Laudator Temporis Acti

Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Part. I, Sect. 4, Memb. I (Prognosticks of Melancholy):

One day of grief is an hundred years, as Cardan observes: 'Tis carnificina hominum, angor animi, as well saith Aretaeus, a plague of the soul, the cramp and convulsion of the soul, an epitome of hell; and if there be a hell upon earth, it is to be found in a melancholy man's heart.

The Diary of Søren Kierkegaard, ed. Peter P. Rohde, tr. Gerda M. Anderson (New York: Philosophical Library, 1960; rpt. 1990), p. 200 = Kierkegaards Papirer XI² A 422 (July 2, 1855):

Of all torments, being a Christian is the most terrible; it is--and that is how it should be--to know hell in this life.

Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena (tr. T. Bailey Saunders):

One might say with truth, Mankind are the devils of the earth, and the animals the souls they torment.

Related post: What Is Hell?

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Update -- Phil Flemming writes:

As I write this, it is 101 F in Scottsdale, but I don't intend to present you with mere empirical evidence that we've already descended to Avernus.

My belief that we already reside in Hell comes from theodicy--from trying to explain all the evil and suffering we see in a world supposed created by an omnipotent and benevolent deity. I find no way to reconcile God's perfections and the sad evil world we inhabit, unless we live in a place where it is just to suffer. There is no Problem of Evil if this is Hell where the wicked justly deserve to suffer for their sins. If I believe this is Hell, I can believe in God.

Repentantly yours,

Phil