Heaven & Hell

For the Christian, heaven is where Jesus is. We do not need to speculate on what heaven will be like. It is enough to know that we will be for ever with Him.
~ William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 2 (1965).

He did not think ... that it was necessary to make a hell of this world to enjoy paradise in the next.
~ William Beckford, Vathek (1816 edition; originally published in 1782)

[N]ow we know the way to Heaven to turn immediately into it, and walk constantly in it. Though the way be narrow it is not long, and though the Gate be strait, it opens into eternal Life.
~ (Bishop) William Beveridge, in Private Thoughts Upon A Christian Life, Part II (1712). Thoughts Upon Striving To Enter At The Strait Gate

Heaven would hardly be heaven if we could define it.
~ William Edward Biederwolf

As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity, I collected some of their Proverbs, thinking that as the sayings used in a nation mark its character, so the Proverbs of Hell show the nature of Infernal wisdom better than any description of buildings or garments.
~ William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-93). A Memorable Fancy

Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from Hell a human soul.
~ William Blake, from The Pickering Manuscript (c. 1803). Auguries of Innocence

Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell.
~ William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-93).

Men are admitted into Heaven not because they have curbed & governed their passions or have no passions, but because they have cultivated their understandings. The treasures of Heaven are not negations of passion, but realities of intellect, from which all the passions emanate uncurbed in their eternal glory. The fool shall not enter into Heaven let him be ever so holy.
~ William Blake, from A Vision of the Last Judgment (c. 1810).

And, like the glorious light of summer, cast
O'er the wide landscape from the embracing sky,
On all the peaceful world the smile of heaven shall lie.
~ William Cullen Bryant, Poems (1832). After A Tempest

To appreciate heaven well
'Tis good for a man to have some fifteen minutes of hell.
~ William McKendree ("Will") Carleton, from Farm Ballads (1873). Gone with a Handsomer Man

The pure mind carries Heaven within itself, and manifests that Heaven to all around.
~ William Ellery Channing (D.D.), in The Perfect Life: In Twelve Discourses (1873). II. God Revealed In The Universe And In Humanity

Hell is truth seen too late.
~ Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., from Credo (2003). Social Justice and Economic Rights

But oars alone can ne'er prevail
To reach the distant coast;
The breath of heaven must swell the sail,
Or all the toil is lost.
~ William Cowper, from Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. (1782). Human Frailty (1779)

Heaven's harmony is universal love.
~ William Cowper, from Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. (1782). The Progress of Error

The poor dunce who says, "If I go to hell, I'll have plenty of friends," will be forever shocked to find that in hell nobody will have any friends! Everyone will be the eternal enemy of everyone else.
~ William S. Deal

I'm bad and I'm going to hell, and I don't care. I'd rather be in hell than anywhere where you are.
~ William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (October 1929). April Sixth, 1928

In my travels I have found that those who keep Heaven in view remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day. If the glories of Heaven were more real to us, if we lived less for material things and more for things eternal and spiritual, we would be less easily disturbed by this present life.
~ Billy Graham, from Hope for the Troubled Heart Traveling Through

The most prominent place in hell is reserved for those who are neutral on the great issues of life.
~ Billy Graham

The only thing I could say for sure is that hell means separation from God. We are separated from his light, from his fellowship. That is going to be hell.
~ Billy Graham, in Time Magazine (15 November 1993).

Dost thou complain that heaven's way is rugged? Be constantly walking in it, and that will make it smooth.
~ William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour (1665).

Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death.
~ William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour (1665).

Many lose heaven, because they are ashamed to go in a fool's coat thither.
~ William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour (1665).

None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven, because they fall from the greatest height.
~ William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour (1665).

The optimist makes his own heaven, and enjoys it as he goes through life. The pessimist makes his own hell and suffers it as he goes through life.
~ (Col.) William C. Hunter, Brass Tacks (1910).

