--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It happened like this, if it happened at…" description: "\"“It happened like this, if it happened at all. I would rather go up to heaven by myself than be pushed by cherubs.”\" — E.M. Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/e-m-forster-2-1148_hell_it-happened-like-this-if-it-happened-at_740967.jpg" --- # It happened like this, if it happened at all. I would… ![“It happened like this, if it happened at all. I would rather go up to heaven by myself than be pushed by cherubs.” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/e-m-forster-2-1148_hell_it-happened-like-this-if-it-happened-at_740967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/e-m-forster-2-1148_hell_it-happened-like-this-if-it-happened-at_740967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/e-m-forster-2-1148_hell_it-happened-like-this-if-it-happened-at_740967.jpg) > ““It happened like this, if it happened at all. I would rather go up to heaven by myself than be pushed by cherubs.”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preferring solitary ascent to being forced by others reflects a desire for autonomy over imposed direction. **In simple terms:** Choose personal path over external pressure. Key Takeaway Seek independence in spiritual. Themes autonomy individualism spiritual Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - personal relationships Key Concepts free will self‑determination solitude Questions to Reflect On - Do you value independence over companionship? - When is guidance beneficial? A Different Perspective Alone ascent may lead to isolation and lack of support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ## Related quotes > [“When shit happened in heaven, some angels crashed on to earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-shit-happened-in-heaven-some-angels-crashed-on-to-earth/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Not even Lucifer left Heaven until he was pushed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/not-even-lucifer-left-heaven-until-he-was-pushed/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [So many things in the world have happened before. But it's like they never did. Every new thing that happens to a person, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/so-many-things-in-the-world-have-happened-before-but-it-s-like-they/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [Even in the ambulance ride I was trying to say something, trying to say, like, 'I knew who did it, I knew what went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bauman/even-in-the-ambulance-ride-i-was-trying-to-say-something-trying-to/) [Jeff Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bauman/) > [“Things never happened like I imagined them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/things-never-happened-like-i-imagined-them/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I didn't go looking to marry an American, it just kinda happened like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/i-didn-t-go-looking-to-marry-an-american-it-just-kinda-happened-like/) [Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/) > [“It happened like this in the world. 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I want to believe this more than anything because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/i-want-to-feel-it-somehow-happened-like-that-because-things-happen/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Being a Swifty is the best thing that ever happened to me. You all like me the way I am and don't try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-a-swifty-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-me-you-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It sometimes happens that you come out of a scene, and you don't even know what happened. It's like you're in the zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-hoeks/it-sometimes-happens-that-you-come-out-of-a-scene-and-you-don-t-even/) [Sylvia Hoeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-hoeks/) > [I've never seen myself as an artist. So when that happened it was like a whole other crazy thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/i-ve-never-seen-myself-as-an-artist-so-when-that-happened-it-was-like/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [Everything kind of happened like: 'Bam!' for me. One minute I was living on a council estate somewhere, then I won the Mercurys, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzee-rascal/everything-kind-of-happened-like-bam-for-me-one-minute-i-was-living/) [Dizzee Rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzee-rascal/) > [“He stepped on my shadow. I could not walk. And then I could not breathe. I did not know what had happened until it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-clement/he-stepped-on-my-shadow-i-could-not-walk-and-then-i-could-not-breathe/) [Jennifer Clement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-clement/) ## More by E.M. Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Oh, what's the use of your fairmindedness if you never decide for yourself? Anyone gets hold of you and makes you do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/oh-what-s-the-use-of-your-fairmindedness-if-you-never-decide-for/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/margaret-realized-the-chaotic-nature-of-our-daily-life-and-its/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Hell quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. 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Things just turned to hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupecake/just-when-i-thought-that-i-was-gtting-better-boy-was-i-wrong-things/) Cupecake > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Hey...Hey...What's up?. Nothing much, you? Nothing. K!..What the hell was the point of this communication?...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-what-s-up-nothing-much-you-nothing-k-what-the-hell-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. 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