# The Devil

By Peter Howitt, 8 March 2026.
Web page: https://compossible.blog/2026/03/08/the-devil/
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Be warned: 

The Devil does not offer

Temptations of earthly treasures or

A feast of carnal pleasures

Instead he whispers 

Despair, despair, despair

![The Number of the Beast is 666, object 1 \(Butlin 522\), 1805. Watercolor, 41.2 x 33.5 cm. Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. William Blake](/images/uploads/2026/03/1000033829.jpg)_The Number of the Beast is 666, object 1 (Butlin 522), 1805. Watercolor, 41.2 x 33.5 cm. Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. William Blake_

That is why 

On the gates of Hell is writ:

'abandon all hope, ye who enter here'

![Gustave Doré's illustration to Dante's Inferno. Plate VIII: Canto III: The gate of Hell.](/images/uploads/2026/03/1000033830.jpg "Gustave Doré's illustration to Dante's Inferno. Plate VIII: Canto III: The gate of Hell.")