Quotes
Quotes about Evil
O woman, perfect woman! what distraction
Was meant to mankind when thou wast made a devil!
Every man for himself, his own ends, the Devil for all.
Where God hath a temple, the Devil will have a chapel.
The Devil himself, which is the author of confusion and lies.
God never had a church but there, men say,
The Devil a chapel hath raised by some wyles.
I doubted of this saw, till on a day
I westward spied great Edinburgh's Saint Gyles.
No sooner is a temple built to God, but the Devil builds a chapel hard by.
And bid the devil take the hin'most.
The heart of man is the place the Devil's in: I feel sometimes a hell within myself.
And out of good still to find means of evil.
Oh, shame to men! devil with devil damn'd
Firm concord holds, men only disagree
Of creatures rational.
So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,
Farewell remorse; all good to me is lost.
Evil, be thou my good.
And with necessity,
The tyrant's plea, excus'd his devilish deeds.
Abash'd the devil stood,
And felt how awful goodness is, and saw
Virtue in her shape how lovely.
More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchang'd
To hoarse or mute, though fall'n on evil days,
On evil days though fall'n, and evil tongues.
For evil news rides post, while good news baits.
Some say no evil thing that walks by night,
In fog or fire, by lake or moorish fen,
Blue meagre hag, or stubborn unlaid ghost
That breaks his magic chains at curfew time,
No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine,
Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity.
So over violent, or over civil,
That every man with him was God or Devil.
And that one hunting, which the Devil design'd
For one fair female, lost him half the kind.
Wherever God erects a house of prayer,
The Devil always builds a chapel there;
And 't will be found, upon examination,
The latter has the largest congregation.
All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.
Pretty! in amber to observe the forms
Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms!
The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there.
Two urns by Jove's high throne have ever stood,--
The source of evil one, and one of good.
And taste
The melancholy joy of evils past:
For he who much has suffer'd, much will know.
And would'st thou evil for his good repay?
From seeming evil still educing good.
