What do you think?
Rate this book
Jeffrey Burton Russell's History of the Devil #5
The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History
The Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles - throughout history the Prince of Darkness, the Western world's most powerful symbol of evil, has taken many names and shapes. Jeffrey Burton Russell here chronicles the remarkable story of the Devil from antiquity to the present. While recounting how past generations have personified evil, he deepens our understanding of the ways in which people have dealt with the enduring problem of radical evil.
After a compelling essay on the nature of evil, Russell uncovers the origins of the concept of the Devil in various early cultures and then traces its evolution in Western thought from the time of the ancient Hebrews through the first centuries of the Christian era. Next he turns to the medieval view of the Devil, focusing on images found in folklore, scholastic thought, art, literature, mysticism, and witchcraft. Finally, he follows the Devil into our own era, where he draws on examples from theology, philosophy, art, literature, and popular culture to describe the great changes in this traditional notion of evil brought about by the intellectual and cultural developments of modern times.
Is the Devil an outmoded superstition, as most educated people today believe? Or do the horrors of the twentieth century and the specter of nuclear war make all too clear the continuing need for some vital symbol of radical evil? A single-volume distillation of Russell's epic tetralogy on the nature and personifcation of evil from ancient times to the present (published by Cornell University Press between 1977 and 1986), The Prince of Darkness invites readers to confront these and other critical questions as they explore the past faces of that figure who has been called the second most famous personage in Christianity.
After a compelling essay on the nature of evil, Russell uncovers the origins of the concept of the Devil in various early cultures and then traces its evolution in Western thought from the time of the ancient Hebrews through the first centuries of the Christian era. Next he turns to the medieval view of the Devil, focusing on images found in folklore, scholastic thought, art, literature, mysticism, and witchcraft. Finally, he follows the Devil into our own era, where he draws on examples from theology, philosophy, art, literature, and popular culture to describe the great changes in this traditional notion of evil brought about by the intellectual and cultural developments of modern times.
Is the Devil an outmoded superstition, as most educated people today believe? Or do the horrors of the twentieth century and the specter of nuclear war make all too clear the continuing need for some vital symbol of radical evil? A single-volume distillation of Russell's epic tetralogy on the nature and personifcation of evil from ancient times to the present (published by Cornell University Press between 1977 and 1986), The Prince of Darkness invites readers to confront these and other critical questions as they explore the past faces of that figure who has been called the second most famous personage in Christianity.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
63 people are currently reading
847 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Burton Russell
34 books168 followersJeffrey Burton Russell was an American historian of medieval Europe and religious studies scholar.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 8, 2016
tl;dr
This is an astonishingly erudite book, and contains an incredible amount of information for less than 300 pages. My only complaint is that the Devil in Islam is not explored: Burton says in his introduction that this is treated in the Lucifer volume of his original quartet, but I feel like he could have fit even a short chapter on Islam's Devil into this book. Nevertheless, I thoroughly recommend this book for a relatively easy-reading history of the Devil and evil in human thought.
full review:
In The Prince of Darkness (1989), Jeffrey B. Russell has condensed his academic quartet on the history of the concepts of evil and the Devil from antiquity to the modern world - The Devil (1977), Satan (1981), Lucifer (1984), and Mephistopheles (1986) – into one slim book intended for a popular audience. The academic quartet has a total page count of 1223; The Prince of Darkness is only 288 pages including appendices and index. There is an astonishing amount of information in this small volume.
Burton begins with the ancient world mythologies, looking at the elements in them which influenced the Devil concept, such as: the chaos monsters including Leviathan and Tiamat; conflicts between gods, such as the Greek war between the Olympians and the Titans which ended with the Titans imprisoned in Tartarus; gods and spirits of death and destruction; Zoroastrianism, with its good god and bad god in conflict across the cosmos until the end of time.
Following this, we get an overview of the ancient Hebrew tradition leading to the development of fallen angels: the early Hebrew monotheists ascribed both good and evil to the One God, but the Jews later wanted to distance evil from the God they worshiped, to absolve him of blame, so they had God delegate some evil to the angels, loyal servants under his command, such as the satan in the Book of Job (this is modern Judaism's view of Satan: a loyal servant of the good-bad God). This delegating God calls for angel volunteers to act as tempters, satans: 1 Kings 22:19-23:
'And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”'
Delegated angels became rebel angels in Judaism's apocalyptic period, when the the Jews were convinced the world was going to end any day now. During this period a lot of texts, now considered apocryphal, developed different versions of the fallen angel myth. In some stories, Satan is kicked out of heaven for refusing to bow to newly created humanity. In others, angels fall to Earth lusting after human women. In others, the evil lord Mastema, Prince of Evil, leads an army of evil against God, constantly trying to thwart God's good plan.
