Quotes from book
The Devil and the Good Lord

Jean Paul Sartre Original title Le Diable et le Bon Dieu (French, 1951)

The Devil and the Good Lord is a 1951 play by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The play concerns the moral choices of its characters, warlord Goetz, clergy Heinrich, communist leader Nasti and others during the German Peasants' War. The first act follows Goetz' transformation from vicious war criminal to a "good" person of noble deeds, as during a siege of the town of Worms, he decides not to massacre its citizens.

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“I do not understand! I understand nothing! I cannot understand nor do I want to understand! I want to believe! To Believe!”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 1
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“I can be twenty women, one hundred, if that’s what you want, all women. Ride with me behind you, I weigh nothing, your horse will not feel me. I want to be your whorehouse!”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 3, sc. 4
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 10, sc. 2
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“Catherine: Why commit Evil?
Goetz: Because Good has already been done.
Catherine: Who has done it?
Goetz: God the Father. I, on the other hand, am improvising.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 3, sc. 4
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“If you are not already dead, forgive. Rancor is heavy, it is worldly; leave it on earth: die light.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 1
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“If you want to deserve Hell, you need only stay in bed. The world is iniquity; if you accept it, you are an accomplice, if you change it you are an executioner.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 3, sc. 6
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“Lord, you have cursed Cain and Cain’s children: thy will be done. You have allowed men’s hearts to be corrupted, that their intentions be rotten, that their actions putrefy and stink: thy will be done.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 1
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“You see, I divide men into three categories: those who have a lot of money, those who have none at all and those who have a little. The first want to keep what they have: their interest is to maintain order; the second want to take what they do not have: their interest is to destroy the existing order and to establish one which is profitable to them. They each are realist, people with whom one can agree. The third group want to overthrow the social order to take what they do not have, while still preserving it so that no one takes away what they have. Thus, they preserve in fact what they destroy in theory, or they destroy in fact what they seem to preserve. Those are the idealists.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 3, sc. 3
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“To whomever gives a kiss or a blow
Render a kiss or blow
But to whomever gives when you are unable to return
Offer all the hatred in your heart
For you were slaves and he enslaves you”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

À celui qui donne un baiser ou un coup
Rendez un baiser ou un coup
Mais à celui qui donne sans que vous puissiez rendre
Offrez toute la haine de votre coeur
Car vous étiez esclaves et il vous asservit
Acts 8 & 9
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

Jean Paul Sartre photo

“We will not go to Heaven, Goetz, and even if we both entered it, we would not have eyes to see each other, nor hands to touch each other. Up there, God gets all the attention…. We can only love on this earth and against God.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Acts 8 & 9
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)