quotations about angels
Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth -- unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep.
JOHN MILTON
Paradise Lost
Man is a mixed being, made up of a spiritual soul and of a fleshly body; the angels are pure spirits, herein nearer to God, only that they are created and finite in all respects, free from decay, free from the power of death, whereas God is infinite and uncreated.
J. C. HARE
attributed, Day's Collacon
In this dim world of clouding cares, we rarely know, till 'wildered eyes see white wings lessening up the skies, the Angels with us unawares.
GERALD MASSEY
The Ballad of Babe Christabel
Angels and Demons can't cross over into our plane. So, instead we get what I call half-breeds. The influence peddlers. They can only whisper in our ears. A single word can give you courage, or turn your favorite pleasure into your worst nightmare. Those with the demon's touch and those part angel, living alongside us. They call it the balance.
KEVIN BRODBIN, MARK BOMBACK & FRANK CAPELLO
Constantine
This is the state of all creatures, whether men or angels; as they make not themselves, so they enjoy nothing from themselves; if they are great, it must be only as great receivers of the gifts of God; their power can only be so much of the divine power acting in them; their wisdom can be only so much of the divine wisdom shining within them; and their light and glory, only so much of the light and glory of God shining upon them.
WILLIAM LAW
A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
When I was a child and heard about angels, I was both frightened and fascinated by the thought of these enormous, invisible presences in our midst. I conceived of them not as white-robed androgynes with yellow locks and thick gold wings, which was how my friend Matty Wilson had described them to me--Matty was the predecessor of all sorts of arcane knowledge--but as big, dark, blundering men, massive in their weightlessness, given to pranks and ponderous play, who might knock you over, or break you in half, without meaning to. When a child from Miss Molyneaux's infant school in Carrickdrum fell under the hoofs of a dray-horse one day and was trampled to death, I, a watchful six year old, knew who was to blame; I pictured his guardian angel standing over the child's crushed form with his big hands helplessly extended, not sure whether to be contrite or to laugh.
JOHN BANVILLE
The Untouchable
Ambition first sprung from your blest abodes; The glorious fault of Angels and of Gods.
ALEXANDER POPE
Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
I am a believer in angels, though not the picture-book kind with wings and harps. Such angelic accoutrements seem as nonsensical to me as devils sporting horns and carrying pitchforks. To me, angel wings are merely symbolic of their role as divine messengers.
RICHARD PAUL EVANS
The Christmas Box
Angels may be very excellent sort of folk in their own way, but we, poor mortals in our present state, would probably find them precious slow company.
JEROME K. JEROME
"On Vanity and Vanities", Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow
They will come from the bright, sunny land, come on their pinions so fair; Jesus will send them its glory to tell, Angels will carry me there.
FANNY CROSBY
Will the Angels Come?
In pride, in reas'ning pride, our error lies; All quit their spere, and rush into the skies! Pride still is aiming at the blessed abodes, Men would be Angels, Angels would be Gods.
ALEXANDER POPE
An Essay on Man
Don't be on the side of the angels, it's too lowering.
D.H. LAWRENCE
letter to Rolf Gardiner, Dec. 18, 1927
Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you.... Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
Introduction to the Devout Life
The angels are so enamored of the language that is spoken in heaven, that they will not distort their lips with the hissing and unmusical dialects of men, but speak their own, whether there be any who understand it or not.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
"Intellect", Essays
Angels have immense auras, extending in some cases, like a mountain Deva, for miles. The historical attribution of wings to angelics is probably the result of the subconscious minds of human seers "clothing" the auras of angels with a form that their conscious minds could comprehend.
DAVID GODDARD
The Sacred Magic of Angels
Ye holy angels bright, who stand before God's throne and dwell in glorious light, praise ye the Lord each one. Assist our song, or else the theme too high doth seem for mortal tongue.
RICHARD BAXTER
Poetical Fragments
I believe angels are among us, bringing comfort, strength, healing, freedom and, most importantly of all, providing a stepping stone to the larger reality that is God's Kingdom--to the very heart of God.
JUDITH MACNUTT
introduction, Encountering Angels: True Stories of How They Touch Our Lives Every Day
Angels boast ethereal vigor, and are formed from seeds of heavenly birth.
VIRGIL
attributed, Day's Collacon
Angels are winged with God's power.
SOLON
attributed, Day's Collacon
How do the angels get to sleep when the devil leaves the porch light on?
TOM WAITS
"Mr. Siegal", Heartattack and Vine