! Of course in their hearts they do not believe the
terrific formula which drops so glibly from their tongues.

Again: it is a fatal objection to the doctrine in question that if
it be true it must destroy the happiness of the saved and fill all
heaven with sympathetic woe. Jesus teaches that "there is joy in
heaven over every sinner that repenteth." By a moral necessity,
then, there is sorrow in heaven over the wretched, lost soul. That
sorrow, indeed, may be alleviated, if not wholly quenched, by the
knowledge that every retributive pang is remedial, and that God's
glorious design will one day be fully crowned in the redemption of
the last prodigal. But what shall solace or end it if they know
that hell's borders are to be enlarged and to rage with avenging
misery forever? The good cannot be happy in heaven if they are to
see the ascending smoke and hear the resounding shrieks of a hell
full of their brethren, the children of a common humanity, among
whom are many of their own nearest relatives and dearest friends.

True, a long list of Christian writers may be cited as maintaining
that this is to be a principal element in the felicity of the
redeemed, gloating over the tortures of the damned, singing the
song of praise with redoubled emphasis as they see their parents,
their children, their former bosom companions, writhing and
howling in the fell extremities of torture. Thomas Aquinas says,
"That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God
more richly, a perfect sight of the punishment of the damned is
granted to them."24 Especially did the Puritans seem to revel in
this idea, that "the joys of the blessed were to be deepened and
sharpened by constant contrast with the sufferings of the damned."
One of them thus expresses the delectable thought: "The sight of
hell torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever, as a
sense of the opposite misery always increases the relish of any
pleasure."

24 Summa, pars iii., Suppl. Qu. 93, art. i.

But perhaps Hopkins caps the climax of the diabolical pyramid of
these representations, saying of the wicked, "The smoke of their
torment shall ascend up in the sight of the blessed for ever and
ever, and serve, as a most clear glass always before their eyes,
to give them a bright and most affecting view. This display of the
Divine character will be most entertaining to all who love God,
will give them the highest and most ineffable pleasure. Should the
f