--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never encountered, not even in…" description: "\"“I have never encountered, not even in witchcraft trials, a dead man whom God or the Devil allowed to climb up from the abyss to erase the evidence of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg" --- # I have never encountered, not even in witchcraft trials, a… ![“I have never encountered, not even in witchcraft trials, a dead man whom God or the Devil allowed to climb up from the abyss to erase the evidence of his misdeed—then” quote by Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg) > ““I have never encountered, not even in witchcraft trials, a dead man whom God or the Devil allowed to climb up from the abyss to erase the evidence of his misdeed—then”” [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in extreme trials, divine forces never erase evidence of wrongdoing, implying moral accountability persists. **In simple terms:** Wrongdoings leave lasting traces. Key Takeaway Accept responsibility for actions. Themes morality justice history Mood somber thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - legal debates - historical analysis Key Concepts theodicy ethical accountability Questions to Reflect On - Can guilt ever be fully erased? - What evidence remains after moral failure? A Different Perspective Some may argue divine intervention can erase sins. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) [Witchcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witchcraft/) ## Related quotes > [The most active period of the witchcraft trials coincides with a period of lower than average temperature known to climatologists as the "little ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/the-most-active-period-of-the-witchcraft-trials-coincides-with-a/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [ “\[Dan\] Brown states that five million women were killed by the Church as witches. In fact, modern research has shown that the witch hunts… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-coren/dan-brown-states-that-five-million-women-were-killed-by-the-church-as/) [Michael Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-coren/) > [The devil should not be allowed to keep all the best tunes for himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-devil-should-not-be-allowed-to-keep-all-the-best-tunes-for-himself/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My biggest thing is banana pudding, but it's the devil! So no one is allowed to bring it into my house. Because I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hudson/my-biggest-thing-is-banana-pudding-but-it-s-the-devil-so-no-one-is/) [Jennifer Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hudson/) > [“He took the sacramental chalice, and stretching forth his bare arm, cried in a loud voice, 'Come ye viewless ministers of this dread hour!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mudford/he-took-the-sacramental-chalice-and-stretching-forth-his-bare-arm/) William Mudford > [People ... have tried to evoke God or devil to justify them in what their glands insisted upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/people-have-tried-to-evoke-god-or-devil-to-justify-them-in-what-their/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in our heads, not in Heaven or Hell, which we also invented. We do not realize that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/god-the-devil-good-evil-it-s-all-in-our-heads-not-in-heaven-or-hell/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I will fight the devil until I die! But aslong as I have GOD on my Side! Devil COME ON!!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-w/i-will-fight-the-devil-until-i-die-but-aslong-as-i-have-god-on-my/) Sonya W > [“We see God and the devil blaming each other, and cherish the unspeakable belief that both of them are drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-wedekind/we-see-god-and-the-devil-blaming-each-other-and-cherish-the/) [Frank Wedekind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-wedekind/) > [Money is neither god nor devil, that it should make one noble and another vile. It is an accident, and if honestly possessed, may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/money-is-neither-god-nor-devil-that-it-should-make-one-noble-and/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“I didn't understand how someone could be both God and the devil. How the same person could destroy you and save you. When everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-didn-t-understand-how-someone-could-be-both-god-and-the-devil-how/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“Dear Die-ary, I've been to heaven and hell...and I still don't know if there is a god or a devil. Still...it's something to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhonen-vasquez/dear-die-ary-i-ve-been-to-heaven-and-hell-and-i-still-don-t-know-if/) [Jhonen Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhonen-vasquez/) > [“All monsters are queers. Who is able to bring the dead back to life? God and the Devil. The Devil makes dead men into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-mccormack/all-monsters-are-queers-who-is-able-to-bring-the-dead-back-to-life/) Derek McCormack > [“God, the devil, and Orafoura were walking along a river one day when they came across three naked women splashing in the water. