Getting Stoned with Satan: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Chapter 8 • The Devil According to Mark Twain
About this episode
The episode explores a chapter from 'The Chronicle of Young Satan' where Satan reflects on human history and morality.
Satan is back in the woods — same spot as the first meeting — and the boys are thrilled, because life without him is genuinely dull. He offers to show them the history of the progress of the human race. They say yes. They should have said no. What follows is a panoramic vision of human civilization from Cain and Abel to the present: Cain killing Abel without remorse, the flood, Noah drunk on Ararat, Sodom and Gomorrah, Jael, the Hebraic wars, massacre after massacre, the whole machinery of history grinding forward. Satan's running commentary is mild, detached, and devastating. Animals don't do this. Angels don't do this. Only beings with the moral sense can choose wrong on purpose — and humans, he notes, have made extensive use of the option. Then things get unexpectedly beautiful: Satan produces goblets made of no material the boys can name, alive with color in constant motion, and pours something that can only be described as heavenly wine. Seppi glances at Satan and says, quietly, "We shall be there someday." Satan seems to be thinking of something else entirely and says nothing. The goblets rise into the sky and disappear. The chapter ends with Satan turning a murderous…
Topics covered
- Satan
- human civilization
- moral choices
- history
- literature
- Mark Twain
- art
Keywords
- Satan
- Mark Twain
- human history
- moral choices
- literature
- The Chronicle of Young Satan
- Cain and Abel
- Sodom and Gomorrah
- Eseldorf
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain and Abel, Eseldorf
More episodes of The Devil's Details: The Evolution of the Devil through Art and Literature
- If This Party Gets Any Livelier, a Funeral Might Break Out!: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Chapter 7 • The Devil According to Mark Twain
- A Whole New World: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Chapter 6 • The Devil According to Mark Twain
- Everybody Loves Satan!: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Chapter 5 • The Devil According to Mark Twain
- It’s A Devil of a Time in Eseldorf: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Chapter 4 • The Devil According to Mark Twain
- Cats and Dogs! Living Together! Catholic Mass Hysteria!: The Chronicle of Young Satan, Chapter 3 • The Devil According to Mark Twain
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Devil's Details: The Evolution of the Devil through Art and Literature podcast page.