The slimy trail and the deadly venom of the serpent!

(Winslow, "Counsel and Consolation for the Tempted")

"So that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are
 very familiar with his evil schemes." 2 Cor. 2:11

There is nothing in our individual history which
Satan may not make the occasion and instrument
of a temptation. Our social position in the world
may be one of peculiar snare; our calling in life
especially so; our sore trials, crushing afflictions,
and pressing needs all may furnish ample material
for the purpose and schemes of the Enemy.

Yes, there is nothing that may not be an
instrument of great temptation:
  our poverty or wealth;
  our exalted position or our low estate;
  the publicity, or the privacy of our life;
  our loves and hatreds;
  our friends and foes;
may all become powerful engines of evil in the
hands of our great, terrible, powerful, and
unslumbering Enemy.

The books we read;
the literature we cultivate;
the science we pursue;
the recreations we indulge;
yes, the very religion we profess,
and the Christian service we promote;
may, with all their apparent innocence and
sanctity, but conceal from our eye the slimy
trail and the deadly venom of the serpent!