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/god-the-devil-and-orafoura-were-walking-along-a-river-one-day-when/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“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/) ## More by Umberto Eco > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Followers of the occult believe in only what they already know, and in those things that confirm what they have already learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/followers-of-the-occult-believe-in-only-what-they-already-know-and-in/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [With all of its defects, the global market makes war less likely, even between the USA and China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/with-all-of-its-defects-the-global-market-makes-war-less-likely-even/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/any-fact-becomes-important-when-it-s-connected-to-another/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Listening doesn't mean trying to understand. Anything, however trifling, may be of use one day. What matters is to know something that others don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/listening-doesn-t-mean-trying-to-understand-anything-however-trifling/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [They say that a cat, if it falls from a window and hits its nose, can lose its sense of smell and then, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/they-say-that-a-cat-if-it-falls-from-a-window-and-hits-its-nose-can/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are magic moments, involving great physical fatigue and intense motor excitement, that produce visions of people known in the past. As I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-magic-moments-involving-great-physical-fatigue-and-intense/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [All poets write bad poetry. Bad poets publish them, good poets burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-poets-write-bad-poetry-bad-poets-publish-them-good-poets-burn-them/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) [Explore all 600 Umberto Eco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More Dead man quotes > [Those old hypocrites. They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) Suad Amiry > [“I cocked my eyebrow at her. "Are you kidding me, Clare?" I indicated to the dead man on the broken pine table. "There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-morgan/i-cocked-my-eyebrow-at-her-are-you-kidding-me-clare-i-indicated-to/) [Elizabeth Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-morgan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I think I probably have the philosophy of a poor man. You know, like maybe I'd steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/i-think-i-probably-have-the-philosophy-of-a-poor-man-you-know-like/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [“Dead man, listen well. The Great Keep is not like the Otherworld. The Great Keep has many names. To the Norse it is Valhalla,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/dead-man-listen-well-the-great-keep-is-not-like-the-otherworld-the/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [Dead men tell no tales, Mary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dead-men-tell-no-tales-mary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“what i really need is a dead man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/what-i-really-need-is-a-dead-man/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [And he that will this health deny, down among the dead men let him lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer/and-he-that-will-this-health-deny-down-among-the-dead-men-let-him-lie/) [John Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer/) > [“Death Valley is the perfect flesh-grilling device, the Foreman Grill in Mother Nature’s cupboard. It’s a big, shimmering sea of salt ringed by mountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/death-valley-is-the-perfect-flesh-grilling-device-the-foreman-grill/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [We're here for such a short period of time. Live like you're already dead, man. Have a good time. Do your best. Let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/we-re-here-for-such-a-short-period-of-time-live-like-you-re-already/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Victor ignored him and reached inside the dead man’s jacket, searching unsuccessfully for a wallet. He went to take the man’s radio receiver, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wood/victor-ignored-him-and-reached-inside-the-dead-man-s-jacket-searching/) [Tom Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wood/) > [“People had always amazed him, he began. But they amazed him more since the sickness. For as long as the two of them had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/people-had-always-amazed-him-he-began-but-they-amazed-him-more-since/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [How can so much beauty hide such a bruised and steely heart, and why must I love him, why must I lean in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/how-can-so-much-beauty-hide-such-a-bruised-and-steely-heart-and-why/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 490 Dead man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have never encountered, not even in witchcraft trials, a dead man whom God or the Devil allowed to climb up from the abyss to erase the evidence of his misdeed—then”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Umberto Eco" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-witchcraft-trials-a-dead-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dead man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-witchcraft-trials-a-dead-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/umberto-eco-313_dead-man_i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-wit_3039770.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never encountered, not even in witchcraft trials, a dead man whom God or the Devil allowed to climb…” — Umberto Eco", "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": "Umberto Eco", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have never encountered, not even...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-witchcraft-trials-a-dead-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-have-never-encountered-not-even-in-witchcraft-trials-a-dead-man/#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 } } ] } ```