The making of miracles to edification was as ardently admired by pious Victorians as it was sternly discouraged by Jesus of Nazareth. Not that the Victorians were unique in this respect. Modern writers also indulge in edifying miracles though they generally prefer to use them to procure unhappy endings, by which piece of thaumaturgy they win the title of realists.

The Devil is a spiritual lunatic, but, like many lunatics, he is extremely plausible and cunning.

Still, it doesn't do to murder people, no matter how offensive they may be.

I have never regretted Paradise Lost since I discovered that it contained no eggs-and-bacon.

... at no point have I yet found artistic truth and theological truth at variance.

Sex is every man's loco spot ... he'll take a disappointment, but not a humiliation.

Nothing is more vulgar than a careful avoidance of beginning a letter with the first person singular.