Early Christianity was a branch of Apocalyptic Judaism; the New Testament further developed apocalyptic and diabolical concepts. The early Christians believed that Satan was ruler of the world, 'the prince of this world', who would be punished at the end of time (any day now) by being shoved into Hell. Jesus' sacrifice had broken Satan's complete hold over humanity: those that turned to Jesus were saved. The pagan gods existed, but they were fallen angels who ruled the Roman empire. In the second century, Justin Martyr developed one of the first fully fleshed-out Christian cosmological worldviews: in it, he described 3 categories of evil beings: Satan, a great angel, who fell from grace through sin at the beginning of time; the rest of the fallen angels, who fell from heaven when they lusted after human women; and demons, the hybrid monsters of illicit angel-human interspecies sex. The evil ones had control over the world; Jesus' first coming signaled the beginning of the end of their reign. At the second coming they would be cast into Hell.
Over the centuries this worldview changed. There were stories about Christ's descent into Hell during the 3 days between death and resurrection: he breached the doors of Hell, preached to the righteous (who were only in there because they happened to be born too soon to convert to Christianity in their lifetimes), and locked Satan&Co up, turning their old Kingdom of the Dead into their prison. Satan&Co did not have complete free reign on earth; they had been imprisoned by Jesus, who would finish the job at the second coming.
The earlier threefold division between Satan, fallen angels, and demons was abandoned: they all became the same, angels who fell with Satan at the beginning. Satan's power over earth and his imprisonment were combined somewhat contradictorily, both simultaneously occurring straight after his fall: Satan&Co were imprisoned in Hell after their rebellion, but also have considerable powers over the Earth.
There are chapters covering: the entertaining mythologies of Gnosticism and Manichaeism, both dualist cosmologies with a good god and a bad god; early Christian heresies, and how Satan became associated with them; the Desert Fathers, monks who believed the Devil was constantly tempting them; various theologians and how they reconciled evil with a good God – these early theologians culminated in Augustine of Hippo, who synthesized their ideas into the classical view of Western Christianity.
Medieval Christianity is the next stage of Burton's history. As Christianity became popular, it got mixed up with a lot of pagan traditions (Saturnalia was a pagan festival of gift-giving over the Winter Solstice. Eostre was pagan deity of Spring who had a festival at the Spring Equinox.), and so the Christian Devil got mixed up with a lot of pagan traditions: he gained horns and cloven feet from the god Pan; he enjoys Pagan-style celebrations, sacrifices, the Wild Hunt. Lilith is Lucifer's mother. The Devil of Medieval folklore has a lot of strange similarities to Santa Claus. Throughout history there has been a divide in religions between the popular/folk religion of the masses, and the reasoned out religion of the elites. This divide was far wider in olden days, when literacy levels were extremely low and so the masses could not read sacred texts for themselves.
We get an overview of Medieval theologians such as Anselm, Eruigena, and Aquinas, and a look at Cathar dualism (a medieval gnostic Christianity). And then along came Dante, who created one of the most important depictions of the Devil: trapped deep in the Earth, at the centre of the universe, farthest from God, in a cold, dark, place; immobile, bestial, pathetic. Dante's Satan is contrasted with the brightness, warmth, and lively mobility of Heaven. To many theologians, evil is nothingness, non-being: Satan's pathetic immobility shows him as the personification of evil as lifeless non-being.
In the Middle Ages, clerics wrote mystery plays to bolster the faith of uneducated laypeople. Some told the stories of Satan's rebellion, Adam and Eve in Eden, and on through Old Testament scenes. The plays end with the passion, and therefore triumph, of Jesus over Satan. Satan in these plays, while evil, is also made into a comically inept supervillain whose plans are foiled by God.
The witch hunting craze influenced popular perception of the Devil. How the Devil was thought of during the Reformation. The early development of the Faust legend; diabolical themes in the plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare (Doctor Faustus and Hamlet, respectively). A whole chapter is devoted to Milton's Paradise Lost, because it is one of the best things ever written and massively important in the history of the Devil idea.
And then we get to the rise of unbelief in the Age of Enlightenment. Rationalism and empiricism weakened Christianity, belief in God and the Devil. Some branches of Christianity tried to adapt to this by almost eliminating the Devil from their theology. God and the Devil were seen as primitive superstitions. The Marquis de Sade, from whom we get Sadism, used the atheist argument to advocate cruelty and hedonism: if you enjoy torture, do it, because pleasure is good. Geothe wrote Faust, presenting a new Devil for a new world ('Mephistopheles in the most important literary Devil since Milton's, but the difference between Milton's Satan and Goethe's Mephisto is the difference between a basically Christian and a basically secular world view').
