Whoever seeks to live by brain and pen alone is, at the beginning of such a career, treated as a sort of social pariah. Nobody wants him, -everynody despises him. His efforts are derided, his manuscripts are flung back to him unread, and he is less cared for than the condemned murderer in gaol.
…
But a man gifted with original thoughts and the power of expressing them, appears to be regarded by everyone in authority as much worse than the worst criminal, and all the ‘jacks-in-office’ unite to kick him to death if they can.
ch1
I verily believe in those imaginative days we thought we had in us such stuff as heroes are made of. But our entrance into the socialarena soon robbed us of our sublime conceit, -we were common working units, no more, -the grind and prose of daily life put Homer in the background, and we soon discovered that socety was more interested in the latest unsavory scandal than in the tragedies of Sophocles or the wisdom of Plato.
ch1
The finely shaped head denoted both power and wisdom, and was nobly poised on such shoulders as might have befitted a Hercules,—the countenance was a pure oval, and singularly pale, this complexion intensifying the almost fiery brilliancy of the full dark eyes, which had in them a curious and wonderfully attractive look of mingled mirth and misery. The mouth was perhaps the most telling feature in this remarkable face,—set in the perfect curve of beauty, it was yet firm, determined, and not too small, thus escaping effeminacy,—and I noted that in repose it expressed bitterness, disdain and even cruelty.
ch3
this is perhaps one of the most handsome descriptions of Satan I have ever seen. And I thought nothing could beat Milton’s Morning Star!!
Dayum Sir… you are very..very… fine…. Honestalmente, I don’t blame Sybil one bit.
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Is it well or ill for us I wonder, that the future is hidden from our knowledge? Should we steer our ways clearer from evil if we knew its result?
ch3
Great originality and inspiration, strange to say, seldom endow the millionaire. Inspiration is supposed to come from above,—money from below! In your case however both originality and inspiration may continue to flourish and bring forth fruit,—I trust they may. It often happens, nevertheless that when bags of money fall to the lot of aspiring genius, God departs and the devil walks in. Have you never heard that ?''
ch4
Yet after all there is nothing so deceptive as one's outward appearance. The reason of this is, that as soon as childhood is past, we are always pretending to be what we are not,—and thus, with constant practice from our youth up, we manage to make our physical frames complete disguises for our actual selves.
ch4
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Otherwise it's no use. If it is to succeed by itself, it must not attempt to be literature,—it must simply be indecent. As indecent as you can make it without offending advanced women,—that is giving you a good wide margin. Put in as much as you can about sexual matters and the bearing of children,—in brief, discourse of men and women simply as cattle who exist merely for breeding purposes, and your success will be enormous. There's not a critic living who won't applaud you,—there's not a school-girl of fifteen who will not gloat over your pages in the silence of her virginal bedroom!"
ch4
"The woman has really no right of choice,"—I responded, for this was my pet argument and I took pleasure in setting it forth—" She must mate wherever she has the chance of being properly maintained. A man is always a man,—a woman is only a man's appendage, and without beauty she cannot put forth any just claim to his admiration or his support."
ch4
from this moment I have loathed Geoffrey Tempest onwards.
She is simply the female of man,—she has no real soul save that which is a reflex of his, and being destitute of logic, she is incapable of forming a correct opinion on any subject.
ch5
god these two misogynistic bastards and talk about writing a book when you slanter half the race of humanity
Man will never assist him to retrieve his error. Man will reject God fast enough and gladly enough—but never the devil. Judge then, how, under the peculiar circumstances of his doom, this ' Lucifer, Son of the Morning,' Satan, or whatever else he is called, must hate Humanity!"
ch6
One of the chief advantages of wealth is the ability it gives us to shut out other people's miseries from our personal consideration."
ch7
Notoriety is easily secured—very easily.
ch7
fame is the voice of the whole civilized public of the world."
ch7
"True!" I answered meditatively,—then, with a sudden flash of recollection I added—" By the way I never told you that my deceased relative imagined that he had sold his soul to the devil, and that this vast fortune of his was the material result!" Lucio burst into a violent fit of laughter.
ch8
highlited this for absolutely no reason except that Lucio bursting into a violent fit of laughter is so sexy damn Marie Claire you really write one spectacular specimen of male ahhhhh
"What is? Death? It is not half so horrible as Life lived wrongly"—
ch10
"The end?" echoed Lady Sibyl. "Do you believe the world will ever come to an end ?'' "I do, most certainly. Or, to be more correct, it will not actually perish, but will simply change. And the change will not agree with the constitution of its present inhabitants. They will call the transformation the Day of Judgment. I should imagine it would be a fine sight."
