Dialogues with the Devil Quotes

“He saw that the poorest on earth were clothed in magnificence and jewels, yet they wept the loudest. He was no fool. He said, “Satiety.” True, I answered him, but satiety can live only in the presence of total equality. He pondered on this while I led him to the seat of thousands of philosophers, and he sat down among them. But, as there is no challenge in hell, and no mystery, there can be no philosophy. That night he came to me on his knees and begged for death. I struck him with my foot, and said, “O man, this was the hell you made, and this was the desire of your heart, so eat, drink, and be merry.”
― Taylor Caldwell, Dialogues with the Devil

“To the wise, mindlessness and utter obedience are evil. To the stupid, any direction of self is evil, and any exercise of free will is error and obedience is not to be questioned. Are you wise, or are you stupid? That is a question you must answer in your hearts.”
― Taylor Caldwell, Dialogues with the Devil

“You will remember that it was St. Augustine who said that if a man wished to improve the world about him he must make himself a better individual—which is the most gigantic task any man ever faced, and the majority fail in it.”
― Taylor Caldwell, Dialogues with the Devil

“But what did they protest? Inequality, which is the variety of God. Instability, which is the light of the universes. Uneasiness of mind, which is the soul of philosophy. Apparent injustices, which are the goad of the spirit. Vulnerability to life and other men, which is a charge to become invulnerable through Faith in God. The presence of suffering or misfortune—but these are a call for the soul to put on armor and serenity.”
― Taylor Caldwell, Dialogues with the Devil