A Romantic movement arose in response to the Enlightenment. They valued emotions and feelings over reason and logic. They gave new meaning to traditional symbols. Satan, fighting against Jehovah, was a heroic figure fighting for freedom from illegitimate authority. Jesus, against Satan, was a hero fighting unjust worldly authority. Thus in Romantic eyes Satan could represent heroism, individualism and the strive for freedom, but also isolation and selfishness. The artists of this period played with the Devil concept in interesting but often incoherent way. William Blake's mythology, especially The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Lord Byron's Cain: A Mystery. Percy Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, which combines the Greek Prometheus with the loving Jesus and the heroic Satan. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the first science fiction novel, about a man gaining Godlike powers, creating life: diabolical imagery surrounds the monster, but Frankenstein replaces supernatural horror with scientific horror. Victor Hugo's The End of Satan.
Romanticism split into Naturalism, which spurned the supernatural in favour of realism, and Decadence, an exploration of human sensuality. The latter led to a rise of occultism. Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. Lautreamont's The Chants of Maldoror. J-K Huysman investigated the occult Satanism of his day and wrote the novel The Damned, a fictional account of his experiences in this secret world. Huysman was so repelled by what he witnessed that he converted to Catholicism.
After being attacked on scientific and historical fronts, religion was then attacked by psychologists: Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, Carl Jung. Freud argued that the Devil was the personification of repressed unconscious desires. Klein argued that since children easily divide the world between good and bad, while adults learn ambivalence and shades of grey, the religious divide between good and evil is a sign of psychological immaturity. Carl Jung saw the Devil as an important psychological symbol that helped us face up to the existence of evil. Dostoevsky's The Devils and The Brothers Karamazov defends religion while facing up to problem of evil and presenting compelling evil characters. Twentieth century horrors re-emphasized the problem of evil. Satan in modern literature: Tolkien, CS Lewis, Thomas Mann's Doktor Faustus, the short stories of Flannery O'Connor, etc. The Devil in pop culture and music. LaVeyan Satanism ('their Satanic Bible is a melange of hedonistic maxims and incoherent occultism').
Burton believes that a lack of belief in a transcendent evil force makes the world more dangerous, and he looks at the arguments on both sides. My own opinion on this matter is undecided.
This is an astonishingly erudite book, and contains an incredible amount of information for less than 300 pages. My only complaint is that the Devil in Islam is not explored: Burton says in his introduction that this is treated in the Lucifer volume of his original quartet, but I feel like he could have fit even a short chapter on Islam's Devil into this book. Nevertheless, I thoroughly recommend this book for a relatively easy-reading history of the Devil and evil in human thought.
full review:
In The Prince of Darkness (1989), Jeffrey B. Russell has condensed his academic quartet on the history of the concepts of evil and the Devil from antiquity to the modern world - The Devil (1977), Satan (1981), Lucifer (1984), and Mephistopheles (1986) – into one slim book intended for a popular audience. The academic quartet has a total page count of 1223; The Prince of Darkness is only 288 pages including appendices and index. There is an astonishing amount of information in this small volume.
Burton begins with the ancient world mythologies, looking at the elements in them which influenced the Devil concept, such as: the chaos monsters including Leviathan and Tiamat; conflicts between gods, such as the Greek war between the Olympians and the Titans which ended with the Titans imprisoned in Tartarus; gods and spirits of death and destruction; Zoroastrianism, with its good god and bad god in conflict across the cosmos until the end of time.
Following this, we get an overview of the ancient Hebrew tradition leading to the development of fallen angels: the early Hebrew monotheists ascribed both good and evil to the One God, but the Jews later wanted to distance evil from the God they worshiped, to absolve him of blame, so they had God delegate some evil to the angels, loyal servants under his command, such as the satan in the Book of Job (this is modern Judaism's view of Satan: a loyal servant of the good-bad God). This delegating God calls for angel volunteers to act as tempters, satans: 1 Kings 22:19-23:
'And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”'
Delegated angels became rebel angels in Judaism's apocalyptic period, when the the Jews were convinced the world was going to end any day now. During this period a lot of texts, now considered apocryphal, developed different versions of the fallen angel myth. In some stories, Satan is kicked out of heaven for refusing to bow to newly created humanity. In others, angels fall to Earth lusting after human women. In others, the evil lord Mastema, Prince of Evil, leads an army of evil against God, constantly trying to thwart God's good plan.
