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Quote by Stephen Batchelor

“Each time something contingent and impermanent is raised to the status of something necessary and permanent, a devil is created. Whether it be an ego, a nation-state, or a religious belief, the result is the same. The distortion severs such things from their embeddedness in the complexities, fluidities, and ambiguities of the world and make them appear as simple, fixed, and unambiguous entities with the power to condemn or save us.”

Book:Living with the devil: a meditation on good and evil

Work

Living with the devil: a meditation on good and evil

In 'Living with the devil: a meditation on good and evil,' the author engages in a profound examination of the dualistic forces that shape human behavior and society. The book combines personal anecdotes with philosophical analysis, offering readers a nuanced perspective on the age-old struggle between moral righteousness and moral ambiguity. more

Author

Stephen Batchelor

Stephen Batchelor is a renowned author and Buddhist thinker. Born on April 7, 1953, he is known for his contributions to the modern interpretation of Buddhism. Batchelor began studying Buddhism in the early 1970s and has received extensive Buddhist training in the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka. His work seeks to combine the core teachings of Buddhism with modern life, emphasizing personal practice and spiritual freedom. more

“Before Armand had granted me the esteem of which I have already spoken, I probably would not have betrayed him. The mere idea would have horrified me. So long as he had not given me his confidence, betraying him had no meaning: it meant simply obeying the elementary rule which governed my life. But now I loved him. I recognized his omnipotence. And though he might not love me, he contained me within him. His moral authority was so absolute, so generous, that it made intellectual rebellion within his bosom impossible. The only way I could prove my independence was by acting on the emotional level. The idea of betraying Armand set me aglow. I feared and loved him too much not to want to deceive and betray and rob him. I sensed the anxious pleasure that goes with sacrilege. If he were God (he had known pity), and had he been well pleased with me, it were sweet to deny him. And better still, that Stilitano, who did not love me and whom I would never have betrayed, should be helping me. His sharp personality aptly suggested the image of a dagger piercing the heart. The strength of the devil and his power over us lie in his irony. His seductiveness may be only his detachment. The force with which Armand denied the rules proved his own power—and the power of the rules over him. Stilitano smiled at them. His smile dissolved me. It was bold enough to express itself on a face of great beauty.”

Love Evil Beauty Crime Betrayal

Author:Jean Genet

“There is a kind of laughter that sickens the soul. Laughter when it is out of control: when it screams and stamps its feet, and sets the bells jangling in the next town. Laughter in all its ignorance and its cruelty. Laughter with the seed of Satan in it. It tramples upon shrines; the belly-roarer. It roars, it yells, it is delirious: and yet it is as cold as ice. It has no humour. It is naked noise and naked malice.”

Evil Laughter Malevolence The Mob

Book:Boy in Darkness and Other Stories

Source: Boy in Darkness and Other Stories

“You have heard---or anyway you will---people talk about evil times or an evil generation. There are no such things. No epoch of history nor generation of human beings either ever was or is or will be big enough to hold the unvirtue of any given moment, anymore than they could contain all the air of any given moment; all they can do is hope to be as little soiled as possible during their passage through it.”

Humanity Evil Society Good And Evil Malevolence

Book:The Reivers

Source: The Reivers

“Il y a sous la société, insistons-y, et, jusqu’au jour où l’ignorance sera dissipée, il y aura la grande caverne du mal. Cette cave est au-dessous de toutes et est l’ennemie de toutes. C’est la haine sans exception. Cette cave ne connaît pas de philosophes ; son poignard n’a jamais taillé de plume. Sa noirceur n’a aucun rapport avec la noirceur sublime de l’écritoire. Jamais les doigts de la nuit qui se crispent sous ce plafond asphyxiant n’ont feuilleté un livre ni déplié un journal. Babeuf est un exploiteur pour Cartouche ! Marat est un aristocrate pour Schinderhannes. Cette cave a pour but l’effondrement de tout. De tout. Y compris les sapes supérieures, qu’elle exècre. Elle ne mine pas seulement, dans son fourmillement hideux, l’ordre social actuel ; elle mine la philosophie, elle mine la science, elle mine le droit, elle mine la pensée humaine, elle mine la civilisation, elle mine la révolution, elle mine le progrès. Elle s’appelle tout simplement vol, prostitution, meurtre et assassinat. Elle est ténèbres, et elle veut le chaos. Sa voûte est faite d’ignorance. Toutes les autres, celles d’en haut, n’ont qu’un but, la supprimer. C’est là que tendent, par tous leurs organes à la fois, par l’amélioration du réel comme par la contemplation de l’absolu, la philosophie et le progrès. Détruisez la cave Ignorance, vous détruisez la taupe Crime. Condensons en quelques mots une partie de ce que nous venons d’écrire. L’unique péril social, c’est l’Ombre. Humanité, c’est identité. Tous les hommes sont la même argile. Nulle différence, ici-bas du moins, dans la prédestination. Même ombre avant, même chair pendant, même cendre après. Mais l’ignorance mêlée à la pâte humaine la noircit. Cette incurable noirceur gagne le dedans de l’homme et y devient le Mal.”