Michael Psellus on the Operation of Daemons

TIMOTHY.—By what line of reasoning have they convinced themselves to believe and declare that Satan is a son of God, when not only the Prophetic Writings, but the Oracles of Divine Truth speak everywhere of only one Son? And he who reclined on our Lord's bosom (as is recorded in the Holy Gospel) exclaims, concerning the divine Logos original: "λόγος" — the Word, or reason of God, "the Glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father." From where has such a tremendous error assailed them?

THRACIAN.—From where, Timothy, but from the Prince of Lies? He deceives the minds of his witless followers with such vain-glorious fictions, boasting that he will place his throne above the clouds and claiming that he will be equal to the Highest. For this very reason, he has been consigned to outer darkness. When he appears to them, he announces himself as the first-begotten son of God and creator of all earthly things, 8: This, it must be admitted, is the true character of Satan regarding his lying tendencies; he was a liar from the beginning. "When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own, for he is a liar, and his (the liar's) father." Whether his lies are born of vanity or simply meant to deceive is not easily determined; yet his mendacious address to the Messiah—"All this power will I give you, and the glory of them, for it is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it"—certainly seems to partake of a boastful character. who disposes of everything in the world. By this means, preying upon the specific weaknesses of each individual, he cheats these fools. They should have considered him an empty braggart and the arch-prince of falsehood, overwhelming his pompous pretensions with ridicule, instead of believing everything he says and letting themselves be led about like oxen by the nose. However, it will soon be in their power to convict him of being a liar; for if they insist on his making good his honeyed promises, he will turn out no better than the ass in the lion's skin, whose braying betrayed him when he attempted to roar. At present, however, they resemble the blind, the deaf, and the insane, since they cannot perceive,