Quotes To Ponder "Evil personified appears at first sight repulsive.But the more we study the personality of the Devil, the more fascinating it becomes. In the beginning of existence the Evil One is everything bad, evil and immoral. He is hatred, destruction, and annihilation incarnate, and as such he is the adversary of existence, of the Creator, of GOD. The Devil is the rebel of the cosmos, the independent in the empire of the tyrant, the opposition to uniformity, the dissonance in the universal harmony, the exception to the rule, the particular in the universal, the unforeseen chance that breaks the law; he is the individualizing tendency, the craving for originality, which bodily upsets the ordinances of God that enforce a definite kind of conduct; he overturns the monotony that would permeate the cosmic spheres if every atom in unconscious righteousness and with pious obedience slavishly followed a generally prescribed course." Paul Caurus, The History of the Devil "The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by zealots in the name of God, Jesus and Mohammed than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people do not like that statement, but few can argue it." Kenneth V. Lanning, FBI Report on Occult Crime, Oct. 1989 "The Satanist does not weakly, meekly and humbly 'pray', he does not beg to Satan, nor does he perform any knee-bending exercises or blood sacrifices before him. He recognises the god within and works to actualize it. His ceremonies and rituals are Satanic affirmations to evoke the bowers of his own being, and draw upon energies which are only now being recognised by the mundane science." Faustus Scorpius, Order of the Left Hand Path "Glory and praise to you, Satan, in the heights of heaven where once you reigned, and in the depths of hell where, vanquished, you dream in silence. Grant that my soul, some day, may rest beside you, under the Tree of Knowledge, at the hour when on your brow, like a new Temple, its branches will spread!" Baudelaire, The Litanies of Satan, 1846 "Ware, nor for good nor ill, what aim hath act? Without its climax, death, what savour hath Life? an impeccable machine, exact He paces an inane and pointless path To glut brute appetites, his sole content How tedious were he fit to comprehend Himself! More, this our noble element Of fire in nature, love in spirit, unkenned Life hath no spring, no axle, and no end. His body a blood-ruby radiant With noble passion, sun-souled Lucifer Swept through the dawn colossal, swift aslant On Eden's imbecile perimeter. He blessed nonentity with every curse And spiced with sorrow the dull soul of sense, Breathed life into the sterile universe, With love and Knowledge drove out innocence The Key of Joy is disobedience." Aleister Crowley, Hymn to Lucifer