Editor’s Note: The following is a letter written by the demon, Foxtail, a colleague of Screwtape—a demon made famous by C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. Foxtail recently received a long-awaited letter from Wormwood (the nephew of Screwtape) updating him on his progress of conquering his human subject to bring him to hell.

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Dear Wormwood,

I cannot believe your incompetence! This, after not hearing from you for over a year! You should have notified us if you needed help! Your continued downward spiral is almost unfathomable—business continues to boom for every other demon all over the world, great and small! I’ve defended you time and again, but our Master is losing his patience!

So that you might avoid being recalled back to the underworld, my young protégé, I have some thoughts that might aid in your efforts of persuasion. I spoke to you last about inciting your subject to define his own truth. Although that was the surest path to success, you’ve somehow botched it. Now we must consider a more nefarious attack.

We already spoke about pride, but what would benefit you most of all, since your subject has found religion again, is to turn his good deeds into wicked deeds. You must make every encounter that he has, every act he makes, even those starting from that nauseating reality of virtue, into acts of shame and misery, self-loathing and hatred. Allow me to elaborate.

Let us begin with his general demeanor. In his providence, the Enemy endowed these humans with reason just like us. They use it to contemplate so that he might interact with them, and in this interaction he wants them to love him freely. You must hinder this as much as possible! Distract your subject and keep him from the Enemy. This is the first and overarching point. Your subject must be focused on himself, not on his maker.

Next, you must continue to drive home the message that your patient is preeminent, the most important thing in the world. You say he found religion; you must use it to your advantage by helping him transform his acts of solemnity into deeds of arrogance and pride. Remind him of his profound piety, but then encourage him to compare himself to others. When he is kneeling in the church, coax him to look around. He’ll dart his eyes to and fro wondering what other people are doing, admiring himself for his devotion and, before long, you will have helped transform him from a worshipper of the Enemy to a worshipper of himself. He’ll be like a charlatan standing on a street corner furiously reciting his prayers merely to be seen, all with a heart of stone. We love stony hearts!

Once you attack his inner man, you can easily confront his outer man as well, as they are intimately connected. Constantly remind him of his self-worth and gregariousness—everybody loves him! Slowly he will begin to conflate the love of others with his notion of self-worth and you can sit back and watch him collapse. He will think of himself as a master who expects rather than the servant who gives. Eventually, all of his friends and family who once valued his input and presence will be tired of his self-centeredness. They will avoid him; he will be isolated and lonely. “Where is everyone? Why does no one want to talk to me anymore?” he’ll ask himself. And you will murmur into his heart, “Because they don’t appreciate you for who you are.” This will foment scorn toward others and he will aggrandize his own worth. His happy demeanor will yield to one of suspicion and disdain. He will act with disgust, contempt, and vitriol when he sees his acquaintances. What was once his great strength, that is his joy and affability, will now be his greatest weakness. He will emotionally implode upon himself. You can thank me later when you observe the success of this tactic. It is one of my finest!

I leave you here my fiendish associate. Perhaps with this advice you might be successful and avoid the hellish gallows that await you should you fail. The world and all its hedonistic delights have done marvels for our cause, but more is required to satiate our Master’s avarice for souls!

I look forward to news of your success and I am,

Your devoted advocate,

Foxtail

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Image: Detail from Echo and Narcissus (1903) by John William Waterhouse