“I will hinder and harm your creature on earth...”
Por qué es buena
Two verbs in a formal oath turn jealousy into a declared war.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
I will hinder and harm nothing that is honest.
00:00 / 03:42
00:00 / 03:42
Salieri Declares War on God, Explained
Amadeus · 1984
Capítulo 12 de 25 · 3'42"
Alone, Salieri renounces God and vows, "From now on, we are enemies." He promises to hinder and harm God's creature and swears it. Then he goes to the Emperor and quietly accuses Mozart of improper conduct with a pupil. When Mozart appears to beg for help, the man he is sabotaging is the same man he is plotting against.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:37–1:16
❝ Monólogo · 12 frases Salieri Declares War on God
40s
Salieri Declares War on God, explained
What happens
Alone in his room, Salieri renounces God for giving genius to a vulgar boy and vows that from now on they are enemies. He swears to hinder and harm God's creature on earth. He then tells the Emperor that Mozart cannot be trusted alone with young ladies. Soon Mozart arrives, desperate: he has lost the post to a mediocrity and asks Salieri for help - and for a loan.
What's really going on
Salieri's war is declared in private and fought in public. The vow - "From now on, we are enemies" - is aimed at God, but every move that follows lands on Mozart, who never learns he is the target. The slander to the Emperor shows the method: he does not attack the music, which cannot be beaten, but the man, claiming Mozart "is not entirely to be trusted alone with young ladies." Meanwhile Mozart comes to Salieri as a supplicant, broke and begging for a loan, because he still believes the court composer is a colleague. The scene's cruelty is structural: Salieri is both the man Mozart asks for help and the man engineering his failure.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I will hinder and harm your creature on earth...”
- Salieri's vow to attack God indirectly by harming Mozart, the creature through whom God's gift is made visible.
- “Mozart is not entirely to be trusted alone with young ladies.”
- A carefully vague slander: it plants suspicion without a formal charge, aimed at Mozart's reputation rather than his music.
- “No,no. He has yet to achieve mediocrity.”
- A joke that doubles as an insult - Zummer is so bad that mediocrity would be a promotion, and Mozart says it with contempt.
- “I can't lose this post. I simply can't.”
- Mozart's desperation in plain words: the post is not vanity but survival, and he repeats it because he has no leverage.
- “You don't mean you're living in poverty?”
- Disbelief from Salieri - he knows Mozart's concerts sell out, so the idea of poverty seems impossible until Mozart explains.
Theme
- Faith — Salieri turns his devotion into a formal war against God, cursing the injustice of talent given to an unworthy boy.
- Betrayal — Salieri slanders Mozart to the Emperor and lets him beg for aid while quietly working to destroy his career.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel0/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“Mozart is not entirely to be trusted alone with young ladies.”
Por qué es buena
Not entirely leaves a polite gap that is enough to ruin a reputation.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
That report is not entirely to be trusted.
“No,no. He has yet to achieve mediocrity.”
Por qué es buena
Saying he has yet to reach mediocrity insults him through a backhanded standard.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
The proposal has yet to achieve coherence.
“I can't lose this post. I simply can't.”
Por qué es buena
Repeating the sentence with simply turns panic into a refrain.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I can't miss this chance. I simply can't.
“You don't mean you're living in poverty?”
Por qué es buena
Don't mean pretends disbelief while naming the poverty out loud.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You don't mean you are moving abroad?
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Salieri's vow
From now on,we are enemies. You and I. Because you choose for your instrument... ... a boastful,lustful,smutty,infantile boy... ... and give me for reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation. Because you are unjust... ... unfair... ... unkind... ... I will block you. I swear it. I will hinder and harm your creature on earth... ... as far as I am able.
From enemies to as far as I am able, the vow turns jealousy into a holy war.
Siguiente · 13explode like a bombLa escena: Mozart Borrows Money From SalieriIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- Hinder and harm is a formal, oath-like pairing.
- Not entirely to be trusted is polite and ruinous.
- Has yet to achieve uses a compliment to insult.
- Simply can't makes a refusal absolute.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does Salieri declare war on God?
Because God gave genius to Mozart, a man Salieri finds vulgar and unworthy, while granting Salieri only the ability to recognize that genius. He decides to take revenge on the creator through the creature.
Why does Salieri lie about Mozart to the Emperor?
He cannot compete with Mozart's music, so he attacks his reputation. The accusation about a pupil is vague enough to plant doubt without a formal charge, which is exactly how it damages Mozart.
Why does Mozart ask Salieri for a loan?
Mozart is broke despite successful concerts, because no one will hire him or let him teach their daughters. He still trusts Salieri enough to ask him for money.
Why does Mozart lose the post to Zummer?
The committee passes him over for Herr Zummer, whom Mozart calls a fool. The rejection reflects how the court prefers safe, unthreatening mediocrity to a difficult genius.
Does Salieri actually help Mozart?
No. He listens, offers sympathy and sends Mozart away when the music starts. His vow to hinder and harm God's creature is being kept even while Mozart believes he has an ally.