Early Christianity was a branch of Apocalyptic Judaism; the New Testament further developed apocalyptic and diabolical concepts. The early Christians believed that Satan was ruler of the world, 'the prince of this world', who would be punished at the end of time (any day now) by being shoved into Hell. Jesus' sacrifice had broken Satan's complete hold over humanity: those that turned to Jesus were saved. The pagan gods existed, but they were fallen angels who ruled the Roman empire. In the second century, Justin Martyr developed one of the first fully fleshed-out Christian cosmological worldviews: in it, he described 3 categories of evil beings: Satan, a great angel, who fell from grace through sin at the beginning of time; the rest of the fallen angels, who fell from heaven when they lusted after human women; and demons, the hybrid monsters of illicit angel-human interspecies sex. The evil ones had control over the world; Jesus' first coming signaled the beginning of the end of their reign. At the second coming they would be cast into Hell.
Over the centuries this worldview changed. There were stories about Christ's descent into Hell during the 3 days between death and resurrection: he breached the doors of Hell, preached to the righteous (who were only in there because they happened to be born too soon to convert to Christianity in their lifetimes), and locked Satan&Co up, turning their old Kingdom of the Dead into their prison. Satan&Co did not have complete free reign on earth; they had been imprisoned by Jesus, who would finish the job at the second coming.
The earlier threefold division between Satan, fallen angels, and demons was abandoned: they all became the same, angels who fell with Satan at the beginning. Satan's power over earth and his imprisonment were combined somewhat contradictorily, both simultaneously occurring straight after his fall: Satan&Co were imprisoned in Hell after their rebellion, but also have considerable powers over the Earth.
There are chapters covering: the entertaining mythologies of Gnosticism and Manichaeism, both dualist cosmologies with a good god and a bad god; early Christian heresies, and how Satan became associated with them; the Desert Fathers, monks who believed the Devil was constantly tempting them; various theologians and how they reconciled evil with a good God – these early theologians culminated in Augustine of Hippo, who synthesized their ideas into the classical view of Western Christianity.
Medieval Christianity is the next stage of Burton's history. As Christianity became popular, it got mixed up with a lot of pagan traditions (Saturnalia was a pagan festival of gift-giving over the Winter Solstice. Eostre was pagan deity of Spring who had a festival at the Spring Equinox.), and so the Christian Devil got mixed up with a lot of pagan traditions: he gained horns and cloven feet from the god Pan; he enjoys Pagan-style celebrations, sacrifices, the Wild Hunt. Lilith is Lucifer's mother. The Devil of Medieval folklore has a lot of strange similarities to Santa Claus. Throughout history there has been a divide in religions between the popular/folk religion of the masses, and the reasoned out religion of the elites. This divide was far wider in olden days, when literacy levels were extremely low and so the masses could not read sacred texts for themselves.
We get an overview of Medieval theologians such as Anselm, Eruigena, and Aquinas, and a look at Cathar dualism (a medieval gnostic Christianity). And then along came Dante, who created one of the most important depictions of the Devil: trapped deep in the Earth, at the centre of the universe, farthest from God, in a cold, dark, place; immobile, bestial, pathetic. Dante's Satan is contrasted with the brightness, warmth, and lively mobility of Heaven. To many theologians, evil is nothingness, non-being: Satan's pathetic immobility shows him as the personification of evil as lifeless non-being.
In the Middle Ages, clerics wrote mystery plays to bolster the faith of uneducated laypeople. Some told the stories of Satan's rebellion, Adam and Eve in Eden, and on through Old Testament scenes. The plays end with the passion, and therefore triumph, of Jesus over Satan. Satan in these plays, while evil, is also made into a comically inept supervillain whose plans are foiled by God.
The witch hunting craze influenced popular perception of the Devil. How the Devil was thought of during the Reformation. The early development of the Faust legend; diabolical themes in the plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare (Doctor Faustus and Hamlet, respectively). A whole chapter is devoted to Milton's Paradise Lost, because it is one of the best things ever written and massively important in the history of the Devil idea.
And then we get to the rise of unbelief in the Age of Enlightenment. Rationalism and empiricism weakened Christianity, belief in God and the Devil. Some branches of Christianity tried to adapt to this by almost eliminating the Devil from their theology. God and the Devil were seen as primitive superstitions. The Marquis de Sade, from whom we get Sadism, used the atheist argument to advocate cruelty and hedonism: if you enjoy torture, do it, because pleasure is good. Geothe wrote Faust, presenting a new Devil for a new world ('Mephistopheles in the most important literary Devil since Milton's, but the difference between Milton's Satan and Goethe's Mephisto is the difference between a basically Christian and a basically secular world view').
