What does this quote mean?

“Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.”

Recovery from a dark condition is pictured as difficult and lengthy rather than instant.

Source note: Paradise Lost, Book II; the line describes the difficult ascent from Hell toward light within Milton’s epic setting.

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”

Joy here does not mean enjoying difficulty; it means interpreting hardship within a larger process of endurance and growth.

Source note: James 1:2 in the King James Version.

“What, to our eyes, may seem hopeless failure is often but the dawning of a greater success.”

Immediate appearances can mislead: a failure may reveal another direction or become part of later success, so present defeat need not define the whole trajectory.

Source note: The Majesty of Calmness, “Failure as a Success.” The passage is motivational interpretation, not a promise that every loss will produce a better outcome.

“They are upheld by hope”

Hope functions as support even before the characters fully understand what they are hoping for, separating sustaining expectation from complete intellectual certainty.

Source note: Lilith: A Romance; Project Gutenberg #1640. Mr. Raven speaks the line within MacDonald’s symbolic Christian fantasy, so it remains fictional and theological in context.

“These are the times that try men's souls.”

Crisis reveals commitment because principles become costly to maintain precisely when fear, fatigue, and uncertainty make retreat easier.

Source note: Opening of The American Crisis No. I; Paine addresses perseverance during a difficult stage of the American Revolution.

“Courage cannot be cast down by adversity.”

Courage is defined by what survives difficulty: adversity may create pressure, but it does not have to decide the person’s response.

Source note: The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, saying 595, D. Lyman Jr. translation (1856).