The
demon's strategy in battle and in deception,
both of those who wish to give themselves to virtue,
and of those already find themselves in slavery to sin.
Beloved daughter:
you must remember
that the demon does not hope for anything less than our ruin, nor does
he employ the same means with all. As I set out to describe his
various tactics, methods, and deceptions, I begin by laying out the
various states of man:
- Some
find themselves in
slavery to sin, and give no thought to
freeing themselves.
- Others desire to free
themselves, but have not taken up the
enterprise.
- Still others believe that
they walk along the path of virtue,
while in reality they are distancing themselves from it.
- Lastly, there are those who,
having acquired virtue, fall into
great ruin.
We discuss each of these separately.