A
Pact with the Devil
A Pact with
the Devil and a Nobleman in Pignerole in 1676.
A Pact with the Devil
1. Lucifer, you are bound to
deliver to me immediately 100,000 pounds of money in gold!
2. You will deliver me the first
Tuesday of every month 1,000 pounds.
3. You will bring me this gold
in current money, of such kind that no only I,
but also all those to whom I
may wish to give some, may use it.
4. The foresaid gold must be not
false, must not disappear in one’s hand,
or turn to stone or coals.
It should be metal stamped by
the hands of men, legal and valid in all lands.
5. If I need a considerable sum
of money, no matter when or for what purpose,
you are duty bound to deliver
to me secret or buried treasure.
Nor need I fetch it myself
from wherever it may be hidden or buried,
but you must deliver it into
my hands, without any trouble to me,
to wherever I happen to be at
one time,
to dispose of according to my
own wishes and pleasure.
6. You are bound to cause no injury
to my body and limbs, and do nothing to weaken my health,
but preserve me from human illnesses
and injury for 50 years.
7. If, contrary to our expectations,
I should happen to become ill,
you are bound to procure for
me proofed remedies to help me
regain my previous good health
as soon as possible.
8. Our agreement is to begin on
this date.. In the year 1676, and to end on the same day in 1727.
You are not to tamper with this
period or encroach on my rights,
or make a false reckoning (as
you have often formerly accustomed to do).
9. When my time has finally run
out, you are to let me die like all other men,
without any shame or disgrace,
and be honorably buried.
10. You are bound to make me loves
and accepted by the King and all the aristocrats,
by high and low, men and women,
so that I may always be assured of good will and affection,
and that everybody will grant
without question what I may desire of them.
11. You are bound to transport
me (and any other) without injury to the ends of the world,
wherever I desire, no matter
how far distant.
You are to make me immediately
so expert in the language of that place
that I shall be able to speak
it fluently.
When I have satisfied my curiosity
sufficiently, you will bring me back again,
uninjured, to my home.
12. You are bound to protect me
from all harm from bombs, firearms, andother weapons,
so that nothing may strike me
and injure my body or limbs.
13. Your are bound to assist me
in my dealings with the
King and help me prevail over
my special enemies.
14. You are bound to provide me
with a magic ring so that whenever
I put it on my finger I shall
become invisible and invulnerable.
15. You are bound to give me true
and thorough information,
without distortion or ambiguity,
about any question I ask of you.
16. You are bound to give me advance
warning of any secret plot against me,
and to give me ways and means
to thwart those plots and to bring them to naught.
17. You are bound to teach me
whatever languages I may desire to learn
so that I can read, converse,
and express opinions as perfectly as if
I had known them thoroughly from
childhood.
18. You are bound to endow me
with good sense, understanding,
and intelligence, so that I can
discuss all problems logically
and can give an informed opinion
about them.
19. You are bound to protect and
look after me in all courts of justice
and council chambers of King,
Bishop or Pope,
before whom I might be summoned.
20. You are bound to protect me
and my household from injury,
whether domestic or foreign,
from theft, and from harm.
21. I am to be permitted to lead
my life in outward appearance like a good
Christian, and to attend divine
service without your interfering.
22. You are bound to teach me
how to prepare medical prescriptions
and the correct use and administering
of them in dosage and weight.
23. If one any occasion, skirmish
or fight, I should be attacked or set upon,
you are to take up the challenge
for me and produce help and assistance against all enemies.
24. You are bound to prevent anyone,
no matter whom,
for knowing about your accord
and compact.
25. As often as I desire your
presence, you are to appear to me in a
loving and agreeable form, never
in a frightening or horrible shape.
26. You are to see that each and
every person shall do my bidding.
27. You are to promise me and
bind yourself to keep unbroken these clauses,
individually and collectively,
and to comply assiduously with all of them.
If you fail me in the slightest
degree or display any negligence,
then this pact and accord is
null and void and of no force whatever.
28. In return for the foregoing
promises, I swear and vow to deliver
into your power several men and
women.
Furthermore, I renounce God,
the most Holy Trinity;
I wholly renounce the vows made
for me at baptism.
I step forward with you in a
new alliance and submit myself
to you both in body and soul,
forever into eternity.