I hate thinking about it, teaching about it, and writing about it. But the plain truth is that hell is real and real people go there for eternity.
~ Bill Hybels

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioning our characters in the wrong way.
~ William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890). Vol. 1. Chapter IV: Habit

With mere good intentions, hell is proverbially paved.
~ William James, in The Popular Science Monthly (February 1887). The Laws of Habit

In hell there's a big hotel
Where the bar just closed and the windows never opened
No phone so you can't call home
And the T.V. works, but the clicker is broken.
~ Billy Joel, in River Of Dreams (1993 album). Blonde Over Blue

They say there's a heaven for those who wait,
Some say it's better but I say it ain't.
~ Billy Joel, in The Stranger (1977 album). Only the Good Die Young

O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto.
~ William Kethe, All people that on earth do dwell (metrical Psalm; 1561).

All that is sweet, delightful, and amiable in this world, in the serenity of the air, the fineness of seasons, the joy of light, the melody of sounds, the beauty of colors, the fragrancy of smells, the splendor our precious stones, is nothing else but Heaven breaking through the veil of this world, manifesting itself in such a degree and darting forth in such variety so much of its own nature.
~ William Law, An Appeal to all who Doubt the Truths of the Gospel (1740).

Heaven is as near to our souls, as this world is to our bodies.
~ William Law, The Spirit of Prayer, Part I (1749).

[H]ell is nothing else but nature departed or excluded from the beams of divine light.
~ William Law, The Spirit of Prayer, Part II (1749).

The will is that which has all power;
It makes heaven and it makes hell;
For there is no hell,
But where the will of creature is turned from God,
Nor any heaven,
But where the will of the creature worketh with God.
~ William Law

I have endeavored to how its [doctrine of a material hell] necessary effect was to chill and deaden the sympathies, to predispose men to inflict suffering, and seriously to retard the march of civilization.
~ William Edward Hartpole (E.H.) Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. I (1865). Chapter III: Aestetic, Scientific, and Moral Developments of Rationalism

Hell is when there is no reason to live and no courage to die.
~ William Markiewicz, Extracts of Existence (1990).

As if hell were needed when every sin brings along with it its own bitter punishment.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, The Merry-Go-Round (1904).

In heaven when the blessed use the telephone they will say what they have to say and not a word besides.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, from Collected Short Stories, Volume II (1951). Virtue

[F]ellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell; fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death.
~ William Morris, from A Dream of John Ball (1888).

Have you noticed there are no interesting people in heaven? -- Just a hint to the girls as to where they can find their salvation.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Will to Power (1901).

It was the sick and dying who despised the body and the earth and invented the things of heaven and the redeeming drops of blood: but even these sweet and dismal poisons they took from the body and the earth!
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra (1885).

The "kingdom of Heaven" is a condition of the heart -- not something that comes "upon the earth" or "after death."
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Antichrist (1888). Aphorism 34

Love is indeed Heaven upon Earth; since Heaven above would not be Heaven without it.
~ William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude (1693). Part I. Religion

[D]o your best to bring the glory of a real heaven down, and ray it out upon your fellows in this work-day world.
~ William Morley (W.M.) Punshon, from Lectures and Sermons (1873). Lectures. Daniel in Babylon

And, ah, to think how thin the veil that lies
Between the pain of hell and paradise!
~ George William (A.E.) Russell, Collected Poems by A.E. (1913). Janus

Oh God, it's hell to be
Alone, alone, alone.
~ Robert William Service, Ballads of a Cheechako (1909). The Telegraph Operator

All hell shall stir for this.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry V. Act V, scene i

An angel; or, if not,
An earthly paragon.
~ William Shakespeare, Cymbeline

And thou unfit for any place but hell.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard III. Act I, scene ii

Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.
~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Are there no stones in heaven
But what serve for the thunder?
~ William Shakespeare, Othello. Act V, scene ii

Ay, there, look grim as hell!
~ William Shakespeare, Othello. Act IV, scene ii

Down, down to hell; and say I sent thee thither.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part III. Act V, scene vi

Heaven is above all yet; there sits a judge
That no king can corrupt.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VIII. Act III, scene i

Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here.
~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest. Act I, scene ii

Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part II. Act IV, scene vii

Let us to't. ... If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard III. Act V, scene iii

Look, how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold;
There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st
But in his motion like an angel sings ...
Such harmony is in immortal souls;
But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.
~ William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Much is the force of heaven-bred poesy.
~ William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act III, scene ii

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act III, scene iii

The cunning livery of hell.
~ William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

The treasury of everlasting joy.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part II. Act II, scene i