ch13
what can you expect of me? Not innocence, surely! I despise men,—I despise my own sex,—I loathe myself for being a woman!
ch17
Can’t blame Sybil really…, who would be sane if their father only wants to wed them for money
Our wisdom came from the devil in the first place, according to the legend of the tree of knowledge,—the fruit of which taught both good and evil, but which still apparently persuades man to evil rather than good, and leads him on to a considerable amount of arrogance besides, for he has an idea he will be immortal as a god in the hereafter,—ye majestic Heavens !—what an inadequately stupendous fate for a grain of worthless dust,—a dwarfish atom such as he!"
ch18
I remember reading about Satan and there were some cults in catholism that believed exactlly this; that human bodies and wisdom etc came from Satan, not god. Very interesting
I personally consider that a woman who shows the power of her intellect is more to be respected than the woman who shows the power of her legs. But men always prefer the legs,—just as they prefer the devil to the Deity.
ch19
A mighty Angel fallen !—one cannot but be sorry for such a fall, if the legend were true!" There was a sudden silence. A bird sang outside, and a little breeze swayed the lilies in the window to and fro. "Good-bye, Mavis Clare !" said Lucio very softly, almost tenderly. His voice was low and tremulous—his face grave and pale. She looked up at him in a little surprise. "Good-bye!" she rejoined, extending her small hand. He held it a moment,—then, to my secret astonishment, knowing his aversion to women, stooped and kissed it. She flushed rosily as she withdrew it from his clasp.
ch20
sorry not sorry had to highlight this entire page because well Lucio tenderly kissing Marvis’ hand? Yes. Just Yes
Like consorts with like,—a fallen angel seeks the equally fallen,—and the devil,—if there be one,—becomes the companion of those only who take pleasure in his teaching and society. Legends say he is afraid of a crucifix,—but if he is afraid of anything I should say it must be of that 'sweet content' concerning which your country's Shakespeare sings, and which is a better defence against evil than the church or the prayers of the clergy!
ch20
Women-authors are invariably supposed to be hideous,—men authors for the most part are hideous.
ch20
the stereotype still applies today unfortunately
His gaze rested broodingly on the outer landscape. "I also am tired," he responded slowly. "But I never get away from my fatigue, for I am tired of myself. And I always rest badly. Good-night!"
ch24
A tired jagged Lucio? I’m starting to think there probably were some readers who read Lucio and thought I can fix him hahahaha he has that type of character energy
In very truth, one of the reasons why 'fashionable' men and women cannot bear to be alone is, that a solitude in which they are compelled to look face to face upon their secret selves becomes unbearable because of the burden they carry of concealed vice and accusing shame.
ch25
As long as I do not lower myself, no one else can lower me. If my own conscience is clear, no reproaches can wound.
ch29
Marvis you are one specimen
If it is God's will that I should be alone all my days, I shall not murmur, for my solitude is not actual loneliness. Work is a good comrade,—then I have books, and flowers and birds,—I am never really lonely. And that I shall fully realize my dream of love one day I am sure,—if not here, then hereafter. I can wait!"
ch29
As she spoke she looked up to the placid heavens where one or two stars twinkled through the arching boughs,—her face expressed angelic confidence and perfect peace,—and Rimanez advancing a step or two, fully confronted her with a strange light of exultation in his eyes.
"True,—you can wait, Mavis Clare !" he said in deep clear tones from which all sadness had fled. "You can afford to wait! Tell me,—think for a moment,—can you remember me? Is there a time on which you can look back, and looking, see my face, not here but elsewhere? Think! Did you ever see me long ago—in a far sphere of beauty and light, when you were an Angel, Mavis,—and I was—not what I am now! How you tremble! You need not fear me,—I would not harm you for a thousand worlds! I talk wildly at times, I know;—I think of things that are past,—long, long past,—and I am filled with regrets that burn my soul with fiercer heat than fire. And so neither world's wealth, world's power, nor world's love will tempt you, Mavis!—and you,—a woman! You are a living miracle then,—as miraculous as the drop of undefiled dew which reflects in its tiny circumference all the colours of the sky, and sinks into the earth sweetly, carrying moisture and refreshment where it falls! I can do nothing for you—you will not have my aid—you reject my service? Then as I may not help you, you must help me /''—and dropping before her, he reverently took her hand and kissed it. "I ask a very little thing of you; pray for me! I know you are accustomed to pray, so it will be no trouble to you,—you believe God hears you,—and when I look at you, / believe it too. Only a pure woman can make faith possible to man. Pray for me then, as one who has fallen from his higher and better self,—who strives, but who may not attain,—who labours under heavy punishment,—who would fain reach Heaven, but who by the cursed will of man, and man alone, is kept in Hell. Pray for me, Mavis Clare! promise it!—and so shall you lift me a step nearer the glory I have lost!"
ch29
hahaha look at this gigantic highlight but can I help it? I can’t even omit one word this is just perfect god why did Marie Claire make Lucifer so sexy even his rant is sexy. I’m very sorry Lucio, but if you wanted humans to reject you, you should’ve taken on the appearance of Amiel lol
"Since you desire it so earnestly, I promise," she said. "I will pray that the strange and bitter sorrow which seems to consume you may be removed from your life ''
ch29
We love you Marvis By we I mean Tempest and Lucio and me. We can share?