A Romantic movement arose in response to the Enlightenment. They valued emotions and feelings over reason and logic. They gave new meaning to traditional symbols. Satan, fighting against Jehovah, was a heroic figure fighting for freedom from illegitimate authority. Jesus, against Satan, was a hero fighting unjust worldly authority. Thus in Romantic eyes Satan could represent heroism, individualism and the strive for freedom, but also isolation and selfishness. The artists of this period played with the Devil concept in interesting but often incoherent way. William Blake's mythology, especially The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Lord Byron's Cain: A Mystery. Percy Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, which combines the Greek Prometheus with the loving Jesus and the heroic Satan. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the first science fiction novel, about a man gaining Godlike powers, creating life: diabolical imagery surrounds the monster, but Frankenstein replaces supernatural horror with scientific horror. Victor Hugo's The End of Satan.
Romanticism split into Naturalism, which spurned the supernatural in favour of realism, and Decadence, an exploration of human sensuality. The latter led to a rise of occultism. Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. Lautreamont's The Chants of Maldoror. J-K Huysman investigated the occult Satanism of his day and wrote the novel The Damned, a fictional account of his experiences in this secret world. Huysman was so repelled by what he witnessed that he converted to Catholicism.
After being attacked on scientific and historical fronts, religion was then attacked by psychologists: Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, Carl Jung. Freud argued that the Devil was the personification of repressed unconscious desires. Klein argued that since children easily divide the world between good and bad, while adults learn ambivalence and shades of grey, the religious divide between good and evil is a sign of psychological immaturity. Carl Jung saw the Devil as an important psychological symbol that helped us face up to the existence of evil. Dostoevsky's The Devils and The Brothers Karamazov defends religion while facing up to problem of evil and presenting compelling evil characters. Twentieth century horrors re-emphasized the problem of evil. Satan in modern literature: Tolkien, CS Lewis, Thomas Mann's Doktor Faustus, the short stories of Flannery O'Connor, etc. The Devil in pop culture and music. LaVeyan Satanism ('their Satanic Bible is a melange of hedonistic maxims and incoherent occultism').
Burton believes that a lack of belief in a transcendent evil force makes the world more dangerous, and he looks at the arguments on both sides. My own opinion on this matter is undecided.
August 22, 2021
Svakako preporučujem ovu opsežnu studiju o đavolu i zlu, koja ide od teoloških pa sve do historijskih i književnih izvora i portreta Zlog. Napominjem da je potrebno mnogo strpljenja za skokove u vremenu pa i tematici. Posljednje stranice otišle su na prepričavanje pojedinih književnih djela, što je moju pažnju poremetilo, pa zbog toga i nešto niža ocjena.
January 26, 2018
Please give a helpful vote to my Amazon review - https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1C7...
This is a wonderfully literate and engaging survey of the history and literature surrounding Satan. The author, Jeffrey Burton Russell,
Russell begins with a survey of the idea of evil and the earliest understanding of evil as a force or power that opposed its contradictory power of good. This binary division of good from evil provided a neat explanation of why there was evil in the world. Unfortunately, this explanation did not fit into the monotheistic position that there was one all-powerful God who was also all-good. Fitting evil, and its prototype, the Devil, into such a worldview is something that has engaged the western world for the last three millennia.
Russell follows the trail of the Devil and evil from Mazdaism through Judaism and into Christianity. Russell's narrative is constantly interesting and informative. Russell provided the single best discussion of Origen's theology concerning universal redemption and the redemption of the demons that I have heard. Unlike some reviewer's I found that Russell was extremely even-handed when dealing with non-Christian belief systems.
I particularly liked his development of the Devil in modernity. His discussion of Milton, Goethe and Flannery O'Connor were sufficiently captivating that I intend to listen to Milton's Paradise Lost on the grounds that it is a foundational piece of the Western literary tradition that I have overlooked.
This is a good survey that provides some depth. As a survey, it covers a lot of territory in a quick and fascinating way.
This is a wonderfully literate and engaging survey of the history and literature surrounding Satan. The author, Jeffrey Burton Russell,
Russell begins with a survey of the idea of evil and the earliest understanding of evil as a force or power that opposed its contradictory power of good. This binary division of good from evil provided a neat explanation of why there was evil in the world. Unfortunately, this explanation did not fit into the monotheistic position that there was one all-powerful God who was also all-good. Fitting evil, and its prototype, the Devil, into such a worldview is something that has engaged the western world for the last three millennia.