Weak men must fall, for heaven still guards the right.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard II. Act III, scene ii

A man can slip into hell with his hand on the door-knob of heaven.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday, from The Real Billy Sunday: The Life and Work of Rev. William Ashley Sunday, D.D., The Baseball Evangelist (1914). XV: Some of Sunday's Sayings

Better limp all the way to heaven than not get there at all.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday, from The Real Billy Sunday: The Life and Work of Rev. William Ashley Sunday, D.D., The Baseball Evangelist (1914). XV: Some of Sunday's Sayings

God keeps no half-way house. It's either heaven or hell for you and me.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday, from The Real Billy Sunday: The Life and Work of Rev. William Ashley Sunday, D.D., The Baseball Evangelist (1914). XV: Some of Sunday's Sayings

Hell is the highest reward that the devil can offer you for being a servant of his.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday

If there is no Hell a good many preachers are obtaining money under false pretenses.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday, from The Real Billy Sunday: The Life and Work of Rev. William Ashley Sunday, D.D., The Baseball Evangelist (1914). XV: Some of Sunday's Sayings

The difference between God's side and the devil's is the difference between heaven and hell.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday

There fragrant flowers immortal bloom,
And joys supreme are given;
There rays divine disperse the gloom:
Beyond the confines of the tomb
Appears the dawn of heaven.
~ William Bingham Tappan, from New England, and other Poems (1819). There is an Hour of Peaceful Rest

There is an hour of peaceful rest
To mourning wanderers given;
There is a joy for souls distrest,
A balm for every wounded breast,
'Tis found alone in heaven.
~ William Bingham Tappan, from New England, and other Poems (1819). There is an Hour of Peaceful Rest

Heaven does not choose its elect from among the great and wealthy.
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, The Virginians: A Tale of the Last Century (1857-59). Chapter V. Family Jars

Small wonder the angels are said not to like us, for when man was created, all hell broke loose in Heaven.
~ William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture (1981).

I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels.
~ William Warren, The Wild Side of Life (1952 song).

Asking no heaven, we fear no fabled hell:
Life is a feast, and we have banqueted --
Shall not the worms as well?
~ William Watson, from Poems of William Watson (1892). The Great Misgiving

The hoarse and indistinguishable orders of commanding officers, the screaming and bursting of shells, canister and shrapnel as they tore through the struggling masses of humanity, the death screams of wounded animals, the groans of their human companions, wounded and dying and trampled underfoot by hurrying batteries, riderless horses and the moving lines of battle -- a perfect Hell on earth, never, perhaps to be equaled, certainly not to be surpassed, nor ever to be forgotten in a man's lifetime. It has never been effaced from my memory, day or night, for fifty years.
~ William Archibald Waugh, Unpublished Memoirs

Can you tell a plain man the road to heaven? Certainly, turn at once to the right, then go straight forward.
~ William Wilberforce

There is no sudden entrance into Heaven.
Slow is the ascent by the path of Love.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from New Thought Pastels (1906). The Way

It was hell at the time, but after it was over, it was wonderful.
~ Billy Wilder

Hell is indefinite.
~ Charles (Walter Stansby) Williams

I don't believe that heaven waits for only those who congregate.
~ Don Williams

Hell is yourself [and the only redemption is] when a person puts himself aside to feel deeply for another person.
~ Thomas Lanier ("Tennessee") Williams (recalled on his death, 25 February 1983).

Hold back the edges of your gowns, Ladies, we are going through hell.
~ William Carlos Williams, in Howl and Other Poems, by Allen Ginsberg (1956). Introduction

Hell is given up so reluctantly by those who don't expect to go there.
~ Harry Leon Wilson, The Spenders: A Tale of the Third Generation (1902). Chapter XXI: The Diversions of a Young Multi-millionaire

As much of heaven is visible as we have eyes to see.
~ William Winter, from The Actor, And Other Speeches (1891). The Actor and His Duty to His Time (Address before the Actor's Fund Society, NY; 4 June 1889)

Hell is the place of those who have denied;
They find there what they planted and what dug,
A Lake of Spaces, and a Wood of Nothing,
And wander there and drift, and never cease
Wailing for substance.
~ William Butler Yeats, The Hour-Glass (1912 version).