The Testament of Solomon

And I, Solomon, blessing God, ordered another demon to be present before me; and it came before my face. And it had its face borne high in the air above, and the rest of its body coiling like a snail.

And it broke many soldiers and raised a fierce dust from the earth and carried it upwards and threw many things to astonish me, and I said, “Whom shall I ask?” for a long time.

And when I arose, I spat on the ground in that place and sealed it with the ring of God, and so the wind ceased. Then I asked him, saying, “Who are you?” And so, shaking off dust, he answered me, “What do you want, King Solomon?”

But I answered him, “Tell me what you are saying, and I want to question you.” And thus I give thanks to God who made me wise, to answer their counsels. And the demon said to me, “I am called Lix Tetrax.”

And I said to him, “What is your activity?” And he said, “I scatter people and cause spasms, and I kindle fire, and I burn fields, and I destroy houses. I have the greatest activity in the summer. If I find an opportunity, I enter into corners of walls, night and day. For I am already a child of the great one.”

And I said to him, “Under what star are you situated?” And he said, “At the very tip of the moon’s horn, the one located in the south, there is my star. For I was commanded to draw up the errors of the Hemitrite. For this reason, many people, when they see it, pray to the Hemitrite by these three names: Boultalā; Thallāl; Melchāl; and I heal them.”

And I, Solomon, said to him, “When you wish to do evil, by whom are you rendered inactive?” And he said, “By the angel by whom even the Hemitrite ceases.” And I asked him, “By what name are you rendered inactive?” And he said, “By the name of the archangel Azaēl.”

And I sealed the demon and commanded him to seize stones and hurl them to the upper parts of the Temple for the craftsmen. And the demon, being compelled, did what was commanded to him.