Mephistopheles Quotes

Why did thee call that hell-goat Mephistopheles? asked McTavish one day. ~ Terry Pratchett

A part of that Power that, always wishing for Evil, only knows how to do Good.

-Mephistopheles ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Mephistopheles waved her off as she left. "One more woman running off with another man. I'm losing my touch."

"Have you considered you might be a Thorne in their sides?" Thomas asked. "You certainly can be a pric - "

"Thomas," I whispered harshly, pinching the inside of his elbow.

"How clever," Mephistopheles said blandly. "You've made my name into a pun. What other comedic brilliance will you think of next? I wish I could say I missed this" - he motioned between himself and Thomas - "but that sort of lying doesn't pay my bills."

"Nor do the gemstones on your suits," Thomas muttered.

"Are you still jealous about my jackets?" Mephistopheles grinned.

"For the love of the queen," I said, interrupting before they really got into it. ~ Kerri Maniscalco

I left Mephistopheles, the angels, and the remnants of our handmade world, saying, I choose Earth. ~ Patti Smith

Man should not be in the service of society, society should be in the service of man. When man is in the service of society, you have a monster state, and that's what is threatening the world at this minute ... Certainly Star Wars has a valid mythological perspective. It shows the state as a machine and asks, "Is the machine going to crush humanity or serve humanity?" Humanity comes not from the machine but from the heart. What I see in Star Wars is the same problem that Faust gives us: Mephistopheles, the machine man, can provide us with all the means, and is thus likely to determine the aims of life as well. But of course the characteristic of Faust, which makes him eligible to be saved, is that he seeks aims that are not those of the machine. Now, when Luke Skywalker unmasks his father, he is taking off the machine role that the father has played. The father was the uniform. That is power, the state role. ~ Joseph Campbell

Mephistopheles: Over! A stupid word. How so over? Over and pure nothing: completely the same thing! "It's over now!" What's that supposed to mean? It's as good as if it never was. ~ Jonathan Franzen

All theory is gray, my friend. But forever green is the tree of life. ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Men grieve [Mephistopheles] so with the days of their lamenting, [he] even hate[s] to plague them with [his] torments. ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

At the risk of quoting Mephistopheles I repeat: Welcome to hell. A hell erected and maintained by human-governments, and blessed by black robed judges. A hell that allows you to see your loved ones, but not to touch them. A hell situated in America's boondocks, hundreds of miles away from most families. A white, rural hell, where most of the captives are black and urban. It is an American way of death. ~ Mumia Abu-Jamal

THE WITCH.
[dancing].

O I shall lose my wits, I fear,
Do I, again, see Squire Satan here!

MEPHISTOPHELES.
Woman, the name offends my ear!

THE WITCH.
Why so? What has it done to you?

MEPHISTOPHELES.
It has long since to fable-books been banished;
But men are none the better for it; true,
The wicked one, but not the wicked ones, has vanished. ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

For the commission to do a great building, I would have sold my soul like Faust. Now I had found my Mephistopheles. He seemed no less engaging than Goethe's. ~ Albert Speer

And which devil do you prefer? Dante's?"
"No. Much too terrifying. Too medieval for my taste."
"Mephistopheles?"
"Not him, either. He's too pleased with himself. Too much a trickster, like a crooked lawyer ... Anyway, I never trust people who smile a lot."
"What about the one in The Karamazovs?"
"Petty. A civil servant with dirty nails. I suppose the devil I prefer is Milton's fallen angel. ~ Arturo Perez Reverte

Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed
In one self place, for where we are is hell,
And where hell is must we ever be. ~ Christopher Marlowe

Mephistopheles: Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being deprived of everlasting bliss? ~ Christopher Marlowe

You know? I believe this is the most precious rose I've ever received."

He gave me a slow, playful smile. "My magic trick was fairly impressive, too. Do you think Mephistopheles will take me on? I could practice. Actually," he said, taking my arm in his, adjusting his gait as I moved unsteadily beside him, "we ought to do an act together. What do you think of 'the Amazing Cressworths'? It's got a pleasant sound to it."

"Cressworth? Did you honestly combine our names? And why does your name go first?" I stared at him out of the corner of my eye, mouth curved upward despite my best efforts. "I think the most amazing part of our act would be not lulling the audience to sleep with your wit. ~ Kerri Maniscalco

Hannibal at eighteen was rooting for Mephistopheles and contemptuous of Faust, but he only half-listened to the climax. He was watching and breathing Lady Murasaki ... ~ Thomas Harris

The devil doesn't always laugh.
Sometimes, he weeps with you. ~ Ellie Fox

Mephistopheles: Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are tortured and remain forever.
Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed
In one self place, for where we are is hell,
And where hell is must we ever be.
And, to conclude, when all the world dissolves,
And every creature shall be purified,
All places shall be hell that is not heaven. ~ Christopher Marlowe

I think you've broken one of my ribs. Was that really necessary? Next time you tackle me, be sure it's in one of our bedchambers. ~ Kerri Maniscalco

[The Devil] Mephistopheles, when he comes to Faust, testifies of himself that he desires evil, yet does only good. Well, let him do as he likes, it's quite the opposite with me. I am perhaps the only man in all of nature who loves the truth and sincerely desires good. ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Had I as many souls as there be stars, I'd give them all for Mephistopheles! ~ Christopher Marlowe

- Maybe you're a succubus who hunts for my flesh? Or Mephistopheles, who hunts for my soul?
- Oh, no! I am much worse: succubus wants body, Mephistopheles wants soul, but I want you all, with your flesh and soul! ~ Bryanna Reid

Faustus: Stay, Mephistopheles, and tell me, what good will
my soul do thy lord?
Mephistopheles: Enlarge his kingdom.
Faustus: Is that the reason he tempts us thus?
Mephistopheles: Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.
(It is a comfort to the wretched to have companions in misery) ~ Christopher Marlowe

I am the spirit of perpetual negation. (Mephistopheles) ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I sit here like a monarch on his throne
I've got my sceptre, but no crown to call my own
-Mephistopheles ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Geothe

The great prophetic work of the modern world is Goethe's Faust, so little appreciated among the Anglo-Saxons. Mephistopheles offers Faust unlimited knowledge and unlimited power in exchange for his soul. Modern man has accepted that bargain ...
I believe in what the Germans term Ehrfurcht: reverence for things one cannot understand. Faust's error was an aspiration to understand, and therefore master, things which, by God or by nature, are set beyond the human compass. He could only achieve this at the cost of making the achievement pointless. Once again, it is exactly what modern man has done. ~ Robert Aickman

Such sharp words," he said. "Your tongue ought to come with a warning."

"Truth is often compared to a blade," I said. "I question those who marvel when it pricks. ~ Kerri Maniscalco

It is not the love a man of God should feel. It is a dark, bleak, consuming love. It is a cold fire that withers me from within. A love based on lust and hunger, a love born of base instinct and animal craving. It is Mephistopheles' love. ~ Andy Monk

Faustus: «Come, I think hell's a fable».
Mephistopheles: «Ay, think so still, until experience change thy mind». ~ Christopher Marlowe

Dust shall he eat, and greedily,
like my celebrated serpent-cousin ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Magic is science. It's simply a fancier term for showing people the impossible is attainable. ~ Kerri Maniscalco

I let him run on, this papier-maché Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe. ~ Joseph Conrad