TALKS WITH A DEVIL. Translated by Katya Petroff. Edited and introduced by J.G. Bennett.

by P.D. Ouspensky

Introduced and edited by J. G. Bennett. The two stories in this book, "The Inventor" and "The Benevolent Devil," were written just before Ouspensky met Gurdjieff and just after he had returned from the East, "in search of the miraculous." They examine the whole question of conscious evil and the view that humanity's chief error is believing that the material world is the only reality.

Genres: Philosophy, Fiction, Short Stories, Psychology, Religion, Classics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Pyotr Demianovich Ouspenskii (known in English as Peter D. Ouspensky, Пётр Демья́нович Успе́нский; was a Russian mathematician and esotericist known for his expositions of the early work of the Greek-Armenian teacher of esoteric doctrine George Gurdjieff, whom he met in Moscow in 1915. He was associated with the ideas and practices originating with Gurdjieff from then on. He shared the (Gurdjieff) "system" for 25 years in England and the United States, having separated from Gurdjieff in 1924 personally, for reasons he explains in the last chapter of his book In Search of the Miraculous.

All in all, Ouspensky studied the Gurdjieff system directly under Gurdjieff's own supervision for a period of ten years, from 1915 to 1924. His book In Search of the Miraculous is a recounting of what he learned from Gurdjieff during those years. While lecturing in London in 1924, he announced that he would continue independently the way he had begun in 1921. Some, including his close pupil Rodney Collin, say that he finally gave up the system in 1947, just before his death, but his own recorded words on the subject ("A Record of Meetings", published posthumously) do not clearly endorse this judgement, nor does Ouspensky's emphasis on "you must make a new beginning" after confessing "I've left the system".

Reviews

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two allegorical tales by Ouspensky that are based on Eastern European and Sri Lankan folk tales about the devil. The underlying theme is the devil as a stand-in for materialism, keeping us connected to the external world and fearing our escape from it to the path of spirit and the inner world.

The first tale, "The Inventor" follows a man who knows there is more to this world than the mundane, yet he chooses to try to escape it by making a lot of money and the devil is by his side (unbeknownst to him) the entire time. His invention has disastrous consequences to the world which he somehow loses sight of.

The second tale was based on Ouspensky's travels in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)and is a dialogue between the narrator and a devil in which the devil explains and then shows him what he and his kin do in order to keep people connected to matter. There is a very interesting re-telling of the story of Adam and Eve included for anyone that is interested in exploring a deeper look at its meaning.

[marci · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5
Just make your point!! God

[Erchichi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting read that challenges the reader to rethink notions of human conception and mortality. There's also an interesting tale for the ideas of human perceptions and how we understand good and evil, in making our personal choices in life.

A good choice for philosophy and spirituality as it is an unbiased take to the above notions (of good and evil) while still exploiting upon the understandable analogies found in religious texts that we take for granted.

[Shad R7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

عبقرية في الرواية السرد بأسلوب مختلف ، كأنك تدخل في عمق الدوامة شيئًا فشيئًا دون أن تعلم مالذي يحصل وما الرابط بين هذا وذاك ولماذا يحدث هذا وكيف هذا ، حتى تصل إلى صفحاته الأخيرة فيأخذك الكاتب لمنظور علوي بعيد لترى كل الأمور بوضوح وتقف متسائلًا ، أكان هذا لهذا وحصل هذا لذاك؟ ثم تُدهش من كيفية ربطه وسرده لجميع الأحداث بهذه السلاسة والتعقيد في آن واحد ، تحفة فنية أخرى لم أندم على قراءتها بل استحقت كل ثانية افنيتها بين طياتها .

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read once, looking forward to the second reading too. I'm on a different track of thinking somewhat now tho. Read this a bout a year or two ago. Great material to think on.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I call this "immersion in matter." Everything becomes flat, ordinary, prosaic; the voice of the mysterious and miraculous, falls silent and seems no more than a foolish invention. You notice only the discomforts - the ridiculous and unpleasant side of everything and everybody. The mirror loses its luster and the world seems universally gray and flat." (pg. 100-101). "The Benevolent Devil"

"The devil is the absence of all that is highest and most refined in human beings: absence of religious feeling, absence of vision, absence of the feeling for beauty, absence of awareness of the miraculous." (pg. 146) "The Benevolent Devil"

I found "The Benevolent Devil" to be the more interesting short story in this collection. The beginning of the tale is evocative of how one would expect Hesse, Jung, or Eliade to write about a man exploring ancient Hindu temples and caves. The speeches the devil relates are intriguing as well, with the distinction between "descendants of animals" and "descendants of Adam" essentially whether one has a belief that there is something more to reality than merely the material. Hearing of the myriad of ways the devil attempts to subvert people from pursing mysticism is enlightening as well as dismaying. The tale of Leslie White is of particular interest because of its relatability to any authentic spiritual seeker and the dangers of intellectually "knowing" the path but not practicing it - the consequence of which is a victory for materialism.