Here you have the substance of my religious creed if I have any,—that there are two spiritual forces ruling the universe—love and hate,—and that their incessant quarrel creates the general confusion of life. Both contend one against the other,—and only at Judgment-Day will it be proved which is the strongest. I am on the side of Hate myself,—for at present Hate has scored all the victories worth winning, while Love has been so often martyred that there is only the poor ghost of it left on earth."
ch29
and yet again I hear the barring of the gates of Paradise! O infinite torture! O wicked souls of men and women!—is there no touch of grace or thought of God left in you!—and will ye make my sorrows eternal!''
ch30
yup this is it. this is the title
But then I remembered I had hated her before I ever met her,—and not only had I hated her, but I had villified and misrepresented her work with a scurrilous pen under the shield of anonymity, and out of sheer malice,—thus giving her in the public sight the greatest proof of her own genius a gifted woman can ever win,—man's envy!
ch37
Very true.
"Do you believe in hell!" I asked him suddenly—" and in Satan, the Arch-Enemy of mankind ?'' He was silent for so long that I was surprised, the more so as he grew pale to the lips, and a curious, almost deathlike rigidity of feature gave his expression something of the ghastly and terrible. After a pause he turned his eyes upon me,—. an intense burning misery was reflected in them, though he smiled.
ch38
What would be the sorrows of a thousand million worlds, compared to the sorrows of Satan !''
ch38
Our modern marvels of civilization and progress might seem small trifles after all,—for I believe in our days we are only re-discovering what the peoples of old time knew."
ch38
also very true
Through all their changing and repeating eras, they have found strange names and titles for me,—and their creeds and churches have made a monster of me,—as though imagination could compass any worse monster than the Devil in Man!"
ch40
But the God-in-Man was rejected and slain,—I, the Devil-in-Man live on, forever accepted and adored!
ch40
And I loved the part where the windstorm screams out “Ave Shatanas”, and “Ahrimanes!” The Ahriman, that comes from Zoroastrianism! Technically the two are really different. Lucifer is a servant of god, and Ahriman is a counterpart of god(in Zoroastrianism) so Ahriman is literally a god of evil himself but… well, good naming!
Alone with God and Nature, I, a poor human wreck, drifted,—lost, yet found!
ch42
and then this hit me. Hello, dostoyevsky. Everything I read, I see you. Jarring what an imprint this Russian man has on my soul. Instantly I thought of the passage in Crime and punishment where they talk about giving yourself to the tide, and life will find you on a shore….
But now,—now I resolved to stand alone,—fighting my battle as a man should fight, seeking for neither help nor sympathy,
ch42
The end.
This is it. I really don’t even remember how I happened upon this fic…. Oh, now I do. I found on internet a really interesting aesthetic black and white picture where a man stands and cast behind him is a shadow of satan wings! I’ll remember to find the picture and attach it. It really intrigued me, and I soon found out it was from a film, which was based on a book, which was this; “The Sorrows of Satan!” It is universally aknowledged that I am a sucker for anything related to Devil or Satan or Evil so I immediately tried to get myself a copy but lo, it was sold out! And all the other available publishers looked really sketchy and weird, so after a lot of searching, I finally procured myself an epub. Then I read this, and I am positively shocked. Why-how is this not popular?
This is a very obscure book, and even when I searched to see reviews, I only got to see a very few. Though it says Marie Claire was extremely popular during her time, far popular than any other authors; the critics were hard on her, and eventually she was left out of mainstream literature later on.
This is truely the epitome of Gothic literature, and I daresay this should be on the same shelf as The picture of Dorian Gray! Well, I think some parts are a little too forced, but I love the good winning, and I also love faith and love, so how could I not love this book? And the concept that Satan has to lure humans, but hates them for falling in his trap is very interesting. He knows that perfect good exists, but he himself cannot reach it! So- the sorrows of Satan.
I’m having dejavouz, the last time I was moved this particular way was when I read Interview with the vampire by Anne Rice. I love you, depressed women authors, and may you all prosper and write more books and characters like Lucio and Lestat.
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