Russell follows the trail of the Devil and evil from Mazdaism through Judaism and into Christianity. Russell's narrative is constantly interesting and informative. Russell provided the single best discussion of Origen's theology concerning universal redemption and the redemption of the demons that I have heard. Unlike some reviewer's I found that Russell was extremely even-handed when dealing with non-Christian belief systems.
I particularly liked his development of the Devil in modernity. His discussion of Milton, Goethe and Flannery O'Connor were sufficiently captivating that I intend to listen to Milton's Paradise Lost on the grounds that it is a foundational piece of the Western literary tradition that I have overlooked.
This is a good survey that provides some depth. As a survey, it covers a lot of territory in a quick and fascinating way.
January 4, 2025
I listened to this book while I was busy finishing research for the Fall 2024 semester. I think it had some good insights about evil and a very broad look at the development of the figure of Satan over time. I'm enjoying another one of JBR's books as well. I think this is a good starting point for anyone looking to learn more about how we see evil in Western society.
April 30, 2024
A thoroughly researched and well-written condensation of Russell’s multi-volume work on the idea of Devil in history, if ultimately a somewhat imbalanced treatment.
February 11, 2014
An engrossing and extensive masterpiece detailing the rise and fall of the concept of the devil (mostly) Western society and thought. Traveling through time from the dawn of written history to our modern, post world war age Russell tracks the evolution and eventual dissolution of the idea of a devil. In short, I found this book to be deep, intellectual, and incredibly thought provoking and I recommend it to any seeker.
Blending together scripture, dogmatic tradition, religious philosophy, literature, art, and bits of folklore Russell un-clouds centuries of confusion and identifies the reigning diabology of each era. He necessarily and masterfully addresses the nature of the universe, God, and society. Russell also artfully holds the tension of the metaphysical personality thought of as the devil (from cloven hoofed and goatlike to the suave sophistication of Mephistopheles the scholar) from the true nature and existence of a force of radical evil. Throughout this volume he forces us to challenge our innermost assumptions and beliefs.
I consider this book a must read for any Christian who takes the study of their religion seriously, particularly through historical and philosophical lenses. If nothing else, Russell is expert at identifying important religious ideas in history and rewriting them in a way that is accessible to the modern scholar. DO NOT BE DETERRED by the cover or the title; this is a well-researched academic book hidden behind a sensational title and cover. Far from any sort of a satanist book Russell ultimately encourages us to take radical evil seriously so we can become more conscious about living in the good.
Blending together scripture, dogmatic tradition, religious philosophy, literature, art, and bits of folklore Russell un-clouds centuries of confusion and identifies the reigning diabology of each era. He necessarily and masterfully addresses the nature of the universe, God, and society. Russell also artfully holds the tension of the metaphysical personality thought of as the devil (from cloven hoofed and goatlike to the suave sophistication of Mephistopheles the scholar) from the true nature and existence of a force of radical evil. Throughout this volume he forces us to challenge our innermost assumptions and beliefs.
I consider this book a must read for any Christian who takes the study of their religion seriously, particularly through historical and philosophical lenses. If nothing else, Russell is expert at identifying important religious ideas in history and rewriting them in a way that is accessible to the modern scholar. DO NOT BE DETERRED by the cover or the title; this is a well-researched academic book hidden behind a sensational title and cover. Far from any sort of a satanist book Russell ultimately encourages us to take radical evil seriously so we can become more conscious about living in the good.
January 24, 2008
Russell has previously written four in-depth works on the concept of Satan and ultimate evil: The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity, Satan: The Early Christian Tradition, Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages, and Mephisopheles: The Devil in the Modern World. This book is apparently meant to be a synthesis and abridgement of these four books. I can't speak to how well Russell succeeds in this, not having read the previous four books, but I certainly found this book to be fascinating. His approach is more tightly focused and less lighthearted than that of Gerald Messadie's A History of the Devil; Russell keeps things very much focused on the Christian tradition, by and large ignoring other religions' views of evil. What is most puzzling about this book is the subtitle; there is certainly a lot of discussion of "radical evil" in the text, but I'm not sure where the "power of good" came in, really.
July 4, 2021
Great overview of the dark prince throughout the ages - Ahriman, Seth, member of Yahweh's divine council in the Old Testament, all the way to Dante and Milton's Lucifer, Goethe's Mephisto, Dostoyevsky's devil, Jung's devil and Hannah Arendt's banality of evil. This book reminds me of Karen Armstrong's History of God in its breadth and erudition. I like how the material is synthesized and how the writer managed to combine depth and overview. Many important stories are described in detail. I still find Dostoyevsky's devil the most convincing.
