Interview with the Devil - By Napoleon Hill
Q. I have uncovered the secret code by which I can pick up your thoughts. I have come to ask you some very plain questions. I demand that you give me direct and truthful answers. Are you ready for the interview, Mr. Devil?
A. Yes, I am ready, but you must address me with more respect. During this interview you will address me as "Your Majesty."
Q. By what right do you demand such royal respect?
A. You should know I control 98 percent of the people of your world. Do you not think that entitles me to rate as royalty?
Q. Have you proof of your claim?
A. Yes, plenty of it.
Q. Of what does your proof consist?
A. Of many things. If you want answers, you will address me as "Your Majesty." Some things you will understand; some you will not. In order that you may get my viewpoint, I shall describe myself and correct the false notions people have of me and my place of abode.
Q. That is a fine idea, Your Majesty. Start by telling me where you live. Then describe your physical appearance.
A. My physical appearance? Why, my dear Mr. Earthbound, I have no physical body. I would be handicapped by such an encumbrance as those in which you earthbound creatures live. I consist of negative energy, and I live in the minds of people who fear me. I also occupy one-half of every atom of physical matter and every unit of mental and physical energy. Perhaps you will better understand my nature if! tell you I am the negative portion of the atom.
Q. Oh, I see what you are preparing to claim. You are laying the foundation to say that if it were not for you, there would be no world, no stars, no electrons, no atoms, no human beings, nothing. Is that correct?
A. True! Absolutely true.
Q. Well, if you only occupy one-half of energy and matter, who occupies the other half?
A. The other half is occupied by my opposition.
Q. Opposition? What do you mean?
A. The opposition is what you earthbound call God.
Q. So you have the universe divided up with God. Is that your claim?
A. Not my claim, but the actual fact. Before this interview is finished you will understand why my claim is true. You will also understand why it has to be true, or there could be no world such as yours, no earthbound creatures such as you. I am no beast with a forked tongue and a spiked tail.
Q But you do control the minds of 98 out of every 100 people. You said so yourself. Who causes all the misery in this 98 percent Devil-controlled world, if you do not?
A. I have not said that I do not cause all the misery of the world. On the other hand, I boast of it. It is my business to represent the negative side of everything, including the thoughts of you earthbound people. How else could I control people? My opposition controls positive thought. I control negative thought.
Q. How do you gain control of the minds of people?
A. Oh, that is easy: I merely move in and occupy the unused space of the human brain. I sow the seeds of negative thought in the minds of people so I can occupy and control the space!
Q. You must have many tricks and devices by which you gain and hold control of the human mind.
A. To be sure, I employ tricks and devices to control human thought. My devices are clever ones too.
Q. Go ahead and describe your clever tricks, Your Majesty.
A. One of my cleverest devices for mind control is fear. I plant the seed of fear in the minds of people, and as these seeds germinate and grow, through use, I control the space they occupy. The six most effective fears are the fear of poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love, old age, and death.
Q. Which of these six fears serves you most often, Your Majesty?
A. The first and the last-poverty and death! At one time or another during life I tighten my grip on all people through one or both of these. I plant these fears in the minds of people so deftly that they believe them to be their own creation. I accomplish this end by making people believe I am standing just beyond the entrance gate of the next life, waiting to claim them after death for eternal punishment. Of course I cannot punish anyone, except in that person's own mind, through some form of fear-but fear of the thing which does not exist is just as useful to me as fear of that which does exist. All forms of fear extend the space I occupy in the human mind.
Q. Your Majesty, will you explain how you gained this control over human beings?
A. The story is too long to be told in a few words. It began over a million years ago, when the first man began to think. Up to that time I had control over all mankind, but enemies of mine discovered the power of positive thought, placed it in the minds of men, and then began a battle on my part to remain in control. So far, I have done quite well by myself, having lost only 2 percent of the people to the opposition.
Q. I take it from your answer that men who think are your enemies. Is that right?
A. It is not right, but it is correct.
Q. Tell me something more about the world in which you live.
A. I live wherever I choose. Time and space do not exist for me. I am a force best described to you as energy. My favorite physical dwelling place, as I have told you, is the minds of the earthbound. I control a part of the brain space of every human being. The amount of space I occupy in each individual's mind depends upon how little and what sort of thinking that person does. As I have told you, I cannot entirely control any person who thinks.
Q. You speak of your opposition. What do you mean by that?
A. My opponent controls all the positive forces of the world, such as love, faith, hope, and optimism. My opponent also controls the positive factors of all natural law throughout the universe, the forces which keep the earth and the planets and all the stars balanced in their courses, but these forces are meek in comparison with those which operate in the human mind under my control. You see, I do not seek to control stars and planets. I prefer the control of human minds.
You may be interested in this conference: "Fear and Faith are the Same Force."
Reading Support:
