--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"The devil made me do it\" I have never…" description: "\"\"The devil made me do it\" I have never made one of them do anything. They live their own lives. I do not live their lives for them.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg" --- # "The devil made me do it" I have never made one of them do… ![“"The devil made me do it" I have never made one of them do anything. They live their own lives. I do not live their lives for them.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg) > “"The devil made me do it" I have never made one of them do anything. They live their own lives. I do not live their lives for them.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are responsible for their own actions; blaming external forces is futile. **In simple terms:** Own your actions. Key Takeaway Take responsibility for yourself. Themes responsibility autonomy accountability Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decisions - leadership - parenting Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What excuses do you use? - How can you empower others? A Different Perspective Self‑blame can be harsh. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [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?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/doesn-t-the-devil-live-forever-who-ever-heard-that-the-devil-was-dead/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“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 all have our lives to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-have-our-lives-to-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/some-people-never-go-crazy-what-truly-horrible-lives-they-must-live/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Libraries are where we learn that we can live our lives through books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/libraries-are-where-we-learn-that-we-can-live-our-lives-through-books/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [Whatever a human being makes and makes live, it lives because of the life he puts into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/whatever-a-human-being-makes-and-makes-live-it-lives-because-of-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/we-are-more-determined-than-ever-to-live-our-lives-in-freedom/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [God has said that we should not live our lives alone but to have someone close by our side. Together to make a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-has-said-that-we-should-not-live-our-lives-alone-but-to-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can't live our lives according to what might have been. We have to live by what is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/we-can-t-live-our-lives-according-to-what-might-have-been-we-have-to/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“People who truly live their lives don't have time to complain or judge others. They're too busy enjoying life and love and everything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/people-who-truly-live-their-lives-don-t-have-time-to-complain-or/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [It is the cells which create and maintain in us, during the span of our lives, our will to live and survive, to search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/it-is-the-cells-which-create-and-maintain-in-us-during-the-span-of/) [Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/) > [“Stories do not change, only the lives they live in do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-conaway/stories-do-not-change-only-the-lives-they-live-in-do/) [Cameron Conaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-conaway/) > [The dead can survive as part of the lives of those that still live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzaburo-oe/the-dead-can-survive-as-part-of-the-lives-of-those-that-still-live/) [Kenzaburo Oe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzaburo-oe/) > [“All the lives we could live, all the people we will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is what the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/all-the-lives-we-could-live-all-the-people-we-will-never-know-never/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“How you live your life is your business. But remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. Most of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/how-you-live-your-life-is-your-business-but-remember-our-hearts-and-2/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## 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": "\"The devil made me do it\" I have never made one of them do anything. They live their own lives. I do not live their lives for them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-made-one-of-them-do-anything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Devil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-made-one-of-them-do-anything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/neil-gaiman-29_devil_the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-mad_2492662.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“\"The devil made me do it\" I have never made one of them do anything. They live their own lives. I do not…” — Neil Gaiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "\"The devil made me do it\"...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-made-one-of-them-do-anything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-devil-made-me-do-it-i-have-never-made-one-of-them-do-anything/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```