Demons' natural advantages do not make them superior

The nature of demons is such that the sense of an airy body easily surpasses the sense of earthly bodies, and because of the superior mobility of that same airy body they incomparably outstrip in speed not only the running of any human beings or wild animals, but even the flight of birds. Endowed with these two things, as far as the airy body is concerned—keenness of sense and swiftness of movement—they foretell or announce things known long in advance, which human beings marvel at because of the slowness of earthly sense. Demons have also gained, through the very long time over which their life extends, a far greater experience of things than can come to human beings because of the brevity of life. Through these capacities, which the nature of an airy body has obtained, demons not only predict many future things, but also perform many wonders. Since human beings cannot say or do these things, some people judge the demons worthy to be served and to have divine honors conferred on them, urged on especially by the vice of curiosity because of the love of false happiness and of earthly, temporal excellence.

But those who cleanse themselves from these desires and do not allow themselves to be carried off and seized by them, but instead seek and love something that is always the same, by sharing in which they may be blessed—these people first consider that demons should not be placed above them because they prevail with a keener sense of body. That is, because they belong to an airy, that is, a subtler element. For they do not think that even among earthly bodies the beasts should be placed above them, though beasts perceive many things more keenly. Take the keen-scented dog: because it finds a hidden wild animal by its sharpest sense of smell and offers a kind of guidance to a human being for catching it, not by a wiser intellect of mind but by a keener sense of body. Or the vulture, because it flies to a corpse thrown out from an unforeseen distance. Nor the eagle, because flying high it is said to see from so great an interval a fish swimming beneath the waves and, striking the waters heavily, to seize it with outstretched feet and talons. Nor many other kinds of living creatures, which wander about among grasses harmful to their health while feeding and do not touch any of them by which they would be harmed, though a human being has scarcely learned to avoid them by experience and fears many harmless things because they are untested. From this it is easy to infer how much keener sense can be in airy bodies. Yet no prudent person would judge that demons, who are endowed with it, should therefore be placed above good human beings.

I would say the same about swiftness of body. In this excellence too human beings are so surpassed not only by birds but also by many four-footed animals that in comparison with them they should be considered leaden. Yet people do not think these kinds of living creatures should be placed above them, creatures whom they rule over—capturing them, taming them, and reducing them to the use and convenience of their own will—not by force of body but by reason.

As for that third power of demons, that by long experience of things they have learned how to know and foretell many things in advance—those who vigilantly take care to discern these things from the truth of the truest light despise it so much that they do not think wicked old men, who have experienced more and are therefore, so to speak, more learned, excel upright young people. Nor do they think physicians, sailors, or farmers whom they see to be of depraved will and unjust character should be preferred to themselves, because those men foretell many things about illnesses, those about storms, those about the kinds of trees and fruits, so that to someone inexperienced in these matters they seem to divine.