“ 'What is hell?' I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love. ”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880). copy citation
| Author | Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
|---|---|
| Source | The Brothers Karamazov |
| Topic | love suffering hell |
| Date | 1880 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Constance Garnett |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28054/28054-h/28054-h.html |
Context
“Water the earth with the tears of your joy and love those tears. Don't be ashamed of that ecstasy, prize it, for it is a gift of God and a great one; it is not given to many but only to the elect.
[pg 359] (i) Of Hell and Hell Fire, a Mystic Reflection Fathers and teachers, I ponder, «What is hell?» I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love. Once in infinite existence, immeasurable in time and space, a spiritual creature was given on his coming to earth, the power of saying, «I am and I love.» Once, only once, there was given him a moment of active living love, and for that was earthly life given him, and with it times and seasons.” source
[pg 359] (i) Of Hell and Hell Fire, a Mystic Reflection Fathers and teachers, I ponder, «What is hell?» I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love. Once in infinite existence, immeasurable in time and space, a spiritual creature was given on his coming to earth, the power of saying, «I am and I love.» Once, only once, there was given him a moment of active living love, and for that was earthly life given him, and with it times and seasons.” source
Meaning and analysis
