--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Doesn't the devil live forever; who ever…" description: "\"Doesn't the devil live forever; who ever heard that the devil was dead? Did you ever see any person wearing mourning for the devil?\" — Herman Melville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/herman-melville-162_devil_doesn-t-the-devil-live-forever-who-ever_1384953.jpg" --- # Doesn't the devil live forever; who ever heard that the… ![“Doesn't the devil live forever; who ever heard that the devil was dead? Did you ever see any person wearing mourning for the devil?” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/herman-melville-162_devil_doesn-t-the-devil-live-forever-who-ever_1384953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/herman-melville-162_devil_doesn-t-the-devil-live-forever-who-ever_1384953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/herman-melville-162_devil_doesn-t-the-devil-live-forever-who-ever_1384953.jpg) > “Doesn't the devil live forever; who ever heard that the devil was dead? Did you ever see any person wearing mourning for the devil?” [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The devil is portrayed as eternal, questioning the notion of its death and the absurdity of mourning it. **In simple terms:** Devil never dies, no mourning. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about evil. Themes mortality myth skepticism Mood cynical provocative Type literary satirical When to use this quote - religious debate - philosophical discussion - creative writing - cultural critique Key Concepts theology literary satire Questions to Reflect On - What does “devil” symbolize for you? - Why do we create rituals around abstract concepts? A Different Perspective May be seen as irreverent or offensive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Devil Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-dead-4809954/) [Devil Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-live-980723/) [Doesn Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doesn-devil-3451114/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Heard Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-devil-3194450/) [Live forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-forever/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Mourning Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning-devil-4809953/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) ## Related quotes > [Why doesn't that Devil take me with him? It would be much better with him than it is here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-braun/why-doesn-t-that-devil-take-me-with-him-it-would-be-much-better-with/) [Eva Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-braun/) > ["The devil made me do it" I have never made one of them do anything. They live their own lives. I do not live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-made-one-of-them-do-anything/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“A man like that is someone to go out with—once—twice—three times when the devil is in you. But live with? Have a child by?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/a-man-like-that-is-someone-to-go-out-with-once-twice-three-times-when/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [We have never heard the devil's side of the story, God wrote all the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/we-have-never-heard-the-devil-s-side-of-the-story-god-wrote-all-the/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [“spirit of man to be able to hear His voice. In fact, every spirit is equipped to listen to the different voices that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-mendez-ferrell/spirit-of-man-to-be-able-to-hear-his-voice-in-fact-every-spirit-is/) [Ana Mendez Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-mendez-ferrell/) > [“I have more than once tried to analyse this apparently deliberate form of self-torture that seems common to so many people in face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-maxwell/i-have-more-than-once-tried-to-analyse-this-apparently-deliberate/) [Gavin Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-maxwell/) > [Mourning your first love is as important as meeting your first love. It's the whole cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-anderson/mourning-your-first-love-is-as-important-as-meeting-your-first-love/) [Jane Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-anderson/) > [Remember this-all the sighing, mourning, sobbing, and complaining in the world, does not so undeniably evidence a man to be humble, as his overlooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/remember-this-all-the-sighing-mourning-sobbing-and-complaining-in-the/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [You do not see the river of mourning because it lacks one tear of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/you-do-not-see-the-river-of-mourning-because-it-lacks-one-tear-of/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [“It's wrong to give so much time over to mourning, she tells herself. Mourning and brooding. There's nothing to be accomplished by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-wrong-to-give-so-much-time-over-to-mourning-she-tells-herself/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-than-those-who-most-rejoice-at-it-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“I did not know the work of mourning Is like carrying a bag of cement Up a mountain at night The mountaintop is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-did-not-know-the-work-of-mourning-is-like-carrying-a-bag-of-cement/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) ## More by Herman Melville > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“But were the coming narrative to reveal in any instance, the complete abasement of poor Starbuck's fortitude, scarce might I have the heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/but-were-the-coming-narrative-to-reveal-in-any-instance-the-complete/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“(On Ralph Waldo Emerson)I love all men who dive. Any fish can swim near the surface, but it takes a great whale to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/on-ralph-waldo-emerson-i-love-all-men-who-dive-any-fish-can-swim-near/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“So seemed it to me, as I stood at her helm, and for long hours silently guided the way of this fire-ship on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/so-seemed-it-to-me-as-i-stood-at-her-helm-and-for-long-hours-silently/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/consider-the-subtleness-of-the-sea-how-its-most-dreaded-creatures/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person's religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/now-as-i-before-hinted-i-have-no-objection-to-any-person-s-religion/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence in the children of any other land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/let-america-first-praise-mediocrity-even-in-her-children-before-she/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Only the man who says no is free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/only-the-man-who-says-no-is-free/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Beneath those stars is a universe of gliding monsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/beneath-those-stars-is-a-universe-of-gliding-monsters/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Yet this is life. For hardly have we mortals by long toilings extracted from this world's vast bulk its small but valuable sperm; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/yet-this-is-life-for-hardly-have-we-mortals-by-long-toilings/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I never fancied broiling fowls; - though once broiled, judiciously buttered, and judgmatically salted and peppered, there is no one who will speak more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-never-fancied-broiling-fowls-though-once-broiled-judiciously/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [War should be carried on like a monsoon; one changeless determination of every particle towards the one unalterable aim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/war-should-be-carried-on-like-a-monsoon-one-changeless-determination/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Genius is full of trash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/genius-is-full-of-trash/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Explore all 1,009 Herman Melville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Doesn't the devil live forever; who ever heard that the devil was dead? 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