November 26, 2016
this book really affected my life, and way of thinking, learning and receiving information. By reading it you can learn that there's not only dualism-black and white, good and evil, but there are so many layers out there. If you love history, really good science study and esotheria you will deffenitely enjoy this book.
September 6, 2023
Un libro verdaderamente excepcional. Jeffrey Burton Russell expone en esta obra la idea y los conceptos que se han tenido sobre la existencia del mal, desde las antiguas civilizaciones hasta la actualidad, y por supuesto, la figura de Satán, el príncipe del mal, como ¿una idea? ¿una fuerza? ¿una persona? que la representa.
Las ideas religiosas y filosóficas sobre la existencia del mal en nuestro plano, son el centro de este viaje que propone uno de los estudiosos más importantes del mundo sobre el diablo y sus creencias. De hecho, el libro merece dos leídas: primero para entender y tener un retrato sobre lo que estamos hablando y una segunda lectura para tomar apuntes y reflexionar de forma más profunda sobre las ideas que se han tenido y se tienen sobre el mal.
Una cosa es interesante. Aunque el trabajo de Burton es realmente académico, no dejamos de notar que el autor está convencido que en nuestro mundo actúa una fuerza del mal, invisible pero existente. Ha pasado toda su vida estudiando al mal, y algo le sabe.
Me toco ver un documental donde lo entrevistan, y confiesa que su estudio sobre el diablo y lo maligno lo llevaron a momentos de depresión verdaderamente fuertes.
Una única advertencia: el poder del diablo radica en que nos ha hecho creer que no existe.
Las ideas religiosas y filosóficas sobre la existencia del mal en nuestro plano, son el centro de este viaje que propone uno de los estudiosos más importantes del mundo sobre el diablo y sus creencias. De hecho, el libro merece dos leídas: primero para entender y tener un retrato sobre lo que estamos hablando y una segunda lectura para tomar apuntes y reflexionar de forma más profunda sobre las ideas que se han tenido y se tienen sobre el mal.
Una cosa es interesante. Aunque el trabajo de Burton es realmente académico, no dejamos de notar que el autor está convencido que en nuestro mundo actúa una fuerza del mal, invisible pero existente. Ha pasado toda su vida estudiando al mal, y algo le sabe.
Me toco ver un documental donde lo entrevistan, y confiesa que su estudio sobre el diablo y lo maligno lo llevaron a momentos de depresión verdaderamente fuertes.
Una única advertencia: el poder del diablo radica en que nos ha hecho creer que no existe.
August 29, 2018
Great book
I saw the author interviewed on the documentary "The Devil and Father Amorth" and am very glad I purchased this book. It did not disappoint. Informative and very thorough, it gave a great historical and theological overview of how the Devil has been thought of in history. I cannot help but think that the gaming of Satan during the 19th and 20th century proved to.be a horrendous error. The medieval.mind was probably more accurate .
I saw the author interviewed on the documentary "The Devil and Father Amorth" and am very glad I purchased this book. It did not disappoint. Informative and very thorough, it gave a great historical and theological overview of how the Devil has been thought of in history. I cannot help but think that the gaming of Satan during the 19th and 20th century proved to.be a horrendous error. The medieval.mind was probably more accurate .
August 31, 2019
Interesting and fascinating summary of the perception of The Devil and his depictions across the ages. It also debates how the conception of evil manifests in well known products of literature and theology, along the persistent question of whether Satan really exists or not.
A little too much crammed first part though. Also, the succession of discussed ideas could have been a little more clearer, since there are at times too many facts compressed in a single chapter.
A little too much crammed first part though. Also, the succession of discussed ideas could have been a little more clearer, since there are at times too many facts compressed in a single chapter.
October 31, 2022
Excellent history of the study of evil, particularly radical evil.
Russell's book provides a very helpful of the history of diabology. The issues discussed are as relevant today (if not more so) as they were when the book was first written. The last lines of the book will likely strongly resonate with anyone who is dismayed by the violence and horror manifested in our world today.
Russell's book provides a very helpful of the history of diabology. The issues discussed are as relevant today (if not more so) as they were when the book was first written. The last lines of the book will likely strongly resonate with anyone who is dismayed by the violence and horror manifested in our world today.