[Zahra'a Bin Shaibah · Rating 4 out of 5]

في قصة سيدنا موسى مع الرجل الصالح، اراد موسى فهم الاسباب والحكمة المستترة خلف كل فعل قام به الرجل الصالح، لايضاح طرق الله في تعامله مع البشر و تحقيق الخير الأعظم لهم.
.
قام بيتر بخلق قصة رمزية مشابهة، مع وضعك أيها القارئ لتكون مكان موسى عليه السلام، أما الرجل الصالح فوضع مكانه الشيطان، ليأخذك في رحلة ذات بعد شيطاني.

انت ترى بعيني الشيطان و هو يوضح نواياه تجاه البشر، كما يكشف لك مآربه، أدواته، طبيعته، مخلوقاته التي تسكن هذا البعد، جُنده وما تحمله من تلاعب على اوتار الشهوات السبع وابتعاد عن كل بعد أخلاقي، بالاضافة إلى خبايا مشاعره ومخاوفه، من خلال حبكتين: المخترع و الشيطان الخير.

ليس هذا فقط، بل هناك درس بالتاريخ، يعود بك إلى بداية الخلق، اي بداية خلق آدم و حواء، و ترى الأمور جميعها من منظوره، بالاضافة إلى التبعات التاريخية، التي بُنيت على هذا الأساس، و ادت الى تعزيز مكانته، منها التضليل بين السعادة و المتعة، المادية، والاستهلاكية، الاغتراب الانساني، النسوية، نظرية التطور، وصولاً الى الحرب.

[Audun Forgard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two short texts that deals with the human conondrum standing between the animals and godhood.
Having a conscience and a material body.
Wanting to do good et it becomes wrong, doing a wrong and it becomes a good.
The battle between good and evil on the individual level.
Well worth reading

[Abdulla Almansoori · Rating 3 out of 5]

فكرة الكتاب ممتازة تجعلك تعيد التفكير في قيمك و معنى الحياة بالنسبة لك و تصدمك في الأخير بالواقع الذي نعيشه.

المشكلة في الترجمة و عدم وضوح الفكرة من البداية و كان الحكاية الأولى تنسى بعد الانتهاء منها و تغطي عليها الحكاية الثانية و لا تستطيع معرفة الرابط. هل هذا شيء متعمد او لا !

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nisam sigurna jesam li skroz dobro razumila metaforu vraga, ali su me se obje priče jako dojmile.
Valjalo bi još jednom pročitat. Pa još jednom.
U svakom slučaju, jedna jako posebna knjiga :)

[Michael Reymar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original book released in 1916 (!)
I read it in 2021, still relevant.

[Emerson Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the introduction from J.G Bennett and The Inventor.
Really enjoy how Ouspensky writes.

[Smoothfin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tanslated by Katya Petroff, forward by J.G. Bennett. Entertaining read, good translation. Intro by Bennett gives background on Ouspensky and his philosohpy.

[Sue Dounim · Rating 5 out of 5]

[ 2025 update] I have read much of Ouspensky's other work (Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, In Search of the Miraculous, The Fourth Way, Tertium Organum) so I can't judge this completely objectively. I have not read Strange Life of Ivan Osokin but I do want to do that someday [now I have ].
The front flyleaf copy on the dust jacket does an excellent job of summarizing the two novellas in this volume, which were originally published in Petrograd in 1916. It was practically a miracle that a copy was found in the British Museum by J. G. Bennett, a disciple of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (and a brilliant thinker in his own right). Bennett arranged for the work to be translated and published in English, and provides an illuminating and perspicacious introduction. I'm also well acquainted with Gurdjieff's works so that might provide another perspective that not everyone else is going to have on this book.
One can't help but think that Gurdjieff borrowed the concept of these stories in his magnum opus "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson." The idea is that what modern man thinks of as "The DEVIL" as equated to "EVIL" has developed and been cultivated over millennia by religious and spiritual persons and movements who disapprove, or are frightened of, any personal philosophy or spiritual path which emphasizes and encourages the autonomy of the individual and free development of their own spirituality over adherence to ritual, tradition, and compliance, and unquestioning obedience.
I personally recommend it, but that's because I'm weird. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

[Yve]

This had everything I want in a weird used-bookstore find - rambling anecdotal introduction, confusing allegories, touches of antiquity and vulgarity. I was attracted to it because of the publication date (approaching the Russian Revolution), the strange non-specific familiarity of the author's name, and his alternate label of "mathematician" (basically at the intersection of my greatest interests). I'll keep it on my shelf for now.

[Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite elegantly depicts the topics of human mortality and morality, as well as the messy, star-crossed relationship between power and responsibility. I thoroughly liked it! It's an archaic, century-old piece — timeless.

[Faz]

I just wany read

[Murali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two wonderful metaphorical tales
A quick read

[Ashish Thakur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to make of this book. It is barely comprehensible to me. Mr. O continues to baffle me.

[Ricardo Argiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man want be a inventor and than he invented automatic pistol to kill lots of people. good job say The devil!

[Rahmah ♾️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

شبيه بحديث الانسان مع نفسه !!! الشر والخير في معركة ابدية

[Marcelo Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

You need to read it and decide for yourselve