---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have need of angels. Enough hell has…"
description: "\"I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for too many years. But finally understand this--I have burned up one hundred thousand human lives ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png"
---

#  I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for…

![“I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for too many years. But finally understand this--I have burned up one hundred thousand human lives already, from the strength of my pain.” quote by Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png)

> “I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for too many years. But finally understand this--I have burned up one hundred thousand human lives already, from the strength of my pain.”

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker feels overwhelmed by personal suffering, believing it has caused immense harm to others, yet recognizes a lingering need for redemption.

**In simple terms:** Pain feels destructive and all‑consuming.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge suffering, seek healing.

Themes

suffering redemption guilt

Mood

anguished reflective

Type

confessional philosophical

When to use this quote

- therapy
- spiritual counseling
- confession
- self‑reflection

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Can you separate your pain from your identity?
- What steps can you take toward forgiveness?

A Different Perspective

Healing may be hindered by self‑condemnation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/)

## Related quotes

> [“If there was a light at the end of the tunnel, the flickering bulb above my head wasn’t it. The faces of my tormentors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-illene/if-there-was-a-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-the-flickering-bulb/)

[Susan Illene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-illene/)

> [“She's Heaven, I'm Hell. When we're together angels cry and Hell freezes over. -Shadow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-n-forgy/she-s-heaven-i-m-hell-when-we-re-together-angels-cry-and-hell-freezes/)

[M.N. Forgy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-n-forgy/)

> [“Don't need angels in the air, when the angels are right here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/don-t-need-angels-in-the-air-when-the-angels-are-right-here/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“The division of one day from the next must be one of the most profound peculiarities of life on this planet. We are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-division-of-one-day-from-the-next-must-be-one-of-the-most/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-need-to-be-angels-for-each-other-to-give-each-other-strength-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Of course, we all need angels. I had to have one over my head throughout my life, even right now. The odds of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/of-course-we-all-need-angels-i-had-to-have-one-over-my-head/)

[Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/)

> [If your intelligence and your luck are on your side, you don't need angels!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-your-intelligence-and-your-luck-are-on-your-side-you-don-t-need/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [If you are asking for a big thing - something about marriage, moving, or health, for example - that's when you need the angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/if-you-are-asking-for-a-big-thing-something-about-marriage-moving-or/)

[Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/)

> [“Even angels need angels,” she whispered.  “And sometimes devils too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-robb/even-angels-need-angels-she-whispered-and-sometimes-devils-too/)

Michael Robb

> [I know I have I have sliced , burned ,bruised wriped at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/i-know-i-have-i-have-sliced-burned-bruised-wriped-at/)

Slowly\_fading

> [Truth is error burned up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/truth-is-error-burned-up/)

[Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/)

> [“I knew I didn't have much of a chance of getting away from that swarm of fae piranha, but it was an infinitely larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-knew-i-didn-t-have-much-of-a-chance-of-getting-away-from-that-swarm/)

[Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/)

> [Men feared witches and burned women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/men-feared-witches-and-burned-women/)

[Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/)

> [These mercenaries, I swear by God, those who are still in Washington, they have sent their troops to be burned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/these-mercenaries-i-swear-by-god-those-who-are-still-in-washington/)

[Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/)

> [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/)

Heidi Ames

## More by Antonin Artaud

> [With society and its public, there is no longer any other language than that of bombs, barricades, and all that follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/with-society-and-its-public-there-is-no-longer-any-other-language/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [I cannot conceive any work of art as having a separate existence from life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-cannot-conceive-any-work-of-art-as-having-a-separate-existence-from/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [“This is why a tainted society has invented psychiatry to defend itself against the investigations of certain superior intellects whose faculties of divination would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/this-is-why-a-tainted-society-has-invented-psychiatry-to-defend/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [“I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-myself-spent-nine-years-in-an-insane-asylum-and-i-never-had-the/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [How hard is it, when everything encourages us to sleep, though we may look about us with conscious, clinging eyes, to wake and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/how-hard-is-it-when-everything-encourages-us-to-sleep-though-we-may/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [This is why true beauty never strikes us directly. The setting sun is beautiful because of all it makes us lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/this-is-why-true-beauty-never-strikes-us-directly-the-setting-sun-is/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [And what is an authentic madman? It is a man who preferred to become mad, in the socially accepted sense of the word, rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/and-what-is-an-authentic-madman-it-is-a-man-who-preferred-to-become/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [The truth of life lies in the impulsiveness of matter. The mind of man has been poisoned by concepts. Do not ask him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-truth-of-life-lies-in-the-impulsiveness-of-matter-the-mind-of-man/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [All writing is garbage. People who come out of nowhere to try and put into words any part of what goes on in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/all-writing-is-garbage-people-who-come-out-of-nowhere-to-try-and-put/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [Squander your riches far from this unfeeling body to which no season, either spiritual or sensual, makes any difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/squander-your-riches-far-from-this-unfeeling-body-to-which-no-season/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [The race of prophets is extinct. Europe is becoming set in its ways, slowly embalming itself beneath the wrappings of its borders, its factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-race-of-prophets-is-extinct-europe-is-becoming-set-in-its-ways/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [When I think about myself, my thought seeks itself in the ether of a new space. I am on the moon as others are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/when-i-think-about-myself-my-thought-seeks-itself-in-the-ether-of-a/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [It is almost impossible to be a doctor and an honest man, but it is obscenely impossible to be a psychiatrist without at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/it-is-almost-impossible-to-be-a-doctor-and-an-honest-man-but-it-is/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [Without sarcasm I sink into chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/without-sarcasm-i-sink-into-chaos/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

[Explore all 114 Antonin Artaud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

## More Angel quotes

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/)

[Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/)

> [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/)

[Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/)

[Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/)

> [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/)

[Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/)

> [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/)

[Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/)

> [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/)

[Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/)

> [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/)

[Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/)

> [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/)

[Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/)

> [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/)

[Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/)

> [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/)

[Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/)

> [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/)

[Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/)

[Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for too many years. But finally understand this--I have burned up one hundred thousand human lives already, from the strength of my pain.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Antonin Artaud"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-swallowed-me-for-too-many-years/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Angel"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-swallowed-me-for-too-many-years/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/antonin-artaud-3802_angel_i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-sw_2402423.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for too many years. But finally understand this--I have…” — Antonin Artaud",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Antonin Artaud",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have need of angels. Enough...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-swallowed-me-for-too-many-years/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-have-need-of-angels-enough-hell-has-swallowed-me-for-too-many-years/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
