--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...I couldn't but surmise that the devil…" description: "\"...I couldn't but surmise that the devil, looking at the cruel wars that Christianity has occasioned, the persecutions, the tortures Christian has infl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/w-somerset-maugham-237_agnostic_i-couldn-t-but-surmise-that-the-devil-lo_1394424.jpg" --- # ...I couldn't but surmise that the devil, looking at the… ![“...I couldn't but surmise that the devil, looking at the cruel wars that Christianity has occasioned, the persecutions, the tortures Christian has inflicted on Christian, the unkindness, the hypocracy, the intolerance, must consider the balance sheet with complacency. And when he remembers that it…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/w-somerset-maugham-237_agnostic_i-couldn-t-but-surmise-that-the-devil-lo_1394424.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/w-somerset-maugham-237_agnostic_i-couldn-t-but-surmise-that-the-devil-lo_1394424.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/w-somerset-maugham-237_agnostic_i-couldn-t-but-surmise-that-the-devil-lo_1394424.jpg) > “...I couldn't but surmise that the devil, looking at the cruel wars that Christianity has occasioned, the persecutions, the tortures Christian has inflicted on Christian, the unkindness, the hypocracy, the intolerance, must consider the balance sheet with complacency. And when he remembers that it has laid upon mankind the bitter burden of the sense of sin that has darkened the beauty of the starry night and cast a baleful shadow on the passing plesures of a world to be enjoyed, he must chuckle as he murmurs: give the devil his due.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## 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 reflects on humanity’s sins and suffering, noting that despite humanity’s burdens, the devil still finds amusement. **In simple terms:** Even the devil sees humanity’s suffering as a source of irony. Key Takeaway Recognize the absurdity in suffering and seek compassion. Themes philosophy human nature irony Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - Personal introspection - ethical discussions - literary analysis Key Concepts Moral burden existential reflection divine perspective Questions to Reflect On - How do we find meaning amid suffering? - What role does humor play in confronting evil? A Different Perspective The devil’s amusement may trivialize real pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Balance sheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance-sheets/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Chuckles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chuckles/) [Complacency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complacency/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Intolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intolerance/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecution/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Starry night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starry-night/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Unkindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unkindness/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [the announcement that you are going to tell a good story (and the chuckle that precedes it) is always a dangerous opening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/the-announcement-that-you-are-going-to-tell-a-good-story-and-the/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [Life, to me, is never one color. Even in the saddest moments, you can have a chuckle. And in the happiest moments, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-gregorini/life-to-me-is-never-one-color-even-in-the-saddest-moments-you-can/) [Francesca Gregorini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-gregorini/) > [It's like the sound of a chuckle in the darkness. The sense that some shattering and disarming simplicity is the real answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/it-s-like-the-sound-of-a-chuckle-in-the-darkness-the-sense-that-some/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“His chuckles were like a drug to me. I tried to elicit them daily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/his-chuckles-were-like-a-drug-to-me-i-tried-to-elicit-them-daily/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [In writing the autobiography, I can really chuckle when I look at the songs. I was acting out the part. I saw myself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/in-writing-the-autobiography-i-can-really-chuckle-when-i-look-at-the/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/and-so-many-of-the-people-in-the-arena-here-you-know-were/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [America -- rather, the United States -- seems to me to be the Jew among the nations. It is resourceful, adaptable, maligned, envied, feared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/america-rather-the-united-states-seems-to-me-to-be-the-jew-among-the/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [What we try to do with all of our albums, is live out our musical fantasies in the most honest fashion we know how...We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hutchence/what-we-try-to-do-with-all-of-our-albums-is-live-out-our-musical/) [Michael Hutchence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hutchence/) > [ \[Hawthorne''s\] pious blame is a chuckle of praise all the while. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/hawthorne-s-pious-blame-is-a-chuckle-of-praise-all-the-while/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“And I've thought of a way to help you with the concept of color. "Close your eyes and be still, now. I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/and-i-ve-thought-of-a-way-to-help-you-with-the-concept-of-color-close/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [There is always something to chuckle about. Sometimes we see it. Sometimes we don't. Still, the world is filled with humor. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-klein/there-is-always-something-to-chuckle-about-sometimes-we-see-it/) [Allen Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-klein/) > [“There are two exits out of this room. Choose one.” Derrick chuckles. “What a glorious comeuppance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/there-are-two-exits-out-of-this-room-choose-one-derrick-chuckles-what/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [Rahman sir has a sweet sense of humour. He chuckles a lot and is very friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinmayi/rahman-sir-has-a-sweet-sense-of-humour-he-chuckles-a-lot-and-is-very/) [Chinmayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinmayi/) > [The real Wendy is a plain, regular girl with good skin. I do have hair, if he's wondering about that. I have lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-williams/the-real-wendy-is-a-plain-regular-girl-with-good-skin-i-do-have-hair/) [Wendy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-williams/) > [What is the little one thinking about? Very wonderful things, no doubt; Unwritten history! Unfathomed mystery! Yet he laughs and cries, and eats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/what-is-the-little-one-thinking-about-very-wonderful-things-no-doubt/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Agnostic quotes > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [I'm actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-m-actually-for-the-most-part-a-complete-agnostic-politically/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Even when I was saying I was Agnostic and trying to figure out my thoughts, I felt God was allowing me to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfre-woodard/even-when-i-was-saying-i-was-agnostic-and-trying-to-figure-out-my/) [Alfre Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfre-woodard/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [If a humanist or an atheist or an agnostic says, "We'll bake you a pie," we can go right into the kitchen and bake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-a-humanist-or-an-atheist-or-an-agnostic-says-we-ll-bake-you-a-pie/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All Gaza's temples are torn down and burned and the city is cleansed of every belief but the Christian faith. The most stubborn opponents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macmullen/all-gaza-s-temples-are-torn-down-and-burned-and-the-city-is-cleansed/) [Ramsay MacMullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macmullen/) > [I'm still agnostic. But in the words of Elton Richards, I'm now a reverant agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-agnostic-but-in-the-words-of-elton-richards-i-m-now-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) [Browse all 492 Agnostic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...I couldn't but surmise that the devil, looking at the cruel wars that Christianity has occasioned, the persecutions, the tortures Christian has inflicted on Christian, the unkindness, the hypocracy, the intolerance, must consider the balance sheet with complacency. 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