wander forth the Sons Of BELIAL, flown with insolence and wine. Witness the Streets of SODOM, and that night In GIBEAH, when hospitable Dores Yielded thir Matrons to prevent worse rape. John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 2: ... On th' other side up rose BELIAL, in act more graceful and humane; A fairer person lost not Heav'n; he seemd For dignity compos'd and high exploit: But all was false and hollow; though his Tongue Dropt Manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dash Maturest Counsels: for his thoughts were low; To vice industrious, but to Nobler deeds Timorous and slothful: yet he pleas'd the eare... Robert Browning (1839), "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister", eighth stanza: Or, my scrofulous French novel On gray paper with blunt type ! Simply glance at it, you grovel Hand and foot in BELIAL's gripe: If I double down its pages At the woeful sixteenth print, When he gathers his greengages, Ope a sieve and slip it in't? Occult The 17th-century grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon mentions Belial, as does Aleister Crowley's Goetia (1904) and Anton LaVey's The Satanic Bible (1969). In The Satanic Bible (The Book of Belial), Belial means "without a master", and symbolizes independence, self-sufficiency, and personal accomplishment. In 1937, Edgar Cayce used the term "sons of belial" and "sons of the law of one" for the first time in one of his deep trance readings given between 1923 and 1945. Cayce was often referred to as the "sleeping prophet" who gave over 2,500 readings to individuals while in a deep trance state. While his definition of the sons of belial was consistent with the Hebrew meaning of "worthless" individuals focused on self-gratification, Cayce went on to use the term frequently to compare opposing human forces at work in pre-historical times related to the early development of Atlantis. In popular culture Popular culture in the 20th century included many references to Belial; notably in the celebrated silent film Nosferatu (1922), Aldous Huxley's novel Ape and Essence (1948), Philip K. Dick's novel The Divine Invasion (1981), the cult horror film Basket Case (1982), Dean Koontz's novel Phantoms (1983), and Graham Masterton's novel Master of Lies (1991). Belial has also experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 21st Century in numerous media, with video games being the most prominent. Digimon Adventure 2 BelialVamdemon. In the Gothic (series) game