Quotes from The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe ·  24 pages

Rating: (20.7K votes)


“Yet mad I am not...and very surely do I not dream.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or silly action for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgement, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“Hay algo en el generoso y abnegado amor de un animal que llega directamente al corazón de aquel que con frecuencia a probado la falsa amistad y la frágil fidelidad del hombre".”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“I am above the weakness of seeking to establish a sequence of cause and effect, between the disaster and the atrocity.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat



“Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action for no other reason than because he knows he should not?”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart - one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; — hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; — hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; — hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin — a deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul as to place it — if such a thing were possible — even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“I was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets. With these I spent most of my time, and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them.This peculiarity of character grew with my growth, I derived from it one of my principal sources of pleasure.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat



“This latter was a remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirely black, and sagacious to an astonishing degree.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“... tan seguro estoy de que mi alma existe como de que la perversidad es uno de los impulsos primordiales del corazón humano, una de las facultades primarias indivisibles, uno de esos sentimientos que dirigen el carácter del hombre.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“Tal vez sea la propia simplicidad del asunto lo que nos conduce al error.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


“FOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not -- and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Black Cat


About the author

Edgar Allan Poe
Born place: in Boston, Massachusetts, The United States
Born date January 19, 1809
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“I am ready to be alone.”
― Chuck Klosterman, quote from Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story


“You don't worry about happiness and fulfilment when you're starving.”
― Harlan Coben, quote from The Woods


“I fell in love with her for her sense of humour. If she ever lost her sense of humour, I would have to dump her. Then I'd kill myself because I couldn't live without her.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from Relentless


“Nope,” she managed. “No other questions.”
Eleven centuries of captivity. Hung on his hated enemy’s study wall. Eleven centuries of not touching. Not eating. Not loving. Had he had anyone to talk
to?
Her face must have betrayed her thoughts, for he startled her by saying softly, “ ’Tis no longer of
consequence, lass, but thank you for the compassion. ’Tis nigh over. Seventeen more days, Jessica. That’s all.”
For some reason his words brought a sudden hot burn of tears to the backs of her eyes. Not only hadn’t eleven centuries turned him into a monster, he was trying to soothe her, to make her feel better about his imprisonment.
“You weep for me, woman?”
She turned away. “It’s been a long day. Hell, it’s been a long week.”
“Jessica.” Her name was a soft command.
She disobeyed it, staring out the window at the rolling hills.
“Jessica, look at me.”
Eyes bright with unshed tears, she whipped her head around and glared at him. “I weep for you, okay?” she snapped. “For eleven centuries stuck in there. Can I start driving again or do you need something else?”
He smiled faintly, raised his hand, and splayed his palm against the inside of the silvery glass. Without an ounce of conscious thought, her hand rose to
meet his, aligning on the cool silver,
palm to palm, finger to finger, thumb to thumb. And though she felt only a cold hardness beneath her palm, the gesture made something go all warm and soft in her heart.
Neither of them spoke or moved for a moment.”
― Karen Marie Moning, quote from Spell of the Highlander


“Black for hunting through the night For death and mourning the color’s white Gold for a bride in her wedding gown And red to call enchantment down. White silk when our bodies burn, Blue banners when the lost return. Flame for the birth of a Nephilim, And to wash away our sins. Gray for knowledge best untold, Bone for those who don’t grow old. Saffron lights the victory march, Green will mend our broken hearts. Silver for the demon towers, And bronze to summon wicked powers. —Old Nephilim children’s rhyme”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from The Shadowhunter's Codex


Interesting books

Foundation and Earth
(45.7K)
Foundation and Earth
by Isaac Asimov
All Fall Down
(18.3K)
All Fall Down
by Ally Carter
The Palace of Illusions
(20.4K)
The Palace of Illusi...
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
(26.6K)
The Geography of Bli...
by Eric Weiner
The Little Sister
(10.6K)
The Little Sister
by Raymond Chandler
The Natural
(8.8K)
The Natural
by Bernard Malamud

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.