>Dear Good Twainiacs:
>Twain said, "In heaven, you have to work, and work, to prove yourself, and
>if that isn't hell, I don't know what is".  Where did he say this.  Let me
>also explain since somebody quoted this, the exact quote may not be
>accurate, so forgive a possible mistake.
>Camy

I found this to resonate interestingly with a line from Shaw's Don
Juan in Hell (a performance reading of which I happen to be involved
with at the moment).  The Statue (the Commander who was killed by Don
Juan and hence went directly to heaven, which bores him to death, so
to speak) spends much of the play touting all the reasons for
preferring to spend his eternity in hell (where all the best people
are), including the fact that, in hell, "written over the gate are
the words,  'Leave every hope behind, ye who enter.' Think what a
relief that is!  For what is hope?  A form of moral responsibility.
Here there is no hope, and consequently no duty, no work, nothing to
be gained by praying, nothing to be lost by doing what you like.
Hell, in short, is a place where you have nothing to do but amuse
yourself....You sigh, friend Juan, but if you dwelt in heaven, as I
do, you would realize your advantages."  Being theologically (as well
as literarily) illiterate, I didn't realize that heaven had a
reputation for demanding heavy lifting, but I guess this idea was
prevalent and appears in Twain as well as Shaw, more or less
contemporaneously.  Is this of any interest to anyone?

Ben