Quotes from Devils
19 notable lines from Fyodor Dostoevsky · 1872
Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked.
Quotations follow the Constance Garnett translation (Dover, 1916) — our recommended edition.
That's exactly like our Russia, those devils that come out of the sick man and enter into the swine.
Stepan Trofimovitch, on his deathbed · trans. Constance Garnett Starting from unlimited freedom, I arrive at unlimited despotism.
Shigalov's theory, paraphrased at the secret meeting · trans. Constance Garnett Man has done nothing but invent God so as to go on living, and not kill himself; that's the whole of universal history up till now.
Kirillov · trans. Constance Garnett God is necessary and so must exist. But I know He doesn't and can't.
Kirillov · trans. Constance Garnett Nothing is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but nothing is a greater cause of suffering.
Narrator I cannot love what I do not respect.
Stavrogin One-tenth enjoys absolute liberty and unbounded power over the other nine-tenths. The others have to give up all individuality and become, so to speak, a herd.
Description of Shigalov's social system · trans. Constance Garnett Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. It's only that. That's all, that's all!
Kirillov · trans. Constance Garnett All man's troubles come from this — that he is afraid to admit he is unhappy.
Kirilov The one essential condition of human existence is that man should always be able to bow down before something infinitely great.
Stepan Trofimovitch, on his deathbed · trans. Constance Garnett The real truth always sounds improbable, do you know that? To make truth sound probable you must always mix in some falsehood with it. Men have always done so.
Stepan Trofimovitch Verkhovensky · trans. Constance Garnett The people is the body of God. Every people is only a people so long as it has its own god and excludes all other gods on earth irreconcilably.
Shatov · trans. Constance Garnett He who will conquer pain and terror will become himself a god. Then there will be a new life, a new man; everything will be new.
Kirillov · trans. Constance Garnett Reason has never had the power to define good and evil, or even to distinguish between good and evil, even approximately.
Shatov · trans. Constance Garnett God is necessary to me, if only because He is the only being whom one can love eternally.
Stepan Trofimovitch, on his deathbed · trans. Constance Garnett Even science would not exist a moment without beauty... it will sink into bondage, you won't invent a nail even!
Stepan Trofimovitch at the fête · trans. Constance Garnett One must really be a great man to be able to make a stand even against common sense.
Stavrogin, quoted by Captain Lebyadkin · trans. Constance Garnett even fools are by genuine sorrow turned into wise men
Narrator · trans. Constance Garnett