March 27, 2022
A solid walkthrough of the depictions of Satan throughout history. The book is good, but honestly I would recommend starting with Kelly's THE PROBLEM WITH EVIL IN WESTERN TRADITION first. Flies by, and if anything, it makes me want to check out Russell's other work of tracing concepts of evil outside of the usual Christian/Judeo mindset.
November 21, 2023
Terminado, la historia del Diablo y toda su demonologia a través de la historia, todas las teorias y modas a través de los tiempos.
Muy interesante y te hace pensar muchísimo. Creo que para hablar de religiones. Es imprescindible.
Muy interesante y te hace pensar muchísimo. Creo que para hablar de religiones. Es imprescindible.
October 22, 2018
Pretty solid read of the history of the Devil in mostly western thought through the lens of Judaism and Christianity and of authors like Milton and Dostoevsky.....
December 13, 2018
its a history textbook
July 23, 2021
good overview of the western conception of evil/satan
October 25, 2021
Más de teología que otra cosa.
October 29, 2021
An erudite discussion of how the western world has come to grips with the notion of evil from a theological, philosophical, and socio-cultural perspective.
July 17, 2022
Important for understanding the evolution of Satan's image throughout history.
October 28, 2023
I suppose “The Prince of Darkness” (1988) is sort of a summary of his previous books: “The Devil”(1977), “Satan”(1981), “Lucifer”(1984), “Mephistopheles”(1986).
I think it fails at that...
I think it fails at that...
Read
May 16, 2025An interesting survey, but ultimately too summary to fully convey the theme of radical evil and its relation to the demonic.
September 16, 2011
I had to read this for my class "The Devil in Russian Literature". It is extremely informative and it is honestly rather incredible the amount of information the author can fit inside with less than 300 pages to work with. That is both the gooks greatest strength and its weakness. It seems that each new paragraph brings a new story or anecdote and discussion of another nuanced view of evil. It is a positive in that this book is supposed to be a general survey, but it is also a negative in that you don't get too in-depth in general and some of the short anecdotes leave you desiring more. It can also drag a tad bit in places that are covering exceptionally heavy or less than exhiliratingly stories. Overall, though, worth checking out if you have an interesting in the topic.
Read
July 7, 2018Kitabin degerlendirmesi icin, bkz.
https://wanderlustpress.net/2015/06/0...
It's a very good overview of the devil's historical transformation. It doesn't only include a survey of the Christian theology. It also discusses literature, culture, psychology & psychiatry in an attempt to tackle the issue of the existence of good and evil in humanity. There are conceptual debates, historical outlines and cultural examples. The figure of Satan has the lead in commentary but it's a lot more than that. It's essentially a very interesting and informative text.
https://wanderlustpress.net/2015/06/0...
It's a very good overview of the devil's historical transformation. It doesn't only include a survey of the Christian theology. It also discusses literature, culture, psychology & psychiatry in an attempt to tackle the issue of the existence of good and evil in humanity. There are conceptual debates, historical outlines and cultural examples. The figure of Satan has the lead in commentary but it's a lot more than that. It's essentially a very interesting and informative text.
June 23, 2019
(29/04/14)
En esta obra, dirigida al público general, el autor expone cómo ha variado el concepto del diablo en el mundo occidental, y a través de ello, la percepción acerca del mal predominante en cada período histórico. Un libro muy claro, ameno y que no resulta agobiante pese a la abundante información que entrega. Se analizan corrientes filosóficas, religiosas, e incluso obras literarias. Muy recomendable.
En esta obra, dirigida al público general, el autor expone cómo ha variado el concepto del diablo en el mundo occidental, y a través de ello, la percepción acerca del mal predominante en cada período histórico. Un libro muy claro, ameno y que no resulta agobiante pese a la abundante información que entrega. Se analizan corrientes filosóficas, religiosas, e incluso obras literarias. Muy recomendable.
July 28, 2009
Astonishingly erudite and coherent account of the history of the devil in Christian (and pre-Christian) thought. Including analyses of the devil and the problem of evil in the Patristic and Monastic tradition and art and literature and folk tradition through to modernity. A refreshing insight from the world's greatest expert in diabology. A must read for any serious Christian.
September 21, 2008
Good book about early perceptions of evil from pre-Christian traditions.
December 8, 2010
"Das Böse wird direkt erfahren und direkt intuitiv wahrgenommen."
Nüchterner als erwartet, aber gute Darstellung der verschiedenen Manifestationen des Bösen/des Teufels.
Nüchterner als erwartet, aber gute Darstellung der verschiedenen Manifestationen des Bösen/des Teufels.
January 17, 2015
Well written and very fascinating!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews