Devil Quote by Robert Penn Warren
““--that the human being is a very complicated contraption and that they are not good or bad but are good and bad and the good comes out of the bad and the bad out of good, and the devil take the hindmost””
About This Quote
Source Novel: "All the King's Men", 1946
He describes humanity as a complex mix of good and bad, where each contains elements of the other, and moral outcomes emerge from this interplay.
In simple terms: People are both good and bad, influencing each other.
Key Takeaway
Accept moral complexity in yourself and others.
Themes
morality
human nature
duality
Mood
thoughtful
philosophical
Type
literary
reflective
When to use this quote
- political analysis
- literary critique
- personal ethics
Key Concepts
ethical ambiguity
philosophical paradox
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reconcile good actions with bad motives?
- Can recognizing duality improve empathy?
A Different Perspective
Simplistic moral judgments ignore this nuance.
![“Being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes! [N.B. this is obviously a humorous paraphrase]” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/965/friedrich-nietzsche-15_dark-night_being-human-is-a-complicated-gig-so-give_1590439.jpg)
![“[A]nd soon now we shall go out of the house and go into the convulsion of the world, out of history into history and the awful responsibility of Time.” quote by Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/857/robert-penn-warren-2118_awful_a-nd-soon-now-we-shall-go-out-of-the-hou_158285.jpg)
