What are devils?

Famous quotes containing the word devils:

“Ultimately a hero is a man who would argue with the gods, and so awakens devils to contest his vision. The more a man can achieve, the more he may be certain that the devil will inhabit a part of his creation.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)

“The fact remains that the human being in early childhood learns to consider one or the other aspect of bodily function as evil, shameful, or unsafe. There is not a culture which does not use a combination of these devils to develop, by way of counterpoint, its own style of faith, pride, certainty, and initiative.”
—Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)

“Divinity of hell!
When devils will the blackest sins put on,
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,
As I do now.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)