--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And which devil do you prefer? Dante's?\"…" description: "\"“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 wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/arturo-p-rez-reverte-2592_devil_and-which-devil-do-you-prefer-dante-s-no_285877.jpg" --- # And which devil do you prefer? Dante's?" "No. Much too… ![“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?"…” quote by Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/arturo-p-rez-reverte-2592_devil_and-which-devil-do-you-prefer-dante-s-no_285877.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/arturo-p-rez-reverte-2592_devil_and-which-devil-do-you-prefer-dante-s-no_285877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/arturo-p-rez-reverte-2592_devil_and-which-devil-do-you-prefer-dante-s-no_285877.jpg) > ““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 Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques various depictions of the devil, preferring Milton’s fallen angel over other literary versions. **In simple terms:** He dislikes many devil characters and likes Milton’s version best. Key Takeaway Choose role models that align with your values. Themes literature myth character analysis personal preference Mood skeptical analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - reading clubs - creative writing - film criticism - psychology discussions Key Concepts symbolism ethical judgment Questions to Reflect On - Which literary devil resonates most with you? - Why do you distrust overly cheerful people? A Different Perspective Preference is subjective; no single depiction captures the devil’s complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Fallen angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen-angel/) ## Related quotes > [I've been called many things. But I suppose 'the devil' is as good a name as any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-miller/i-ve-been-called-many-things-but-i-suppose-the-devil-is-as-good-a/) [Kirsten Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-miller/) > [Everyone gets the devil he deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/everyone-gets-the-devil-he-deserves/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“grace of God in bestowing this gift is most free. It was what God was under no obligation to bestow: he might have rejected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/grace-of-god-in-bestowing-this-gift-is-most-free-it-was-what-god-was/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“We’ve come because we need to track down the original location of the Fall,” Daniel said, “the place where Lucifer and the host of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/we-ve-come-because-we-need-to-track-down-the-original-location-of-the/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [When I look at 'Fallen Angels,' I realize it is not a film that is truly about Hong Kong. It's more like my Hong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wong-kar-wai/when-i-look-at-fallen-angels-i-realize-it-is-not-a-film-that-is-truly/) [Wong Kar-wai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wong-kar-wai/) > [So. You're a fallen angel." She folded her arms. "I'm not fallen," he said roughly. "Then what are you?" He shrugged. "Busted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/so-you-re-a-fallen-angel-she-folded-her-arms-i-m-not-fallen-he-said/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [We scream! We shout! We are the fallen angels!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-veil-brides/we-scream-we-shout-we-are-the-fallen-angels/) [Black Veil Brides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-veil-brides/) > [“It wasn’t every day a girl lost her virginity, not to mention to a delicious, perfect specimen of man. One who had wings, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalie-lario/it-wasn-t-every-day-a-girl-lost-her-virginity-not-to-mention-to-a/) [Rosalie Lario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalie-lario/) > [Smells are the fallen angels of the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/smells-are-the-fallen-angels-of-the-senses/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Tonight I will celebrate life, cherish those I love and pray for those fallen angels and their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tonight-i-will-celebrate-life-cherish-those-i-love-and-pray-for-those/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After a moment, Wrath turned to John. "This is Lassiter, the fallen angel. One of the last times he was here on earth, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/after-a-moment-wrath-turned-to-john-this-is-lassiter-the-fallen-angel/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“I did become the one thing I was taught to fear above all else... an abomination, a Fallen Angel. For love of you, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-valiukas/i-did-become-the-one-thing-i-was-taught-to-fear-above-all-else-an/) [Joanne Valiukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-valiukas/) > [Earthly majesty is always akin to the fallen angel, who is proud and unhappy, beautiful but troubled, and whose plans and efforts, though vast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/earthly-majesty-is-always-akin-to-the-fallen-angel-who-is-proud-and/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [“In the middle of the room was the bed where he had lain after that bullet found his neck near the Piave River front.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/in-the-middle-of-the-room-was-the-bed-where-he-had-lain-after-that/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [“Rose barely poured herself a cup of hot, mouth-watering chocolate, when she saw Grey and Archer walking across the lawn. Archer was impeccable as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/rose-barely-poured-herself-a-cup-of-hot-mouth-watering-chocolate-when/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) ## More by Arturo Pérez-Reverte > [“He who kills from afar knows nothing at all about act of killing. He who kills from afar derives no lesson from life or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/he-who-kills-from-afar-knows-nothing-at-all-about-act-of-killing-he/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“One day he reads his friend's novel and discovers that Ishmael's account and his own memories of what happened are completely different. So he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/one-day-he-reads-his-friend-s-novel-and-discovers-that-ishmael-s/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [The world is full of banks and rivers running between them, of men and women crossing bridges and fords, unaware of the consequences, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/the-world-is-full-of-banks-and-rivers-running-between-them-of-men-and/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“You can still turn back, he told himself. In that way, none of what happened has ever happened, and none of what will take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/you-can-still-turn-back-he-told-himself-in-that-way-none-of-what/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“And then it struck her that life was sometimes so beautiful that it didn't seem like life at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/and-then-it-struck-her-that-life-was-sometimes-so-beautiful-that-it/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“However, one certainty floated in the air: that night, at the end of a conversation that should have brought them closer, something had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/however-one-certainty-floated-in-the-air-that-night-at-the-end-of-a/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“What happens is that Fate, which enjoys spicing things up with a dash of the unforeseen, determines that everything must have an end, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/what-happens-is-that-fate-which-enjoys-spicing-things-up-with-a-dash/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [ “\[L\]ife is like an expensive restaurant where, sooner or later, someone always hands you the bill, which is not to say that you should… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/l-ife-is-like-an-expensive-restaurant-where-sooner-or-later-someone/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [Everyone gets the devil he deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/everyone-gets-the-devil-he-deserves/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“Whenever I got any money, I invested it in books. When my savings dwindled, I got rid of everything else—pictures, furniture, china. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/whenever-i-got-any-money-i-invested-it-in-books-when-my-savings/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“Don Jaime relied on this to conserve what he defined as serenity: peace of mind and soul, the only fragment of wisdom to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/don-jaime-relied-on-this-to-conserve-what-he-defined-as-serenity/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“As for me, all I know is that I know nothing. And when I want to know something, I look it up in books--their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/as-for-me-all-i-know-is-that-i-know-nothing-and-when-i-want-to-know/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“—Allí jamás será aquí”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/all-jam-s-ser-aqu/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/he-was-not-the-most-honest-or-pious-of-men-but-he-was-courageous/) [arturo perez-reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [“We find ourselves in the last of the three generations history chooses to repeat every now and then. The first generation needs a god,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/we-find-ourselves-in-the-last-of-the-three-generations-history/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) [Explore all 75 Arturo Pérez-Reverte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) ## More Devil quotes > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“I tend to agree with that little devil more and more these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/i-tend-to-agree-with-that-little-devil-more-and-more-these-days/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/god-never-talks-but-the-devil-keeps-advertising-father-the-devil-does/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/if-it-was-a-sin-for-you-to-choose-me-then-i-would-go-to-the-devil/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Browse all 4,283 Devil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And which devil do you prefer? 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