra11111:1 tile I is practically an abstract deity. 'rids is true in -Treater measure of melt deitie-. as \diti I lb mull. I :III I Ka I \\ 110?1. PI rsil had a Itrgt number abstract demons. as Evil \ 1 ind D111211‘ a ;rya I Dronol t I, and the like. In f1rcece and Rome it will be suflieit nt to ru fir to the list of al.-traet .1.11 ot— enumerated by lucid, 273 It is obvious that the abstract gods and lb mu. are mole .b.sely allied to the natio.c divinities th III to ghosts.
Demonology is eteryttlo re elo-elv associated Ns ith witchera ft. In this two distinct are involved. In the fir-t place. the demon must be 1.1ace.1 the emit col of the wiiard. ur. more tmlinionly...f the wild]. In flip the &mon -o eontrollcs inn• become either non injmums or malignant to s011It• other person or p..rsons. Conti 01 OVOI the &MOON is gained in IIlally :I 101'111110'11i deity or something belonging to him nifty confer the power ()ter demons. Familiar examples are the magic ling given by Allah IIN Sidomon in the Arabian Nights, 16111 to control all and the Ictragrannt alon. or letters 111\11 of the name .Jelurt all (q.v.), during the .\ge-. Demons may be exorcised or may be invoked against enemies by ail equal variety of method-. Possession of some ohje•t belonging to the per son to be atfeeted is OM' of the most common Far this reason many tribes have rueful regulations, as the ancient Persians. who dis posed of parings of nail- and clipping- of hair according to prescribed form. .\tt extremely tvidelocad superstition of this is the so called power of the name. Acci.rding to this the knowledge of the real name of the individual gives all who possess it control over him. and this may be used for demoniacal purposes.
this reason it is eu-tomary in many tribes, as among the North .\nieriean Indian-. to hat e secret names whielt are considered the real ones. The same view was held by the dews. a- Is clear hum Rey. ii. 17. six. 12. \hitt. vii. 2•. .\kin to this acquisition of demoniacal control is the sell of one's soul to the devil to gain some object. as in the humus l'au-t legend. or in the devo tion of the Hindu Thugs to the malignant the wife of Shiva in his destructive aspect.