12 8. III. JAN. 27, 1917.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
75
AUTHOR WANTED (12 S. ii. 509 ; iii. 38, 56).
Is MB. DODGSON correct in assigning the
saying " God is on the side of big bat-
talions " to Madame de Sevigne ? According
to the late W. F. H. King, whose ' Classical
-and Foreign Quotations ' (3rd ed>, 1904) is
one of the few works of this class that show
independent research, it was her cousin
R. de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, who wrote
to the Comte de Limoges (Oct. 18, 1677) :
" Dieu est d' ordinaire pour les gros escadrons
centre les petits." Voltaire, a century after
(Feb. 6, 1770), in a letter to M. le Riche
wrote :
" Le norabre des sages sera toujours petit. II est vrai qu'il est augmente ; mais ce n'est rien en com- paraison des sots, et par malheur on dit que Dieu -est toujours pour les gros bataillons."
But it was said probably before Tacitus .{'Hist.,' iv. 17): " Deos f ortioribus adesse." DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE.
SHAKESPEARE ON SATAN AS AN ANGEL OF LIGHT (12 S. ii. 181). It is noteworthy that "the passage from 2 Corinthians xi. 14, which speaks of Satan as disguising himself as an angel of light, did not impress Shakespeare -alone in his day. The same thought is used commonly by the religious writers of the ^period, and also, though less often, by the dramatic writers. According to the ' Shake- speare Jahrbuch"* (xxii. 122), Shakespeare in employing it is drawing on the proverbial wisdom of the sixteenth century. So far
- as I know, however, attention has not been
called to the frequency of its occurrence in both the religious and the secular litera- ture of the time.
As might be expected, many examples are found in the writings of the moralists of the day. Strype's ' Ecclesiastical Memo- rials,' vol. iiL part ii. p. 376, in ' An Apology
of J. Philpot' : "Now will I turne to the Arrians agayne, who transfigure th hymselfe into an angel of light, as Satan oftentymes doeth." Becon's 'Works' (Parker Society
edition), volume ' On Prayers,' &c., Preface,
p. 3, of ' Flowers of Godly Prayer ' : " Satan .... to deceive the foolish blind world fashions himself like unto the Apostles. . . . and walks as the angel of light." Ib. .pp. 293, 487, and passim. Northbrooke's ' Treatise against Dancing, Dice-playing, &c.' (Shakespeare Society edition), p. 24 : " He [Satan] can transforme himselfe into an .angell of light." ' A Third Blast of Retrait from Plaies and Theatres,' p. 121 (Hazlitt's 'Treatise on Drama and Stage'): "It were il painting the Divel like an Angel."
- Playes confuted in Five Actions,' by
- JStepnen Gosson, p. 180 (Hazlitt's 'Treatise
on Drama and Stage ') : " It is the iuglinge
of the deuill, to turne himselfe sometimes
to an Angell of light."
From the drama and in the general litera- ture of Shakespeare's day I take the follow- ing. The name of one of John Webster's plays, ' The White Devil,' reminds us that the expression was proverbial. In the text of the play (Dyce ed., p. 30) Webster varies it somewhat : " Your beauty ! O, ten thou- sand curses on't, How long have I beheld the devil in crystal ! " Again, p. 23 : "If the devil did ever take good shape, behold this picture."
Other examples that may be cited are : ' How to Choose a Good Wife from a Bad ' (Hazlitt's 'Dodsley,' ix. 46): "Tempt no more, devil ! Thy deformity hath chang'd itself into an angels shape." ' Two Merry Milk Maids ' (Tudor Facsimile Texts, H 2) : " So, the divell when he meaneth to seduce, puts on an Angels shape." ' A Fair Quarrel,' Middleton (Dyce ed., iii. 500) : " What a white devil have I met withal ! " Nash, ' The Terrors of the Night ' (McKerrow ed., vol. i. p. 347, 1. 27) : " It is not to be gain- said, but the devill can transforme himselfe into an angell of light."
Again, the frequency of Shakespeare's use of the thought to illustrate the nature of hypocrisy is significant. There is no doubt that the study of hypocrisy in its various forms attracted him ; witness lago, lachimo, and Richard III., who, with other villains in his plays, found that a pious and fair exterior assisted them materially in advan- cing their evil causes.
In fact, while Shakespeare's fondness for this idea may be partly explained by its proverbial quality, it seems also to arise from its aptness as characterizing the vice which, for one reason or another, attracted his especial attention in the writing of his plays. M. P. TILLEY.
University of Michigan.
PIGEON-EATING WAGERS (12 S. ii. 507). These sort of wagers were pretty frequent in Yorkshire about fifteen years ago. It will suffice to mention one, which is probably that about which MRS. ANDERSON inquires at the above reference.
A pigeon-eating contest, lasting a fort- night, was brought to a conclusion on March 6, 1901, at Farnley, Leeds, when Tom Helstrip, a game watcher, accounted for his fourteenth bird. Not only did Helstrip consume the final bird in order to comply with the terms of the wager, but, when approached by a firm of local photographers
