For many years people have used the phrase, "Give the devil his due," when in a charitably disposed frame of mind they were ready to gloss over and condone certain evil deeds and conditions, on the supposition that even the so-called "prince of darkness" might not be so black as he was painted, and that the proverbial "dog in the manger" might have been a nervous animal, whose snarling and snapping should therefore be overlooked.
In a situation where evil seemed rampant and for the time being appeared to hide everything else, a rebuke administered to the instigator of it all, brought the old reply, "Oh, well, you must 'give the devil his due,' you know." Instantly the listener rose in rebellion, as like a flood of light the teachings of Mrs. Eddy in regard to the devil (evil) came rushing to a consciousness momentarily darkened and bewildered by the evidence confronting her, and she said quietly, "All right; that is exactly what I will do." Retiring from the scene, she proceeded literally to "give the devil [evil] his due," and she kept at it until that present manifestation of error's seeming power was wholly allayed. To use this expression in its commonly accepted meaning is really to compromise with evil; to think, "Oh, yes, of course that is rather bad, but there is good there too;" or, "She does not mean what she says" (a common excuse that does incalculable harm).
Surely there is "good in everybody," and "no one is wholly bad;" but the absolute truth is, that there is nothing but good in everybody, and that no one is bad at all when he comes to know himself as God's idea, a child of God. Then to "give the devil his due" is utterly to destroy him. The realization of this brought such joy to the one who a short time before was attempting to do this in the old way (admitting that error's attempt to dominate seemed very real), that it was literally like a burst of sunshine from behind a cloud so dark that it had seemed as if the sun could not get through; and therefore the victory was all the greater, the light the more brilliant, the gratitude most deep and sincere.
