Aphoristic Writings, Notebook, and Letters to a Friend, by Otto ...

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To the devil, everything, and indeed his power, is only on loan. He knows that
(that is why he regards God as his provider; why he revenges himself on God; all evil
is annihilation of the believer; the criminal wants to kill God) and does not know it or
know otherwise (this is why he is the fool on Judgement Day). At the same time, that
he knows this and does not know it is his lie.
The devil, you see, is the man who has everything, and yet is not good, while
totality only flows from good and only exists through good. The devil knows the
whole of heaven, and wants to use God as a means to an end (he is thus essentially a
hypocrite): and of course he is used as a means to the same degree.
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The master of the dog is the one who has nothing of the dog in him; the dog seeks
him; the master keeps a dog the way evil is contained in God: he keeps it in
consciousness.
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The dog comes in all animal forms (snake, lion, etc); but is itself the slave.
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The whirlpool is the vanity of water, and its circle-egoism.
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The danger for the river is becoming a swamp. Gnats and fever are there.
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Malaria is a symbol of an inner swamp; the person sick with malaria seeks to set
lights when he gets heady. (Wine sparkles.)
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